Dear Linus, The Chevy VOLT is being discontinued.

[LinusTech]

16 hours ago, Shorty7778 said:

Shocking...

What's shocking about that?

 

jw

[dalekphalm]

1 hour ago, ThePD said:

The Volt's styling was poor. If you compare it to a Model 3, who in the right mind would pick the volt?

The Model 3 looks like a fairly regular "sporty" 4-door sedan. The Volt is by no means ugly - not at all. But it does have unusual styling.

 

However, why are you directly comparing a Model 3 with a Volt? They're different cars with different drivetrain technologies in different product segments.

 

A better comparison would be the Volt vs one of the PHEV Prius variants, like the Prius Prime.

1 hour ago, ThePD said:

Not to mention, having to deal with the dealerships is always a hassle. I learned first hand how bad Chevy's customer service was when I bought a 2016 Camaro SS and it turned out to be a massive lemon. The car was tearing itself apart in the back and the dealerships would hmm and haw at fixing it when it was under warranty.

Dealers are independently owned. You get good ones and you get bad ones. While you've had a shit experience with your dealer, others have had great experiences.

1 hour ago, ThePD said:

The horrendous customer service Chevy dealerships gave me ensured I would never buy another product from them. There are many reasons why people wont buy X car... sometimes it's just because of the badge on the front.

Dealing with Tesla directly has both benefits and downsides. The downside is if you don't live near one of the retail outlets/service centres? Well, have fun with that. The upside is dealing directly with the manufacturer, and no middle man.

 

Personally, I'd choose a Volt over a Model 3, most likely.

[Shorty7778]

3 hours ago, LinusTech said:

What's shocking about that?

 

jw

its an electric car.....

[dalekphalm]

8 minutes ago, Shorty7778 said:

its an electric car.....

It's a Hybrid Electric. There's a difference.

[Shorty7778]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

It's a Hybrid Electric. There's a difference.

it was a joke... and they also came as full electric

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, Shorty7778 said:

it was a joke... and they also came as full electric

No. They didn't. The Volt is a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). It has never come in a EV variant.

 

You're probably thinking of the confusingly similarly named Chevy Bolt, an EV small Crossover SUV that isn't even remotely related to the Volt.

[Shorty7778]

51 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

No. They didn't. The Volt is a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). It has never come in a EV variant.

 

You're probably thinking of the confusingly similarly named Chevy Bolt, an EV small Crossover SUV that isn't even remotely related to the Volt.

Yup, you would be right. But still saying anything about any style ev then following it with shocking is still a grade A pun.

 

I still can't believe they would discontinue the volt, they could have turned it into something else like they did with the Prius and continued the line. Like a wagon version volt maxx, or something similar. They lost so many energy credits removing that vehicle

[dalekphalm]

5 minutes ago, Shorty7778 said:

Yup, you would be right. But still saying anything about any style ev then following it with shocking is still a grade A pun.

I will concede your pun. Cringe? Yes. Epic? Also yes.

5 minutes ago, Shorty7778 said:

I still can't believe they would discontinue the volt, they could have turned it into something else like they did with the Prius and continued the line. Like a wagon version volt maxx, or something similar. They lost so many energy credits removing that vehicle

Part of it is simply the trend going away from cars. North American buyers are buying more and more Crossovers and SUV's, and cars (especially Sedans) are seeing a drop.

 

I think it's a shame, and stupid. But I have to imagine that they did the numbers and killed it for a good reason.

 

Maybe they're working on a new EV to replace the Volt (a sister vehicle to the Bolt)?

[Shorty7778]

7 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I think it's a shame, and stupid. But I have to imagine that they did the numbers and killed it for a good reason.

 

Maybe they're working on a new EV to replace the Volt (a sister vehicle to the Bolt)?

Probably going to be the Jolt or Amp or something else electrical related. It will be pretty interesting watching what car manufacturs do in order to increase mpgs, range and power. Because let's face it face it, a car that can get 60+ mpg is worthless with a 0-60 you measure with a calendar

[dalekphalm]

18 minutes ago, Shorty7778 said:

Probably going to be the Jolt or Amp or something else electrical related. It will be pretty interesting watching what car manufacturs do in order to increase mpgs, range and power. Because let's face it face it, a car that can get 60+ mpg is worthless with a 0-60 you measure with a calendar

I think "Amp" is a very stylish name for a car - especially an EV.

 

Consider that EV's generally have kickass acceleration (you get much higher torque from rest compared to an ICE powered vehicle). It's really only ICE powered vehicles that suffer from "accelerates like ass to save fuel" syndrome.

 

With an EV, you can just create a software setting that allows the user to decide how much electricity they want to conserve - most, including the Model 3, already have multiple drive modes, including a sluggish (but not horrible) ECO mode.

