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For many people this won't have the mythos or upstart appeal of the upcoming Tesla Model 3-- and that's a shame, cause they did a real good job on it. Yet I do

by BBTN6 10y ago

For many people this won't have the mythos or upstart appeal of the upcoming Tesla Model 3-- and that's a shame, cause they did a real good job on it. Yet I do believe the 200+ mile range and price will get enough people in one and really start to shift the EV from being an early adopter accessory to a viable everyday car. Good on ya, GM.

arviewer 10y ago
That's 375 km for the rest of the world. Anyway, how quick does it charge, either to full or 50 or 80%?
- Llevel 10y ago
  40km per hour of charge time, 9 hours for a full charge.[1] It doesn't look like it has the ability to use superchargers, or charge quickly in any way. [1] http://www.chevrolet.ca/bolt-ev-electric-vehicle.html http://www.chevrolet.ca/bolt-ev-electric-vehicle.html edit: I am wrong, the article mentions quick charging, but the official website doesn't.
  - enjo 10y ago
    The article contradicts that: For $750, Bolt buyers can opt for direct-current fast-charging capability via a Combined Charging System (CCS) port. As of September 1, 2016, there were 1061 CCS fast-charging connectors in the United States, versus 2010 Tesla Supercharger hookups. Most CCS stations charge at 50 kilowatts, and Chevrolet claims they can be expected to add 90 miles of range in 30 minutes of charging. Not bad, but that’s roughly half the rate of Tesla’s 120-kW Superchargers, and access to CCS chargers definitely isn’t included in the price of the Bolt.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
herpderpherpder 10y ago
EV are only viable for those who own their own homes. Many electric vehicles have been adequate for my needs, but I continue to drive a car with an internal combustion engine because I can always buy gas. My apartment building has two EV charging stations (always taken) and my work has 9 (always taken). I don't think vehicle technology or execution has been the limiting factor for a while.
- BBTN6 10y ago
  Regardless of the rationality, people have range anxiety. (Cue stat about how majority of drivers go <40mi a day). 200mi+ is the threshold that will make a lot of people feel completely comfortable using an EV day-in and day-out. Charging stations will go up when EV sales go up--this will help.
  - honkhonkpants 10y ago
    "Range anxiety" is a condescending industry term. People are anxious about the range of their EV because the range sucks, not because of some mental barrier.
    - EdHominem 10y ago
      No, actually not. That's the point. People vastly overestimate how far they drive regularly, or even ever. It really is a mental thing.
      - recursive 10y ago
        It's a deal breaker if your car can only go as far as you "regularly" drive if it fails when you drive farther than that.
        EdHominem 10y ago
        No, that's the silly all-or-nothing thinking I'm talking about. What if you only want to go further once a year? What's the cost of a one-time 30m wait to refuel instead of a 5m wait? I think it'd be far less than the benefit of no refueling wait the other 364 days of the year. Also, the cost isn't infinite. If you were, for instance, totally unable to drive the electric car to the ski hill for your vacation you could rent another car, so worst-case you're out like $200 which is far less than you'd save in fuel the rest of the year. Most people simply get stuck on the costs instead of being able to amortize them across the whole period and weigh them against the benefits.
rdtsc 10y ago
Agreed. This looks pretty nice. They did a good job. > $30,000. The liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack stores 60.0 kilowatt-hours of energy (equivalent to about 1.8 gallons of gasoline), enough to earn a 238-mile range Good price too
- yardie 10y ago
  Incredible. Tha's 1.8L/100km for the rest of the world.
avar 10y ago
It's great that it doesn't have upstart appeal. Nobody cares about the latest Subaru at this price point either. EV's need to be boring to succeed. It can't all be Porche-level cars with a price point to match.
Llevel 10y ago
The biggest drawback for me would be the inability to charge quickly. With a Tesla you can take it on a road trip, as long you plan it around hitting supercharging stations. In the bolt, you can go 200 miles, but have to stop for the night to grab a full charge. But if you aren't the type of person to drive more than 4 hours a day, or have an alternative vehicle for longer trips, this could be a great choice.
- enjo 10y ago
  The Bolt supports quick charging at CCS stations tho. It's right in the article.
  - dangrossman 10y ago
    Before anyone says otherwise, there are already more CCS quick charge locations than there are Tesla Supercharger locations, before the Bolt has even gone on sale. The number grows every day. There were zero Superchargers when Tesla started selling its cars. 734 Supercharger stations: https://www.tesla.com/supercharger https://www.tesla.com/supercharger 843 CCS stations: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/locator/stations/widget/results?utf8=%E2%9C%93&location=&fuel=ELEC&private=false&planned=false&owner=all&radius=false&radius_miles=5&ev_levels%5B%5D=none&ev_levels%5B%5D=1&ev_levels%5B%5D=2&ev_levels%5B%5D=dc_fast&ev_connectors%5B%5D=none&ev_connectors%5B%5D=J1772COMBO&ev_networks%5B%5D=none&ev_networks%5B%5D=AeroVironment+Network&ev_networks%5B%5D=Blink+Network&ev_networks%5B%5D=ChargePoint+Network&ev_networks%5B%5D=EV+Connect&ev_networks%5B%5D=eVgo+Network&ev_networks%5B%5D=EVSE+LLC+WebNet&ev_networks%5B%5D=GE+WattStation&ev_networks%5B%5D=Greenlots&ev_networks%5B%5D=OpConnect&ev_networks%5B%5D=SemaCharge+Network&ev_networks%5B%5D=Tesla&ev_networks%5B%5D=all http://www.afdc.energy.gov/locator/stations/widget/results?u... The article is misleading by counting "hookups" (plugs) instead of locations.
    - devicenull 10y ago
      From the article: > As of September 1, 2016, there were 1061 CCS fast-charging connectors in the United States, versus 2010 Tesla Supercharger hookups.
Animats 10y ago
That's fine with GM. If you go to a Chevrolet dealership, they'll usually have a Corvette Stingray on the showroom floor. Most buyers will admire it, then buy the sedan or mini-van. The Bolt is there to be bought, not admired.

