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> large automakers aren’t even trying Despite the Bolt being MT car of the year in 2017, I found it very hard to get a test drive. Some local Chevy dealers pre

> large automakers aren’t even trying Despite the Bolt being MT car of the year in 2017, I found it very hard to get a test drive. Some local Chevy dealers pretended not to know about it, which is ludicrous: their business, and maybe their only value as middleman, is to know every vehicle in the catalog forward and backward and then to leap to get me what I ask for. When I pointed out they were sitting on MTCOY the response was: don't believe everything you read. Really? Finally, after about 6 months of trying, I finally got a test drive in January, and the salesman was knowlegeable and was ready to sell one from a local inventory pool. His observation was, while there are still some lifetime unknowns (8 yr/100 kmi warranty on the battery) it probably wouldn't ever need as much maint as an ICE car. And that might be part of the dealers' problem: the service side of the business is going to take a hit in the long term. In the short term, the ICE assembly lines will need retooling, after giant investments in 100 yo methods.

maxxxxx 9y ago
The service part of is a good observation. As far a I know dealers make a lot of their money from service and they will certainly be unhappy to lose that income. A while ago someone posted the maintenance schedule of their electric car and it was almost laughably short. Not much money to make there for the dealers.
- gcb0 9y ago
  saying the EV requires less service when all data you have is a couple years of very low production runs, sold mostly at markets where the car will be a 2nd or 3rd car... is a little far fetched.
  - maxxxxx 9y ago
    I was talking about the manufacturer recommended maintenance schedule which is much something than the one for a gas car.
brightball 9y ago
I had the same experience with first Volt I leased. I knew more about the car than the salespeople and they kept trying to sell me something different. Even vehicles that were a lot cheaper. They were going out of their way to not sell/lease that car I walked in there to get. That 3 year lease was great and now I own one outright that I bought used with 15,000 miles on it in perfect condition after 1 year...for about $15k. The car is fantastic and while I’m sure the Tesla is nicer, the price point is too good. Car dealers and even used car dealers seem to hate them for some reason. Maintenance has been easy and sport mode may or may not have resulted in a couple of speeding tickets.
jarjoura 9y ago
It might not be accurate to accuse GM dealerships of not wanting to sell Bolts, and don't forget that it's a specialty, low-production vehicle, either way you slice it. Specialty cars are usually handled by one person in a dealership, or only at a bigger dealership in a region. Since everyone else is still motivated to sell cars for their own personal commission, they get greedy and try to convince you they know what's best for you since the specialty salesperson is much more likely getting the sale. You'll experience the same run-around for custom BTO cars and low production halo models.
- WorldMaker 9y ago
  The argument here is that the Bolt shouldn't be a specialty, low-production vehicle. It has won major car awards, and priced right in a market sweet spot. Dealerships should have them front-and-center and should be talking up how awesome they are. It might not be a "conspiracy" that sales people aren't hyping what is likely still a low margin, hard to sell car, but they should at least know what it is if people ask.
Spooky23 9y ago
The problem is more about customers and their habits. Cars are more expensive and people make less money. The business model for selling new cars is about leases and long loans — most new car loans are 60 months or longer. The increased capital cost of an EV is a barrier for the people selling the car, as consumers give zero shits about TCO. There are also many many segments where EV are a bad idea. People who rent, people who live in cold places, people who travel for road trips. It’s a complex sale, and the people can do the math to figure out the TCO can also figure out that a Honda Accord has a lower TCO with less risk. Even the Tesla risk factor is high — the car may last 10 years, but the company has a significant chance of being gone.
- imglorp 9y ago
  Of course, there's a specific use case for the EV. The same dealer also had $76,000 Corvettes on the floor: like the EV they're maybe costing more and offer less utility. The Bolt cost around $37k--maybe 30 while the incentive lasts--and seats four plus cargo in the hatchback so it's maybe bigger than an Accord for a similar price.
ZeroGravitas 9y ago
This Elon Musk quote in one of the linked blogs is insightful: "But the CARB credits are only effective at a production rate of about 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles a year. So that’s why you’ll see, mark my words, it’s not going to be any higher than that for the Chevy Bolt. That’s on order of 25,000 units a year…" Actual Total Bolt sales for 2017 … 23,297.

maxxxxx 9y ago

The service part of is a good observation. As far a I know dealers make a lot of their money from service and they will certainly be unhappy to lose that income. A while ago someone posted the maintenance schedule of their electric car and it was almost laughably short. Not much money to make there for the dealers.

gcb0 9y ago
saying the EV requires less service when all data you have is a couple years of very low production runs, sold mostly at markets where the car will be a 2nd or 3rd car... is a little far fetched.
- maxxxxx 9y ago
  I was talking about the manufacturer recommended maintenance schedule which is much something than the one for a gas car.

brightball 9y ago

I had the same experience with first Volt I leased. I knew more about the car than the salespeople and they kept trying to sell me something different. Even vehicles that were a lot cheaper. They were going out of their way to not sell/lease that car I walked in there to get. That 3 year lease was great and now I own one outright that I bought used with 15,000 miles on it in perfect condition after 1 year...for about $15k. The car is fantastic and while I’m sure the Tesla is nicer, the price point is too good. Car dealers and even used car dealers seem to hate them for some reason. Maintenance has been easy and sport mode may or may not have resulted in a couple of speeding tickets.

jarjoura 9y ago

It might not be accurate to accuse GM dealerships of not wanting to sell Bolts, and don't forget that it's a specialty, low-production vehicle, either way you slice it. Specialty cars are usually handled by one person in a dealership, or only at a bigger dealership in a region. Since everyone else is still motivated to sell cars for their own personal commission, they get greedy and try to convince you they know what's best for you since the specialty salesperson is much more likely getting the sale. You'll experience the same run-around for custom BTO cars and low production halo models.

WorldMaker 9y ago
The argument here is that the Bolt shouldn't be a specialty, low-production vehicle. It has won major car awards, and priced right in a market sweet spot. Dealerships should have them front-and-center and should be talking up how awesome they are. It might not be a "conspiracy" that sales people aren't hyping what is likely still a low margin, hard to sell car, but they should at least know what it is if people ask.

Spooky23 9y ago

The problem is more about customers and their habits. Cars are more expensive and people make less money. The business model for selling new cars is about leases and long loans — most new car loans are 60 months or longer. The increased capital cost of an EV is a barrier for the people selling the car, as consumers give zero shits about TCO. There are also many many segments where EV are a bad idea. People who rent, people who live in cold places, people who travel for road trips. It’s a complex sale, and the people can do the math to figure out the TCO can also figure out that a Honda Accord has a lower TCO with less risk. Even the Tesla risk factor is high — the car may last 10 years, but the company has a significant chance of being gone.

imglorp 9y ago
Of course, there's a specific use case for the EV. The same dealer also had $76,000 Corvettes on the floor: like the EV they're maybe costing more and offer less utility. The Bolt cost around $37k--maybe 30 while the incentive lasts--and seats four plus cargo in the hatchback so it's maybe bigger than an Accord for a similar price.

ZeroGravitas 9y ago

This Elon Musk quote in one of the linked blogs is insightful: "But the CARB credits are only effective at a production rate of about 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles a year. So that’s why you’ll see, mark my words, it’s not going to be any higher than that for the Chevy Bolt. That’s on order of 25,000 units a year…" Actual Total Bolt sales for 2017 … 23,297.