When I read that GM does not release sales numbers on the Volt I got a little curious and did some research and found out that others were also curious. Several investigations led to the conclusion that May sales were somewhere between 400 and 500. Since the Chevy Cruise sold 22,700 during that same month I wondered why sales of the Volt were so low and did some simple calculations.
I have a Chevy Cobalt and I get 30 miles per gallon. A new Cobalt cost about $14,000.
A new Volt gets 60 miles per gallon and cost $32,000 after the $7,500 government rebate. Since I drive 24,000 miles per year I use 800 gallons of gas. The Volt would use only half that much for a savings of 400 gallons per year or 2,000 gallons in five years. Since the Volt cost $18,000 more than my Cobalt the price of gas would have to be $9 per gallon for me to recap my investment. In five years I have driven 120,000 miles and it would be time to purchase new batteries for my Volt since GM only guarantees them for 100,000 miles. New batteries cost $8,000. This does not include the cost of charging up my Volt every night or more likely for my old brain forgetting to charge.
After careful investigation I have come to the conclusion that I am not ready to dump my Cobalt for a Volt.
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