Chevrolet Volt Priced at $41,000, Production Begins in Sept.
There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the new eco-friendly 4 door sedan to be put into production in September, the much-anticipated Chevrolet Volt.
General Motors announced on Tuesday that the Volt will sell for a base sticker price of $41,000. With fancy options like chrome wheels, only three-premium paint options, and heated leather seats, among others, the price goes up another $3,600.
GM expects the Chevrolet Volt to be its bread-and-butter hybrid vehicle. It will run on a single lithium-ion battery charge for 40 miles, before the engine powered by gasoline takes over to recharge the battery, thereby cruising another 300 miles. According to GM’s vice president of marketing, Joel Ewanick, assuming the Volt is driven 15,000 miles a year — which is the standard average mileage for a driver — about 550 less gallons of gasoline would be consumed than a gas-hungry four door sedan.
Ewanick said that “This car is designed for the majority of Americans. This is a car that the average person can drive on a daily basis. It’s not something that’s a unique little niche vehicle. The marketing challenge is communicating how different this is than what they’re used to.”
There is some controversy, however, over the Volt’s price. The Nissan Leaf, a compact 4 door sedan slated for release soon, will cost significantly less — an estimated $32,780 — and it is completely green, no gasoline required. The Leaf can supposedly travel up to 100 miles on a single battery charge, and there may be an option available for a solar panel disguised as a rear spoiler to help power the vehicle. Pretty cool to say the least.
But David Champion of Consumer Reports explains the Chevrolet Volt’s advantage over the Leaf.
The Leaf is a commuter car for going back and forth … The Volt is the next iteration of the hybrid vehicle — it has the 40-mile electric range, but if you want to drive it from New York to Los Angeles, you can. The Leaf will probably be a second car, whereas the Volt can be your primary car.
We don’t know much about the performance specifics of the Chevrolet Volt as of yet, and won’t until it finally hits the pavement. But GM is already taking orders, to be sold in traffic-heavy states like New York, New Jersey, California and Michigan initially. GM wants to produce 10,000 cars in 2011 and expects to boost that number to 30,000 in 2012.
Personally, I’m looking forward to test driving the Volt. But I’m going to have a long wait as there are no plans to offer the vehicle in Massachusetts any time soon. Unless I cross state lines, of course.
Photo © Lincah.com
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