It's a nice vehicle but I'd really like to understand the "promising costs of a mere 2 cents per mile compared to 12 cents per mile for traditional cars".

Doesn't this sucker cost 40000? Compared to traditional cars that's about 20000 dollars more up front. 20k will buy 5000 gallons of gasoline at 4 dollars a gallon. At 20 miles per gallon (the average mpg rating of vehicles), that's about 10 years of heavy driving or the rough estimate of a vehicle's life. You shouldn't expect most new cars to last more than 10 years. 15 if you got a good one.

That would make you money ahead to buy the vehicle that suits your needs.

The mileage really depends on how you drive. If you drive less than 40 miles per day, it should cost you absolutely nothing. Personally, I drive about 5-10 miles a day on average. If I had this car, I'd probably only fill it up maybe once a month.

BTW: If you spend $70 on gas per week for 10 years, this would cost $36,400. At 25% of that cost, it would be $9100. You would save $27,300.

@Yogurt, 10k miles a year is NOT heavy driving. The car I bought in 2003 will hit 100k before the end of the year, and a vast number of people in my area drive a lot more than that.

Whether the Volt is cost effective will depend a lot on regional markets. In some areas it won't be, in other areas it will. It has the added benefit of being far more eco friendly than a traditional car, and many people are willing to pay extra for that.

I'm so disappointed at the look of the production model. It is just another GM generic. The prototype was so promising. If this is to represent a new GM, it should capture the imagination and excite people, both in engineering and design.

I'm not so sure about that, Dslackr. Having something that's too different from contemporary designs would probably put a lot of people off. Unusual designs are sometimes successful (Scion xB, PT Cruiser, et al), but those don't cost $40,000.

Now we finally have a reason to buy American cars again. Too bad it is so expensive, though.

I would say this is a good thing for the rich. I am sure the next model would be something cheaper for the rest of us. This might be a good lease car also. Think Iphone for cars, they should get cheaper. When McCain is in office he will figure it out.

Well, that is great, but if a large number of these things sell, where is the increased electricity required generated? How will more energy be produced as well? More coal burning? You have to take that into account when calculating the environmental impact of electric cars. What are the batteries made out of? Toxic metals mined from the earth? Gotta consider that as well. How long will the batteries last? How much do they cost to replace? How are they disposed of? This technology cannot succeed until the nations electrical grid radically increases it's productive capacity. I don't see that happening anywhere in the US. I'm not ready to jump on the bandwagon quite yet. Also, how are you all calculating the cost of electricity? Here in Phoenix there is a wide range of prices, and I am sure it varies greatly across the USA. It's very expensive to run my A/C during a summer day. I'm sure adding in charging my car won't make it cheaper.

I'd be interested in why they didn't slap a few square meters of solar panel on the roof/hood/trunk.
That extra current could help keep the batteries topped off and keep you off the grid a little bit. Can you imagine not wanting to find covered parking? 40 miles on a charge though, I'd almost never hear the gas engine kick on with my 30 mile r/t commute.

hei Yogurt,

it's not about fuell consumption or price is about enviroment. i'll give 40k if i'll have more fresh air and a longer, better life
what do you think about that?
i'm not an eco green stuff, but i care.

To the one who talked about "dirty power" in order to charge these, we have to start somewhere. If you take the damned if you do, damned if you don't approach, then nothing will ever change to begin with. I can't really help it where my electricity comes from, but I can help where it goes, and I can cut back on my on fuel consumption. Not every power plant uses coal, and that is starting to change. It takes time.

I agree with Scott. Giving the owner the option of getting power from the wall allows him to let his power company furnish the power at much, much less per kilowatt-hour than gasoline or natural gas.

A guy here in Denver just paid $10,500 for a three-wheeled "electric motorcycle" which looks a lot like a Chevy Aveo (four doors, totally enclosed body, etc) that charges directly from a solar array on the roof of his house. He and his wife are retired, so the forty mile operating radius of his new car doesn't matter the way it would for someone who drives thirty miles or so each way to work, and as Scott says, it's a start.

Gas/electric hybrids were impractical and expensive originally, too, but the technology got cheaper and more reliable as time went on. With the Chevy Volt, here in Colorado you can take advantage of the 60 per cent rebate that Xcel Energy offers to people with rooftop solar arrays and generate much of the power your car would draw down at night.

If we had to wait until all the bugs were out of new technologies before adopting them, we'd still be stuck with computers that filled up entire building basements or whole buildings and the same old magneto and Strowger relay phone system we had in the 1950s.

while 40K seems a bit pricey, It's great to finally start seeing electric cars. For those of you complaining about coal generated electricity, keep in mind that wind/solar/nuclear are also used to generate power and we are (finally) moving in that direction. This is a great piece of progress and technology.

Hey folks, I don't remember seeing anyone mention a price. In fact I would like to know where Mr. Yogurt got his price. Frankly, if it means that I don't have to suck down oil from some 3rd world country that doesn't like us or that I can tell the Saudi's or the Iranian's or Hugo Chavez where to stick their oil I'll buy it at any price.

Bleah design. I liked the concept much better. Looks like Chevy is going the way of Chrysler by making all their cars look the same, just swap out a different rear end or squash the roof down a little. Even if I had $40,000, I doubt I'd spend it on Mr. Generic.

For me, this car is perfect. My regular driving, would cost me zero gas (round trip to work and back is 27 KM)as I would never run the charge down enough to use the gas and my electricity is hydro powered so no fossil fuels at all! I agree that the price is a little on the hefty side!

Mr yogurt,
Gas is going to be $10 per Gallon very soon and no one will have the money to buy this car, so my 1995 civic which I paid $1350 for gets 48 mpg will do just fine for me. Too little too late GM

too little too late is right. death to gm.

