Chevrolet Bolt & Bolt EUV

Looks like the "Blurt" is the car from GM that was referenced in a survey that some of us took last year about BEV and PHEV cars (then) on the horizon. The range then was given as 200 miles. Of course, it also mentioned a 200 mile BEV from Toyota, IIRC...

Can we agree that GM now has a lead on Tesla with an affordable 200 mile EV at least from a schedule perspective?

LTLFTcomposite said:

Can we agree that GM now has a lead on Tesla with an affordable 200 mile EV at least from a schedule perspective?

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Yes, they are ahead in vaporware.

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/l" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... story.html


Quote:

The all-electric Bolt boasts a groundbreaking combination of low price and long driving range. It will sell in the low $30,000s, after government incentives, and travel up to 200 miles on a battery charge, Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president for global product development, said in an interview with The Times.

Nubo said:

LTLFTcomposite said:

Can we agree that GM now has a lead on Tesla with an affordable 200 mile EV at least from a schedule perspective?

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Yes, they are ahead in vaporware.

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Yes in the vaporware race since all 200 mile affordable EVs are ahead in vaporware.

Valdemar said:

Hopefully it'll have a Chademo port option

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In a perfect world, yes. However GM's other EV, the Spark, uses the SAE Combo port. This one will likely be the same.

It's not vaporware, it's an "automotive unicorn" - get with the lingo.

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-0113-chevrolet-volt-bolt-20150112-story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.chevrolet.com/culture/article/bolt-ev-concept-car.html?seo=goo_|_GM+Chevy+Awareness_|_GMNA|US|CHV|GOOG|S|BP|A|BMM|AWR|BEV|SCO|%28null%29|%28null%29|GG-AWR-BOLT-SN-BP-BMM_|_Bolt+Branded+BMM_|_%2Bchevy%20%2Bbolt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

aarond12 said:

Valdemar said:

Hopefully it'll have a Chademo port option

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In a perfect world, yes. However GM's other EV, the Spark, uses the SAE Combo port. This one will likely be the same.

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Yeah, I was just trying to add a healthy doze of sarcasm to the discussion.

LTLFTcomposite said:

http://www.chevrolet.com/culture/article/bolt-ev-concept-car.html?seo=goo_|_GM+Chevy+Awareness_|_GMNA|US|CHV|GOOG|S|BP|A|BMM|AWR|BEV|SCO|%28null%29|%28null%29|GG-AWR-BOLT-SN-BP-BMM_|_Bolt+Branded+BMM_|_%2Bchevy%20%2Bbolt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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I like it! I even like that color (you may remember that I originally wanted the LEAF to come in a color like that too - 370Z Solar Orange).

Looks too small for me. The electric econobox is over rated. Hopefully Tesla will get the size right.
$30,000 is after federal incentives.

smkettner said:

Looks too small for me. The electric econobox is over rated. Hopefully Tesla will get the size right.
$30,000 is after federal incentives.

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Is there any info or firsthand reports on the actual size of the car? From the proportion of the rear doors this looks like it is not all that small.

LTLFTcomposite said:

Is there any info or firsthand reports on the actual size of the car? From the proportion of the rear doors this looks like it is not all that small.

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Bad angle, but here is Ms. Barra standing by it and a picture with a dude behind the wheel. Maybe just a bit smaller than the LEAF. MBZ B-class size?

smkettner said:

...$30,000 is after federal incentives.

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WetEV said:

..."It will sell in the low $30,000s, after government incentives"...

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So, about $40k?

^^ Ms Barra is standing in front of a different car in that pic. Although apparently orange is the "in" color this year.

LTLFTcomposite said:

^^ Ms Barra is standing in front of a different car in that pic. Although apparently orange is the "in" color this year.

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Ah, yes. I see that now. I didn't think they would have two cars the same color, I guess. :lol:

Now Nissan will most certainly be required to have a 160-200 mile range option for LEAF 2.0. And I hope it's just that, an option. Unlike the views many of you have expressed, my 84 mile LEAF works for 95% of my driving. About once every 5 weeks I need to drive about 180 miles round trip, so if the difference in price between a 100-mile EV and a 200 mile EV is $4,000+ as I suspect it will be, I would be way money ahead to just use our gas car for those trips over 100 miles.

Low 30's after federal rebates, so $40k really? Got it. I am still assuming the Model 3's "mid-30's" assumes Federal incentives, so low 40's? Sounds like a pretty small advantage in the vapor wars. 200 mile range will need to be clarified, as I doubt that is EPA miles, just as the 400 km Leaf 2 comments are likely going to translate closer to 150 EPA miles than 250 vapor miles.

The pictures for the concept car are underwhelming, very Spark like, very compact. It does come has smooth wheel covers using clear plastic inserts for lower drag. I have thought about that as a what-if question for the Leaf, and quickly realized it would result in BrakeDust-Gate and leave a lasting bad impression on owners and the public. Curious how they will deal with the inevitable gunk build-up and sun yellowing, or if this is just concept car fantasy that will inevitably get dropped. Black plastic like on the Volt looks to be the better solution IMO.

Mostly I am just happy there is getting to be some serious competition in EV land. Crappy battery warranties and 80 mile range limitations won't stick around for very long as soon as there are a half dozen viable nation wide options (i.e. not just compliance cars). GM has never made my short list before, probably never will.

aarond12 said:

Valdemar said:

Hopefully it'll have a Chademo port option

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In a perfect world, yes. However GM's other EV, the Spark, uses the SAE Combo port. This one will likely be the same.

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Yeah, GM won't touch Chademo. FWIW, here in SoCal the number of SAE DCQCs is growing fast. Most of the NRG sites have two pads.. one Nissan Chademo and the other seems to mostly be ABB dual Chademo/SAE (with a few BTC Power units). I talked to an installer at a Ralphs NRG site in San Pedro a few days ago setting up the site for an ABB unit. So it seems within a few months most of these sites will have 2 Chademo connectors and one SAE.
edit: Presumably if the number of SAE capable cars ever catches up with Chademo then the Nissan Chademo only chargers will be swapped out with a 2nd combo Chademo/SAE unit.

Is it just me or does the new Volt look a lot cooler than the Bolt?
Although visibility from the inside is probably amazing...

Also they say it will support DCQC (presumably SAE) but that looks like plain old J1772...?

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/12/chevy-bolt-ev-concept/?ncid=rss_truncated" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Instead of getting a straightforward compact car like the Nissan Leaf, your 30-something grand should get you a larger, more sophisticated ride like the Bolt or Tesla's Model 3.

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This guys seems to think the car is a step up size-wise from the LEAF.