Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Chevy Volt vs ?

So, the pretty young girl in the Chevy Volt commercial says she only buys gas about once per month, and if you buy a volt you can "save a crap load of money."

Really?

Let's overlook the many shortcomings of the Volt that have made it the worst selling car in history, and just concentrate on whether it can save you a crap load.

Many high mileage cars like the Hyundai or even the VW cost as little as $16,000. The Volt costs around $40,000 (with the subsidy).

The average driver burns through at least 10-20 gallons a week.

Assuming the volt uses NO gas at all, ever, at $4 a gallon the Volt "saves" you $40-$80 each week. At that rate it would take 300-600 weeks to save you enough to make up for the extra $24,000 the car cost (not counting interest if you got a car loan). For those not good at math, that's 6-12 years, just to break even. But the average person trades in their vehicle every 3-5 years. That means the Volt NEVER pays for itself, and certainly does not save you a "crap load of money." In fact, it COSTS you a crap load of money.

And that is if it NEVER burns gas. But, since it only gets about 26 miles to a 12 hour charge, chances are pretty good you would be burning a fair amount of gas. It is highly unlikely the Volt will pay for the extra money it costs even if you kept it for 20 years.

Gee --- maybe that is why it is the worst selling vehicle in history.

Only goes to show what can be expected when the government decides to pick winners and losers, and gambles taxpayer money on pie-in-the-sky pipe dreams.

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