Automotive

First Chevy Volt up for auction

The first commercially-available Chevrolet Volt, which is being auctioned off for charity (Photo: GM)
The first commercially-available Chevrolet Volt, which is being auctioned off for charity (Photo: GM)

After a build-up that's lasted for almost four years, you now finally have the chance to buy the first-ever Chevrolet Volt “extended range electric vehicle” available for retail sale. The catch: General Motors has decided to auction the car off to the highest bidder. Proceeds will go to the Detroit Public Schools Foundation, to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics initiatives. Online bidding started at US$50,000, and at the time of publication is already up to $180,000. The car’s MSRP is $41,000.

The Volt up for auction has a Viridian Joule (let’s just call it silver) exterior, Light Neutral interior with dark accents, Premium Trim Package, Rear Camera and Park Assist Package, and polished wheels. It also comes with its own 240V home charging unit, although GM is making 4,400 of these available – free of charge – to some of the first Volt-buyers.

Bids are being accepted until 6:00pm on Dec. 14th, with the winning bid being announced on the 16th. The winner will receive their car within the month. The Volt is expected to become available in select U.S. markets around the same time, with a wide release not happening for about another year.

The auction is open to U.S. residents only.

UPDATE: The vehicle, bearing the vehicle identification number BU10002, was sold for $225,000 through an online auction that closed Dec. 14. The new owner – Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group

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3 comments
Michael Mantion
Its a good investment. In 50 years someone will pay a lot of money for the first car that killed Chevy.. I\'ve said it before and I\'ll keep saying it, friends don\'t let friends buy a volt. Its a gas car with heavy and expensive battery that will need to be heated in the winter and replaced in 3 years.
A diesel bug gets almost twice the fuel economy, will last 10 times as long, cost less and has better performance.
Good by Chevy, in 2 years Obama won\'t be there to bail you out.
Matt Rings
@Michael. You raise a valid concern, but only time will tell if the Volt will take off or not. It\'s tough when the first ones will cost more than most might be willing to afford for a four-door sedan.

Early adopters will latch on to this car, but it will take some time for it to reach critical mass to keep profitable.

With a mileage rating in the 60-90mpg range (mixed gas/battery vs. battery), that is a pretty high rating vs. my current 24mpg Lexus. For me, I\'d use almost no gasoline during the week, and maybe use a couple gallons running around town on the weekends, or on the occasional cross-country trip a couple times a year. That\'d be pretty cool. And I\'m willing to pay a bit for cool. (I do already for other \"techie\" cutting-edge gear, why not for a high-tech car?)

Cheers,
Doc Rings
Hilary Albutt
@Micheal sorry mate you sound like such a sore loser. As master journeyman mechanic with 20 years experience and knowing that the fossil fuels are whittling down to where only very expensive gulf oil /gas fracking and cola is left, car companies have no choice. The chosen medium of petrolium is getting scarce, far more scarce than you have been told.
I was told 15 years ago that there was only 20 years worth of oil left on the planet by someone who used to work at Shell.
Battery tech is now getting the investment it should have had and huge strides are being made.
So yes the batteries would only last four years, the cars will plug in to the network and the excess they produce in households that have solar panel arrays will be pushed back in to the grid and at night those batteries will be used to store excess electricity produced.
This car is worth far more than you know. I dont even live in the USA and I wish we could get these in Africa.
So Sour grapes, wake up and realise things are a changing. again.