[Shorty7778]

15 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

With an EV, you can just create a software setting that allows the user to decide how much electricity they want to conserve - most, including the Model 3, already have multiple drive modes, including a sluggish (but not horrible) ECO mode.

Honestly though i believe the future of electrification is hybrids that have very efficient turbo-charged smaller gas engine (2-3 cyl sub 1.0l) running on some sort of pressurized gas like natural gas or something else renewable. the compactness of the fuel combed with a hybrid "transmission" in the front (and motor-generators in the rear for awd) will create a vehicle that  can go weeks or months without plugging in or refueling, if you look at Chrysler, they are electrifying almost every vehicle in their line-up, even the pickups have  belt driven motor-generators, a plug in hybrid van, and an all electric 500e, (all of which is why we are allowed to even allowed to think about high performance vehicle with over 700hp

[This_guy1998]

4 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Dealing with Tesla directly has both benefits and downsides. The downside is if you don't live near one of the retail outlets/service centres? Well, have fun with that. The upside is dealing directly with the manufacturer, and no middle man.

You make a good point. Some states here in the US have made it illegal for the Tesla sales model (direct to customer sales instead of franchised dealers) (because of auto maker and dealer owner lobbying), so if your car breaks you may have to drive or ship it to a Tesla Service Center (because your mechanic can't fix a Tesla for the most part because of their closed system).

 

Here in my state (Arkansas), the people that have Teslas (which I've seen more and more of, especially the Model 3) have to take them to St. Louis (closest people would be 4-5 hours away at least, 9-10 hours at most for most people in the state) because of our state laws. Also there is no super charger (just a Destination Charger in Central AR) in the state.

 

Whereas for the most part the major auto makers (GM, Ford, FCA, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and VW) can be found in within a 30 min to an hour and a half away in most of the state). Plus almost a hometown mancanic can work on them.

 

Now if I go to somewhere more populas per square mile like the Tampa, Florida area (was there on vacation in 2018), you can find almost every car manufacturer with a dealership at least once, sometimes twice in that area.

 

I can why places have laws banning Tesla's sales model. Here in the US, small businesses make up the economy in most places. While there are dealers that can rip you off, there are ones that give good deals too (got a great deal on my 2014 Rogue back in 2016) and the thing is if they really screw you over then you can simply take your business elsewhere which may force the dealer to go out of business or (the most likely) sell the dealership to the compitition. Also with these locally owned dealerships they usually can afford to give back to the community too.

 

Tesla's model I think it is a great deal in some cases but when they get bigger they will need to have a franchised dealer option too. Rich Rebuilds talks about his nightmare about buying a used Tesla from Tesla online and it's been a multiple month process that started out with not knowing where his car is located to now having to fix the issues (mostly cosmetic) with the car. It even took them a minute to even send him pictures (there are stock ones on the listings).

 

Tesla has a way to go. The traditional car makers have a way to go with electric too. For now I'm going to stick with a ICE vehicle for at least the next 8-10 years. There is still a way to go.

[dalekphalm]

39 minutes ago, Shorty7778 said:

Honestly though i believe the future of electrification is hybrids that have very efficient turbo-charged smaller gas engine (2-3 cyl sub 1.0l) running on some sort of pressurized gas like natural gas or something else renewable. the compactness of the fuel combed with a hybrid "transmission" in the front (and motor-generators in the rear for awd) will create a vehicle that  can go weeks or months without plugging in or refueling, if you look at Chrysler, they are electrifying almost every vehicle in their line-up, even the pickups have  belt driven motor-generators, a plug in hybrid van, and an all electric 500e, (all of which is why we are allowed to even allowed to think about high performance vehicle with over 700hp

Perhaps that might come to pass, but the industry trend right now is not like what you've described in the slightest.

I don't know a single mainstream auto manufacturer seriously considering production ready vehicles that will be fueled with natural gas or anything aside from Gasoline or EV (or a Hybrid of the two).

Also, where do you get the idea that Natural Gas powered vehicles will be able to go weeks or months without refueling? The Honda Civic GX - one of the only production commercially available Natural Gas vehicles (Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), specifically), has a range of about 250 Miles (402 KM) - that's shit. A regular Honda Civic has a range of in the neighbourhood of 520 Miles (837 KM) - that's over twice the range. And that's not even a Hybrid Civic.

 

Regular cars can already go "weeks" before refueling. I usually fuel up once per week but could easily go 2 weeks before refueling most of the time, and I commute to work plus also sometimes drive while at work.

 

Granted, adding a Hybrid Electric drivetrain to the mix will definitely enable longer ranges, but it would need to double the range of the Civic GX just to catch up with conventional cars. Now, surely, they could just include a larger fuel tank to hold more CNG, but that adds weight, takes up space, and might be a safety concern, so it's not clear cut.

