From a cost standpoint, the 2006 Prius and 2012 Volt are both fully loaded and the Volt is more expensive by about $7K. At 260mpg the Volt is only saving me $1K/yr in fuel, so I’ve got a 7-year breakeven on TCO.

But I was sort of ready to step up to a much nicer ride anyway. Even if the Volt never broke even for me, it’s worth whatever extra: to buy American, to invest in USA’s world-leading car tech, and to enjoy a much better drive.

Maybe you should get some real information before you bash the Volt.

1. Comparing Prius to the Volt is like comparing a Potato to a Tomato.
2. Pirus is slower and have worse driving dynamic than the Volt.
3. Prius is selling well with over 4 different body styles and over 10 years of estabilshed brand name.
4. Volt sold better in 2011 and 2012 than Prius “did” in its first two model years (Prius had better tax credits and less political baggage).

5. If you really want to compare to the Volt, then Prius Plug in is a better comparison. Volt outsold the Prius Plugin by a factor of 2.

6. Volt is really an EV with range extension capability. In the last 800 miles, I used ZERO gallon of gas. My Volt only has a little over 1,000 miles and I have only used 1.9 gallon of gas in total.

7. Volt outsold 80% of the all the hybrid models out there.

Prius is about half the price of the Volt.
Prius is slow and driving experience is terrible.

Maybe you should get yourself informed and compare the Volt to the Prius Plug-in. The Volt has outsold the Prius Plug-in (more an apple to apple comparison) by a factor of two.

Also, the Prius is an established brand. The Volt has sold more in its first year and second year than Prius did in its first and second model year while its price point is much higher.

Also, Volt is an EV with extended range where the Prius is NOT. I only used 1.9 gallon of gas in the last 1,000 miles. See if any Prius can do that.

Wanna compare apples to oranges? Then you should know that the Prius has as of April 2012 sold over 4,000,000 units. In the U.S. the Prius sells about 150,000 units a year or about $3.75 billion a year. The Volt is NO WHERE near either number. Never will be. Let me know when you want to compare apples to apples.

CA HOV sticker came after Feb. That is why the sales have been steady since the CA HOV stickers. May saw a dip b/c the severe shortage of CA HOV eligible Volt in California. Since GM shut down the plant, many buyers had to wait for their Volt for couple months.

I waited 2 months for mine. SF Bay Area Chevy dealer has 8 day supplies of Chevy Volt.

Fortunately its not even an issue. Volt is on pace to sell ~20k cars per year while absolutely killing its direct competitors, the PiPrius and the Leaf which really are on the bubble. Winning that competition is a huge bonus, because its a simple fact that fuel efficiency is at or near the top of consumer concerns.

Volt’s success is positioning GM as being the tech leader amongst automakers, which provides even more halo value for GM, over and above what is gained from the car just existing.

Another benefit is market access. Volt is most popular in California, which is a huge market that GM has nearly lost over the decades. GM market share in California is only ~9%, which is far below its national average, and its been stuck there precisely because of the green cred of Toyota and Honda.

Chevy Cruz is outselling Volt in California by less than 2-1 despite costing half as much. And Volt owners LOVE their cars, which is providing real word of mouth buzz for GM that will resonate for years in California. Bringing GM marketshare in California up to just the national average would add more than a point to national market share, which would justify Volt all by itself.

And finally, your analysis completely ignores the fact that U.S. sales are only a portion of the Volt Market. Volt/Ampera is selling much better in Europe already, and there are still plenty of market opportunities across the rest of the globe.