So word comes out that Chevy's new 'Green' car, the Chevy Volt is going to sell for the insane amount of $41,000. Are they crazy?
The long-anticipated Chevrolet Volt, General Motors' electric car, will cost $41,000, the company announced Tuesday, leaving consumers to decide whether its environmental appeal is worth a price far above that of similarly sized conventional autos.Electric-car technology has been around for years, but the high cost to make the vehicles has prevented automakers from producing them for the mass market. The price announcements for the Volt and its electric rival, the Nissan Leaf, have been highly anticipated as a result. Nissan, the only other major manufacturer expected to bring such a vehicle to market this year, said the Leaf will cost $32,780.GM and Nissan are relying on a $7,500 federal tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles to offset some of the added cost, and they're hoping that the allure of their novel power source will make up the rest. - Washington Post
First, forget the tax credit because you need to pay for the whole car, and I suspect that many people once they get the credit, will use it to either pay other bills, such as higher interest rate credit card, or simply blow the money on some other personal 'reward.'
A look at a car loan calculator gives an $800 monthly payment for a 5 year loan. This is on top of insurance and other costs. For most all Americans, this is an unreasonable monthly expense for a car to the point of being irresponsible.
Given the amount of debt that many Americans are carrying, this car does not make sense given the investment required. Hell, I wonder when it would make sense given that there are many nice alternatives as half the price. And since many families are 2+ car families, this choice is a great way to load up on crushing debt.And people wonder why GM was in financial trouble. This car is a good example why. buying this car will just give you a share of GM's troubles.
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