Even if we spend a little more this vehicle it is still the start that is needed. One of the points that people most often forget is that the less oil we buy from the Middle East the less we have to spend on the military to be over there and on foreign aid to prop up the governments such as Suadi Arabia. Imagine if we were no longer involved in the Middle East, they would not give two $h!t$ about us and leave us alone.

Regarding the difference between the concept and the reality of the body design: the change came about because the first design was inefficient. The new design is much more aerodynamic, and when considering fuel efficiency of any kind, whether it comes from a battery or gasoline, aerodynamics is the name of the game. If more people were less concerned with how "cool" their vehicles looked than with how well they perform and how much better they are for the environment, we would be much further along than we currently are in developing and manufacturing fuel efficient, eco-friendly vehicles. Consumer demand determines what types of vehicles are developed and manufactured. Also, I agree with many others who have posted comments here - we have to start somewhere concerning weaning ourselves off oil and all new technology is hideously expensive at first and later becomes available to the general public. This is also just one step of many toward the goals of weaning ourselves off of oil, finding cheaper fuel sources for vehicles and creating a cleaner environment for us all. Any who think that every new technology, including this vehicle should be flawless right off the bat or who thinks that because it isn't means it is worthless, is a fool.

For everyone that has mentioned that they do not like the look of the car - remember that manufacturers use platforms for several different cars to cut down on development costs. This helps the buyer pay much less for a car. I do not think the car is ugly, so even if it is slightly similar to another model I can live with it. But, looks are a personal choice and not everyone likes the same thing. I think most people appreciate the fact that this car does not look like a Gremlin or Pacer.

wow another piece of shit car from America made. I have a Ford. and I hate it It breaks down everywhere, so does Chevy. Maybe If germany made it I'd be i9nterested to find out it don't need repairs after 25,000 miles, unlike AMERICAN made cars do

I'm just wondering what the total cost (environmental) of all of the new parts that go into building this car and others. It would probably be less of an environmental impact to purchase a used car than this new one. You would have to figure in all of the raw materials and everyone that had to go to and from work to build and assemble all of the parts.

Will it use an ordinary 115 volt, household three-prong electrical plug to recharge the batteries? If so, then it will be very convenient to recharge. Just plug it in, almost anywhere where there's a household wall outlet.

But if it requires a special plug-in, then finding a place nearby to recharge will be a logistics problem.

Personally, I would love to purchase a vehicle with alternative fuel/technology. Problem is I can't afford it and at 40k I don't think the average, working class American will be able to either. Never mind people at or below the poverty level(which is actually pretty high). The majority of the people driving 10-20 year old cars, the most uneconomical, pollution producing vehicles there are. Until something is done to put alternate fuel/technology vehicles in the hands of the poor and working class, the impact of the people who can afford these things will be negligable.

Come on people!!
Its a start??!!!
54% of our Electricy comes from coal!!
Nuclear Power is not an option!

The batteries on this cars? are they toxic? how will they be dispossed? How much will it cost to dispose? etc....

Finally google: Who Killed the Electric Car
or go to youtube. Very interesting and will open up your eyes!!!

I was born and raised in Detroit, and I am happy to see that the automotive industry is finally trying to get ahead in the new energy race. I don't know if anyone else here is from Detroit but it is a dying city. If the car companies could get up on this new technology maybe it would help that dirty city come back to life...

Google - "Who Killed the Electric Car?" It was General Motors. This will open your eyes if your not scared to be educated on what is really going on in the USA.

Power it from any source, Natural gas, coal wind, hydro and yes NUCLEAR.
We have new nuclear power plants coming on line every year. Yes we do. We love our military and the Navy submarines and aircraft carriers are nuclear powered.
Also if you drive less than 40 miles its not free... You must pay for gas or pay for electricity to charge the batteries.
I'm for it my lease will be over when this comes out and I'll get one.

What I wanna know is once you pass the 40 mile mark, how many miles will you get to the gallon on this car? It has to be heavy with all that battery weight. If it will get 35mph or above you can bet I'm goin to buy one.

For those of you who hate the looks of this car, would you rather have this car to get you where you needed to go, or have no car and have to walk?
In 20 years, the world will run out of oil....that's a fact. Right now, the Middle East has gone past it's peak output capacity and is on the downside of it. That means that their oil fields are running out and there are no more large oil reserves in the world. There are a few scattered small oil reserves, but they pale in comparison to the Middle East. Once the world runs out of oil, the world's population will decrease. Right now with oil, the world can sustain it's present population, but without oil, the world can only support roughly 1.5 billion people.
The world needs to find renewable forms of energy to sustain it, and if we don't do it now, it'll be too late. Get the documentary "A Crude Awakening" and educate yourself.
This car is a start in that direction, and when we run out of oil, $40,000 for a car will seem cheap. Hybrid cars are the interim step, but they are not the solution. We need cars that use no petroleum products at all, but we are far from that technology right now. These cars will give us more time to develop that technology.

This is a great second step for auto manufacturers trying to go green. Unfortunately, they've been planning this for well over 10 years when it was it had already been done by college students and amateurs alike. Regarding that; If these manufacturers care about the ecosystem so much why haven't they not make a hydrogen powered car available first? Its way cheaper and done right can run on any water, salt or otherwise.

$40k, WTF - The average working man can't afford that much for a vehicle regardless of how much it saves on fuel costs or how much the Government gives in tax breaks. I have other bills to pay and a family to feed. In this economy, the Big Detriot 3 need to build a reliable, long lasting vehicle for the common man not a flashy toy.

I hope this car isnt like the other electric car GM made in the 90,s Please get in the game before there isnt a market for your company.

to the one asking where the extra electricity is going to come from. why not take it an extra step put solar panels on your haouse get ride of your monthly electric bill and charge the car for free and clean as well.