 

Anyway, the immediate future is likely going to stay a mix of trending towards PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) and PEV (Plug-in Electric Vehicle). Other, non-mainstream fuel sources like Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Propane, etc, are going to see some continued use - perhaps even increased use (UPS loves Propane and Natural Gas, for example), but I see no indication that this will overtake Gasoline/Electric fuel sources.

[ShredBird]

7 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Keep in mind that the Volt is not an EV. It's a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid EV). It still has a gasoline ICE - though I think they call it a "range extender", rather than a true "engine" (though it's the same thing really).

Sorry, I was unclear, I meant by my opening statements that the Volt was not a full electric vehicle and that was smart because the market wasn't there quite there yet.  It doesn't quite read that way though.  The engine in the Volt drives an alternator that provides power to the electric motors, so it operates akin to a locomotive rather than an automobile.  This is done for efficiency reasons.

[dalekphalm]

Just now, ShredBird said:

Sorry, I was unclear, I meant by my opening statements that the Volt was not a full electric vehicle and that was smart because the market wasn't there quite there yet.  It doesn't quite read that way though.  The engine in the Volt drives an alternator that provides power to the electric motors, so it operates akin to a locomotive rather than an automobile.  This is done for efficiency reasons.

Indeed - that's one of the reasons why they call the ICE inside the Volt a "range extender" instead of just calling it an Engine.

 

The Volt was engineered very nicely for the task at hand. Most Hybrids typically don't use this method because they share the same base chassis and a lot of parts with a non-Hybrid variant (Eg: Toyota Camry or Honda Civic).

[MarkHawk]

On 1/18/2019 at 9:41 PM, LinusTech said:

Still planning to. I really like it. 

I didn't expect my first post here to get directly responded to by Linus himself. Glad to hear you're still liking and planning a video for the Volt. Debating between the Volt and Hyundai Kona Electric if they become available in my buying time period I'll be buying. Thanks for everything you and the team do.

[dalekphalm]

38 minutes ago, MarkHawk said:

I didn't expect my first post here to get directly responded to by Linus himself. Glad to hear you're still liking and planning a video for the Volt. Debating between the Volt and Hyundai Kona Electric if they become available in my buying time period I'll be buying. Thanks for everything you and the team do.

Pretty different vehicles (One is a Crossover SUV, the other is a 4-door Sedan) - the Kona is nicer than the Bolt (Chevy's EV, which is much closer to the Kona), though I imagine the Volt might be on par (or better) with the Kona in terms of quality and interior.

 

Before you decide to buy, I would first decide whether you want a PHEV (Hybrid) or PEV (straight Electric, often noted as "EV"). They're very different, with a lot of different considerations.

 

Once you decide on Hybrid or EV, then look at the different options in each category.

[MarkHawk]

15 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Pretty different vehicles (One is a Crossover SUV, the other is a 4-door Sedan) - the Kona is nicer than the Bolt (Chevy's EV, which is much closer to the Kona), though I imagine the Volt might be on par (or better) with the Kona in terms of quality and interior.

 

Before you decide to buy, I would first decide whether you want a PHEV (Hybrid) or PEV (straight Electric, often noted as "EV"). They're very different, with a lot of different considerations.

 

Once you decide on Hybrid or EV, then look at the different options in each category.

 

 

It's a weird line up I know. It's mainly because my life is changing pretty drastically and my current car is really starting to show it's age. 
 

We've wanted to go full EV for a while but kept trying to hold out for the Tesla Y. We're big Tesla X fans but I can't justify paying that much for a car. It's nice but just not comfortable driving that much $ of a car around. I'm just not sure we can hold off for the Tesla Y. My 2008 Toyota Matrix XR at 167k is starting to struggle even with dailey commuting. The Volt has been the best bang for the buck, has the range that still might need, and a good "wait to see how the market goes" car. 
 

I'd have to sacrifice some things I'm used to doing with a crossover but my life change may require that anyway. (Moving to a new city, need to focus on a career for a bit more than snowboarding and ferrying people to hikes) 

I can get a fairly nice price on a 2017 used model. However if a Kona showed up sooner rather then later, has the 250 range, snag a cool color, and I could get the tax credit then we could make that work for us. But this also all depends on if when my life changes, if we bought a house or have to temporarily rent an apartment. 
 

We are just under the gun in a few ways but appreciate the help and concern. 

[Timhortons]

It's a shame GM killed off the ev1, we might've been actually innovative as far as the west goes besides how to aggregate data efficiently. Gas replaced by electricity, rivers not drying up in Europe... but I guess it wasn't pretentious enough looking like a Saturn and can't have the peasantry thinking they'll be able to aspire to electric car ownership unless it's some kei car Mitsubishi.

