Chevy Volt comes to Main Street Michigan
Chevy Volt in Royal Oak - click above for a high-res image gallery
Usually, if someone sends us pictures claiming they were taken in Michigan in mid-November and yet had guys in T-shirts in them, we'd tell them they're probably fakes. But, since we're experiencing the mild pre-winter weather in the Mitten state ourselves, we're willing to shift our focus away from the bare skin and onto the Chevy Volt sitting there on Main Street in Royal Oak, Michigan. Taken today, around noon, the pre-production vehicle was in town with GM's social media guy Christopher Barger and attracted the attention of a few passersby.
While there's nothing new revealed about the Volt in these pics, we do now have an idea of what it'll look like in everyday use and we know people notice the car. Pretty soon, this won't even be news any more.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gorr 6:40PM (11/16/2009)
It looks good indeed. A prius beater ?
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Chris M 2:23AM (11/17/2009)
Possibly. The Volt should get good hybrid mileage while in "charge sustaining" mode, and of course saves much more fuel than the standard Prius when running around town in EV mode. Acceleration should be better than the Prius, too.
On the other hand, it will cost more than even the most expensive Prius with all the options.
Bottom line, I expect both Volt and Prius to sell well. It will be the less efficient vehicles that will suffer a drop in sales!
Luke 11:53AM (11/17/2009)
I sure hope so.
I love our Prius, but I'd love a car that beat it in a fair-and-square competition even more. :-)
ziv 8:34PM (11/16/2009)
It does have the new hood, which takes a little getting used to. I hope they do something about the charge cover. All in all, a pretty decent looking car. I drove 12,600 miles total last year. I looked at my tax records, and if I had a Volt, and it got just 35 miles all electric range, it would have been 1681 miles on gas, 10,919 miles using electricity, which leaves me with a bill for 35 gallons of gasoline per year and around 2200 kWh, which is about $100 and $220 each, respectively for the year, or $26.50 a month. My RAV4 costs me $140 a month for gas. My Volt mileage, even with only a 35 mile AER, would have been about 360 miles per gallon. Even if the Volt gets just 40 mpg in charge sustaining mode, I will only need 5 additional gallons a year, which will still get me better than 300 mpg! So I save $130 a month on my gas, I get to drive a car that runs on domestically produced energy or E85, and it looks great to boot!
If I could get one for less than $30,000 after tax credits I would buy one. Come on Virginia, step up to the plate with a $2500 credit, you know you want to do it!
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ziv 8:46PM (11/16/2009)
I keep my mileage for tax purposes, and last year was pretty typical for me. I drove 12,600 miles total, if I had a Volt and it had just a 35 mile All Electric Range, not 40, I would have driven just 1681 using gas, and a whopping 10,919 using electricity. That leaves me with a bill for 35 gallons of gasoline per YEAR and around 2200 kWh, which is about $100 and $220 each, respectively, or just $26.50 a month. My RAV4 costs me $140 a month for gas. My mileage would have been about 360 miles per gallon. Even if the Volt gets just 40 mpg in charge sustaining mode, I will only need 5 additional gallons a year, which will still get me better than 300 mpg! And I can buy most of my energy from domestically produced power plants, not send my money to Saudi Arabia or Venezuela, plus my E85 will be encouraging the development of cellulosic ethanol. So even if the Volt doesn't get 40 miles AER, even if it doesn't get 50 mpg in CS mode, it will still save me more than $100 a month and allow me to contribute to a lessening of America's dependency on foreign oil. No limited range irritations, I mean with 100 mile AER for most BEV's, you are looking for a plugin after less than 2 hours of driving! And my clients will know that I am cooler than a Prius driver, by at least 35 miles of All Electric Range! LOL
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ziv 8:59PM (11/16/2009)
Arghh!!! I thought the first post had gotten lost... I waited 10 minutes and it didn't show up, sorry about the double post.
Stew 12:43AM (11/17/2009)
I'm excited for the Volt to finally get here. This pic makes the forward rake designed into the body lines look really steep, like someone's standing on the brake pedal doing a panic stop.
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monica 12:52AM (11/17/2009)
ziv, if you charge the volt at work. you're good for 70+ miles a day of EV range. I'm envious.
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ionsysad 3:24AM (11/17/2009)
Choosing a car is bit difficult , since in the market wide range of cars are available. You need to consult an expert who can compare different branded cars. I prefer Eu Neuwagen to consult and get the right brand.
http://www.euneuwagen.info
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GreenGuy 1:18PM (11/17/2009)
Why do they call these cars Green and use old paint technology to coat them? Solvents are not only used in the materials but also to purge the automation which paints them. I know GM uses powder for prime on a lot of their vehicles, but why not for color and clear coat? Even Tata in India is using powder to coat there new trucks.
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Ernie 3:53PM (11/17/2009)
"we do now have an idea of what it'll look like in everyday use"
So "use" = "parked?" :)
Just kidding. To be fair, most cars spend most of their lives parked.
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Rick 12:52PM (11/19/2009)
Why do the majority of domestics seem to have the rear suspension ridiculously jacked up?
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siasegos 6:03PM (11/19/2009)
Hi USA!
What I cannot understand it's why GM puts this stupid camouflage in the car when the Volt is, by far, the most known 'unbuilt' car.
I don't understand why they spent money putting camouflage in the car, I mean it's something understandable!
Cheers from Spain... waiting for the Opel Ampera!!!
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