One of the best supporters of EVs asked a question…

Back in 2013, I travelled to the Chicago Auto Show, to check out the new plug-in vehicles and to prove Rush Limbaugh wrong, about his claim that a Volt would only go about 40 miles before having to stop and recharge overnight. I sent out a plea for someone, anyone, along my route from Texas to Chicago, to give me a place to sleep, to reduce the cost of my trip. It was then I met Dr. G. Michael Murphy of St. Louis. He has an optometry practice there. Mike and I share a love of EVs, Volts, fine tequila and very hot hot sauce (Mike’s homemade hot sauce will peel the roof off your mouth, but if you can handle it, it is WONDERFUL!). We hit it off and we have been friends, ever since.

Mike has come to the DFW area a couple times, for his practice, and he always lets me know in advance, so we can hang out together. People in the Volt world know Mike from the Facebook groups he started and/or is heavily involved in, such as: “Chevy Volt Owners,” “Chevy Volt 2.0,” “Chevy Volt Buy-Sell,” “Chevy Bolt Interest” and the private group “Chevy Bolt EV Owners.”

This morning, I was surfing Facebook and saw Mike had mentioned me. He was responding to the statement, “And that is why Chevy dealers won’t want to sell them,” about an article showing there are almost zero maintenance costs with EVs. Here’s Mike’s take on that comment:

“FWIW, Chevy dealers who do move plugins realize that electric vehicles are an important part of their future. They also know that they are only a small portion of their sales and an even smaller portion of their service department load EVEN in the highest volume electric sales dealerships. Any dealership who takes a different tack is doomed to fall along the wayside.
Buzz Smith, correct me if I’m wrong.“

There are many reasons that dealerships are shying away from plug-in vehicle sales and I’ve written extensively on that subject.

My response was probably too long for a Facebook reply, as I can be quite verbose, so I’ve included it here:

“I used to agree. However, with the newly announced head of the EPA and the leaked plans of the new administration’s friend (and head of the “American Energy Alliance“) Thomas Pyle has, with regard to the EPA and the environment, I am deeply concerned. On theNatGeo series, “The Years of Living Dangerously,” a Nissan salesperson in Georgia, which had been the #1 EV selling dealership IN THE WORLD, explained what happened, when the state of Georgia ended its EV rebate. In the last month of rebate, they sold 274 Leafs. The next month, they sold 2.

It’s a show we should ALL watch (and Chelsea Sexton is in it, too!).

Dealerships are dropping out. I have received calls from Volt buyers, all over Texas, whose local dealers don’t sell or service Volt. Undaunted, they want to drive hundreds of miles to get a Volt (and to support) Classic Chevrolet and me. I have sold Volts to clients residing in Midland (322 miles away), Houston (262 miles away), San Angelo (265 miles away), Haughton, Louisiana (227 miles away) and, believe it or not, am working on a Volt deal for a client in Corpus Christie (425 miles away!). In the DFW area, several dealerships transferred their Volt allocation because they’ve made the decision to not sell them, and the DFW area is the top EV market in the state! I’ve been told we received “close to 40” Volt order allocations. That’s why I blogged this. If all that matters to the customer is discounts/rebates/tax credit/monthly payment, other dealers will sell below cost, until their inventory is depleted, killing the dealerships and salespeople trying to support EVs. Even I have to eat, you know!