[Donut417]

On 11/27/2018 at 1:19 AM, Minsc&Boo said:

Back in August Linus got a Chevy VOLT.

 

Now (NOV 2018), the Chevy VOLT is being discontinued amid General Motors decision to close factories and displace 14,000 workers.

 

Source;
https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/26/18112536/gm-layoffs-factory-closing-ending-production-chevy-volt

 

Well, at least you didn't drop it (kinda the reverse really).

Its not just the Volt, GM is getting rid of cars, just like Ford did. Most American's want SUV's, Crossovers, and Trucks. 

 

Now as far as laying off those 14,000, its a shitty move. Also according to GM, those plant's are not being closed, they are being idled, as in they could retool them and have them produce other things.  This way also a way to weaken the UAW, because you know that big business is all about killing Unions. 

[captain_aggravated]

I want the electric car fad to die.  I don't want electric cars to die, I just want the stupid fad to die.

 

There's something about electric cars that seems to just ruin the brains of engineers.  It's like they put so much serious, actual engineering into the power train, that they just decide to go full retard on the rest of the car. Stupid styling, gigantic computer displays, badges bigger than my head, the worst gear shifters ever, controls in really stupid places...

 

The Bolt has the most visible symptoms of engineerfuckedinthebrainpanitis.  Just look at the tail lights.  They've got these big, funky LED tail light assemblies on the tailgate.  But modern laws require lamps on fixed bodywork, so it also has incandescent lights on the bumper, and when the tailgate is open, it turns off the lights on the tailgate and turns on the lights on the bumper.  So we had to pay someone to program a microcontroller to do that, and design the switching circuitry, and lay out the additional runs of wiring, design and tool up a half dozen additional lamp housing assemblies, alter the bumper design to accept them, lengthen the parts list and assembly procedure for every unit made, and increasing the vehicle's curb weight by probably 3 or 4 pounds.  Increased design costs, increased manufacturing costs, decreased performance, all so they could make the tail lights look stupider.  And don't even get me started on the gear shifter.  It's like they don't have the balls to make them look average.

 

If I were to buy a hybrid, I'd go with a Prius.  It had it's trendy fad phase ten years ago, and now it's a normal car for normal people.

 

Also, hey here's a thought:  What about an electric pickup truck?  

[dalekphalm]

3 hours ago, captain_aggravated said:

I want the electric car fad to die.  I don't want electric cars to die, I just want the stupid fad to die.

 

There's something about electric cars that seems to just ruin the brains of engineers.  It's like they put so much serious, actual engineering into the power train, that they just decide to go full retard on the rest of the car. Stupid styling, gigantic computer displays, badges bigger than my head, the worst gear shifters ever, controls in really stupid places...

I can think of numerous EV's that don't have this problem.

 

Though a few do: Most of the Tesla's (though their exteriors look pretty normal. Not a fan of the Model 3's Dashboard), the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Bolt to a lesser degree.

3 hours ago, captain_aggravated said:

The Bolt has the most visible symptoms of engineerfuckedinthebrainpanitis.  Just look at the tail lights.  They've got these big, funky LED tail light assemblies on the tailgate.  But modern laws require lamps on fixed bodywork, so it also has incandescent lights on the bumper, and when the tailgate is open, it turns off the lights on the tailgate and turns on the lights on the bumper.  So we had to pay someone to program a microcontroller to do that, and design the switching circuitry, and lay out the additional runs of wiring, design and tool up a half dozen additional lamp housing assemblies, alter the bumper design to accept them, lengthen the parts list and assembly procedure for every unit made, and increasing the vehicle's curb weight by probably 3 or 4 pounds.  Increased design costs, increased manufacturing costs, decreased performance, all so they could make the tail lights look stupider.  And don't even get me started on the gear shifter.  It's like they don't have the balls to make them look average.

This actually has nothing to do with EV's at all. Auto manufacturers like the styling of on-trunk lighting. An extremely large amount of new vehicles period have this, where when you open the rear hatch, a separate set of lights come on.

3 hours ago, captain_aggravated said:

If I were to buy a hybrid, I'd go with a Prius.  It had it's trendy fad phase ten years ago, and now it's a normal car for normal people.

It certainly has gotten a lot better looking. The original Prius was pretty unattractive. The current Prius Prime actually looks decently stylish (In line with other Toyota's).

3 hours ago, captain_aggravated said:

Also, hey here's a thought:  What about an electric pickup truck?  

There is the Rivian R1T, which is a luxury EV pickup truck. Then there's also the rumours that Ford and Tesla are also both working on Pickups too.