Consumer Reports Lashes Out And Declares Volt Doesn't Make Sense

This is why no one on a car blog can ever agree with CR. The magazine looks at cars as appliances, based on practicality and user-friendliness. But the rest of us see cars as their passion beyond transportation. Can you imagine the score a Porsche GT3 would get?

Ok, ill bite.

Please show me how to appreciate the passion in the Volt because try as i might, i have not been able to spot where it is hiding.

yeah!!! I mean who want practical and user friendly in a car?!?!?!! And who buys a car as reliable transportation?!?!?! Crazy talk! I say down with CR!!!!

So, Toyota Rep...excuse me, Consumer Reports, claims the Volt doesn't make sense, eh?

I guess they say the same things about cars like, oh, the Pagani Zonda, Ferrari 458 Italia etc.

There's a market for everything out there. Consumer Reports really needs to STFU about cars. If I want to know which toaster or washing machine to buy I'll go to Consumer Reports. Cars? I've got other, BETTER and LESS BIASED sources. Period.

You do not make sense! The Zonda, or any other supercar/exotic, does not claim to fuel efficient, comfortable, affordable or practical. They only claim to be expensive and relatively fast. GM on the other hand, claims to be efficient, practical, relatively affordable while being ecological friendly.

All Consumer Reports is saying that you can find other vehicles that are more efficient at being hybrids, gas powered and/or electric powered vehicles for less.

The reviewer also drove it through Connecticut in horrid winter temps that brought down the battery life range to the upper 20s. To be honest it almost seemed as if he were nitpicking. He complained the 5 hrs it took to charge it was annoying. I mean what did he think he getting himself into when he took on the review? I see the Volt as a hybrid that has the most extended, no driving limits, pure electric range of any other hybrid on the road. If you look at it from that standpoint the car does just fine on those principles. GM really shouldn't have pushed the EV point of view as much as it did IMO.

This coming from a magazine the picked the best SUV as the Toyota Highlander and the worst SUV the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited.

C/R doesn't even know what an SUV is. The should stick to toasters.

if the volt was sold at 25-30k, it would be a bestseller. no one wants to pay 50k for a compact car, plugin or not.

I let my subscription to Automobile Magazine lapse when they declared the Volt their 2011 car of the year at a time when it wasn't even available to the public. I applaud Consumer Reports for giving a fresh perspective on the Volt, and suspect that the fools running Automobile Magazine will continue taking further into irrelevance.

I agree with you whole-heartily!

GM could have done so much better with this vehicle. They missed on three points(IMO):

1. Styling is bland at best. They should have tried to stay truer to the concept vehicle.

2. The gas engine should have no direct connection to wheels. The gas engine should ONLY turn a generator to power the batteries.

3. No one in their right mind is going to pay $40,000 for this thing, let alone the $70,000 some dealers are apparently charging.

I'm not particular to American made cars, but this is most likely a start of something good. I think other manufacturers will take not and improve on the volts design. If you don't frive far to work, you will hardly ever use the gasoline engine. My only concern would be that old gas would need some kind of stabilizer from being in the tank so long from a driver that only commutes to work. I think this is a good car though.

I have an issue with the exterior design. Is it just me, or do the front and rear ends just not connect well at all? Its messed up.

The car business has evolved dramatically and reviews should be done by qualified or dedicated reviewers. Consumer Reports should really stick to appliances where comparisons are much black and white. If CR insists on dabbling into car reviews, they should be limited to cars with 3.5 liter V6 engines and below or something like that. The reports they come out with should be address to the target market, the product is intended to be sold to.

I can't help but see the Subaru SVX in the design. What an inspiration.

I think GM has done a great job with the Volt and the vehicle is a good starting point. I am though looking forward to the many improvements that will be coming.
I traded in my Infiniti (the Volt, after rebate was cheaper), and am also saving $200 per month in gas (after paying for electricity) plus expected reduced maintenance (2 years before the first oil change!!).