Holy shit, you cannot hold onto anything, be it a car, house, or motorcycle!  You're worse than Doug with rims!

That said, the volt is awesome.

What are you doing for a charging station?

I love the Volt.  I'd never own one, but I think it's really cool both in the way it looks and its technowizardry.  Did you get it on any sort of discount?  Does it have a gun rack?  Do you still have any proper cars/toys?

Look forward to the pics.

Smooth_Puddin wrote:

Does it say "VOLT" on the side?  Have yet to see one without that.  I've always wante to test drive one.  What do they start at in price?

The ones that say VOLT on the side are what every Chevy dealer has for a demo car. GM applied those stickers for marketing reasons. That's the only one they give test drives in (if I understood correctly).

iamchris wrote:

What are you doing for a charging station?

I just picked it up so it's plugged into 110V. I plan to buy the 4hr quick charge for the house. I can write off the install. My commute is 11mi each way. So I shouldn't need to worry about charging at work.

someguy wrote:

I love the Volt.  I'd never own one, but I think it's really cool both in the way it looks and its technowizardry.  Did you get it on any sort of discount?  Does it have a gun rack?  Do you still have any proper cars/toys?

The gaget factor is nuts. I got the car WITHOUT the navigation system.  Namely because the current deal gives you free OnStar for three years. The latest OnStar has route guidance. So I call them, they then patch directions through to the car and a navigation screen appears. Alternatively, I open the app on my iPhone. Speak the request into the iPhone and it then patches it to my car. And it works well.

I was able to get $11k off of the sticker.

And I drove to a bit more rural location and went near the end of the day. They'd never taken a trade on a Saab. And the other dealership was closed for the day, so they couldn't get a true value for the car. The manager and appraiser go for a drive in my car. They realize I know Saabs, they ask me, what do these retail for at a dealer. I said ~$11k.

They came back five minutes later and offered me $9,500 on my car. That's the PRIVATE PARTY sell value. Trade in was like $7k. 


We have a Volvo XC70, that's not going anywhere anytime soon. We love that car. Gas mileage is nearly SUV atrocious but we dig it. I still plan to buy a motorcycle in the next few months.

ugh, a volt..

I wonder how the gas will age.  Sounds like you'll rarely have to dip into the fuel.

I've read it automatically runs the gas engine every few months just as maintenance.

Nice car, Topher. I'm a fan.

Prepare the haters.

Calling Justin80! 

Topher wrote:

I was able to get $11k off of the sticker.

are dealers heavily discounting these? my dad is really interested in getting a volt, and a good price could finally sway him.

My dad drives a Prius, maybe I can get him to switch to a Volt once his Prius gets old.

Oh wait, nevermind, he's a right wing nut job, and the Volt is political now. 

Topher wrote:

Here's a quick picture.




I'm truly shocked about how well GM did on the tech inside. It's effortless to sync your phone, play music, get directions, etc. 

I drove one at the Chicago Auto Show and like you, was in awe by all the techno-gadgetry.  My wife has a 14 mile daily commute so this would be a perfect replacement for her current gas guzzler.  What's the total range electric + gas?

What? No tummy stix?  I thought with this thread title...  that was where this was going. 


Actually, it's a very interesting car to try out for a while.  I had one for a weekend back in February when it was cold.  The down side was that my electric range in 10* weather was only 18 miles.  Otherwise, I liked it, and thought it was a remarkably normal driving car.  You don't notice the change in modes unless you are trying to.  My commute is 47 miles, so I was in gas mode a lot, and got around 55 MPG.  My wishes would be for more electric range and a less-premium price tag.  Even if it were 29K instead of 39K, it would sell like crazy.  GM would lose money, but they would really sell.

Oh, and I charged it using 110V and a 100' extension cord.  I did not die in a fire as a result.

john_matrix wrote:

My dad drives a Prius, maybe I can get him to switch to a Volt once his Prius gets old.

Oh wait, nevermind, he's a right wing nut job, and the Volt is political now. 

Wait a second, your dad drives a prius?  Huh.
I expected him to drive a pickup with a confederate flag flying out the back after his email you forwarded me that tried to convince me that michelle obama is an unrepentant racist. 


Separately, interesting pickup, nice in white with that leather. I was in one at the auto show as well and was surprised, liked it too. Super techie.

Last edited by phillipj (2012-04-06 12:07:43)

I thought you got an S2000.