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As soon GM announced the price of the new Chevy Volt at $41,000, I could here skeptics scoff and say, "Are you kidding me? Who will pay that for an electric car?"
Personally, I think there are enough early adopters and the Volts performance will be strong enough to make sure the electric car sells (or leases) well, at least initially.
What's more intriguing is the marketing approach GM is taking with the Volt.
Essentially, it will come down to unplugging the "electric" aspect of the Volt. GM believes pushing the Volt as a car that is not limited to how far you can drive it on a full charge (40 miles) will make people more comfortable buying it. Basically, GM is trying to remove the biggest obstacle that could stop someone from committing to an electric car: range anxiety.
Smart move. But will it work?
As someone who has driven the Volt, and the all-electric Nissan LEAF, I'm convinced that the driving performance of both will win over skeptics. They both are cars you could see yourself driving day in, day out.
So what's the problem? The problem is America has spent most of the last 100 years driving cars powered by cheap gas. More importantly, we've always loved the idea that at the drop of a hat if we want to take a road trip, we can do it.
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