by BBTN6 10y ago

arviewer 10y ago

That's 375 km for the rest of the world. Anyway, how quick does it charge, either to full or 50 or 80%?

Llevel 10y ago
40km per hour of charge time, 9 hours for a full charge.[1] It doesn't look like it has the ability to use superchargers, or charge quickly in any way. [1] http://www.chevrolet.ca/bolt-ev-electric-vehicle.html http://www.chevrolet.ca/bolt-ev-electric-vehicle.html edit: I am wrong, the article mentions quick charging, but the official website doesn't.
- enjo 10y ago
  The article contradicts that: For $750, Bolt buyers can opt for direct-current fast-charging capability via a Combined Charging System (CCS) port. As of September 1, 2016, there were 1061 CCS fast-charging connectors in the United States, versus 2010 Tesla Supercharger hookups. Most CCS stations charge at 50 kilowatts, and Chevrolet claims they can be expected to add 90 miles of range in 30 minutes of charging. Not bad, but that’s roughly half the rate of Tesla’s 120-kW Superchargers, and access to CCS chargers definitely isn’t included in the price of the Bolt.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

herpderpherpder 10y ago

EV are only viable for those who own their own homes. Many electric vehicles have been adequate for my needs, but I continue to drive a car with an internal combustion engine because I can always buy gas. My apartment building has two EV charging stations (always taken) and my work has 9 (always taken). I don't think vehicle technology or execution has been the limiting factor for a while.

BBTN6 10y ago
Regardless of the rationality, people have range anxiety. (Cue stat about how majority of drivers go <40mi a day). 200mi+ is the threshold that will make a lot of people feel completely comfortable using an EV day-in and day-out. Charging stations will go up when EV sales go up--this will help.
- honkhonkpants 10y ago
  "Range anxiety" is a condescending industry term. People are anxious about the range of their EV because the range sucks, not because of some mental barrier.
  - EdHominem 10y ago
    No, actually not. That's the point. People vastly overestimate how far they drive regularly, or even ever. It really is a mental thing.
    - recursive 10y ago
      It's a deal breaker if your car can only go as far as you "regularly" drive if it fails when you drive farther than that.
      - EdHominem 10y ago
        No, that's the silly all-or-nothing thinking I'm talking about. What if you only want to go further once a year? What's the cost of a one-time 30m wait to refuel instead of a 5m wait? I think it'd be far less than the benefit of no refueling wait the other 364 days of the year. Also, the cost isn't infinite. If you were, for instance, totally unable to drive the electric car to the ski hill for your vacation you could rent another car, so worst-case you're out like $200 which is far less than you'd save in fuel the rest of the year. Most people simply get stuck on the costs instead of being able to amortize them across the whole period and weigh them against the benefits.

rdtsc 10y ago

Agreed. This looks pretty nice. They did a good job. > $30,000. The liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack stores 60.0 kilowatt-hours of energy (equivalent to about 1.8 gallons of gasoline), enough to earn a 238-mile range Good price too

yardie 10y ago
Incredible. Tha's 1.8L/100km for the rest of the world.

avar 10y ago

It's great that it doesn't have upstart appeal. Nobody cares about the latest Subaru at this price point either. EV's need to be boring to succeed. It can't all be Porche-level cars with a price point to match.

Llevel 10y ago

The biggest drawback for me would be the inability to charge quickly. With a Tesla you can take it on a road trip, as long you plan it around hitting supercharging stations. In the bolt, you can go 200 miles, but have to stop for the night to grab a full charge. But if you aren't the type of person to drive more than 4 hours a day, or have an alternative vehicle for longer trips, this could be a great choice.

enjo 10y ago
The Bolt supports quick charging at CCS stations tho. It's right in the article.
- dangrossman 10y ago
  Before anyone says otherwise, there are already more CCS quick charge locations than there are Tesla Supercharger locations, before the Bolt has even gone on sale. The number grows every day. There were zero Superchargers when Tesla started selling its cars. 734 Supercharger stations: https://www.tesla.com/supercharger https://www.tesla.com/supercharger 843 CCS stations: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/locator/stations/widget/results?utf8=%E2%9C%93&location=&fuel=ELEC&private=false&planned=false&owner=all&radius=false&radius_miles=5&ev_levels%5B%5D=none&ev_levels%5B%5D=1&ev_levels%5B%5D=2&ev_levels%5B%5D=dc_fast&ev_connectors%5B%5D=none&ev_connectors%5B%5D=J1772COMBO&ev_networks%5B%5D=none&ev_networks%5B%5D=AeroVironment+Network&ev_networks%5B%5D=Blink+Network&ev_networks%5B%5D=ChargePoint+Network&ev_networks%5B%5D=EV+Connect&ev_networks%5B%5D=eVgo+Network&ev_networks%5B%5D=EVSE+LLC+WebNet&ev_networks%5B%5D=GE+WattStation&ev_networks%5B%5D=Greenlots&ev_networks%5B%5D=OpConnect&ev_networks%5B%5D=SemaCharge+Network&ev_networks%5B%5D=Tesla&ev_networks%5B%5D=all http://www.afdc.energy.gov/locator/stations/widget/results?u... The article is misleading by counting "hookups" (plugs) instead of locations.
  - devicenull 10y ago
    From the article: > As of September 1, 2016, there were 1061 CCS fast-charging connectors in the United States, versus 2010 Tesla Supercharger hookups.

Animats 10y ago

That's fine with GM. If you go to a Chevrolet dealership, they'll usually have a Corvette Stingray on the showroom floor. Most buyers will admire it, then buy the sedan or mini-van. The Bolt is there to be bought, not admired.