Chevrolet Bolt & Bolt EUV

jlv said:

cwerdna said:

Seems like the CR page's ratings are behind a paywall now. I'm guessing that was the original intent.

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I have access to CR's online subscription content via my public library; you might be able to get it that way, too.

15-30 years ago when CR was my go to resource for researching what to buy. Sadly, I find the current reviews and ratings to be far from useful. Having access to the on-line content only helps to show me I wouldn't be missing much if my library dropped it, because I wouldn't pay for what they now offer. My current print subscription runs through the end of 2021, and I'll likely not renew.

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TBH; I am not so sure of anything concerning CR. Before they were literally the ONLY option for reviews which makes me think they haven't changed, they simply have a lot more competition. As far as their recommendations? I never put a lot of stock in that, mostly relying on their ratings from actual users.

As I've posted many times (in some cases on other forums), I've found CR's reliability ratings and charts to be reasonably accurate based upon personal experience and that of car forums I'm on.

cwerdna said:

As I've posted many times (in some cases on other forums), I've found CR's reliability ratings and charts to be reasonably accurate based upon personal experience and that of car forums I'm on.

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Well, I still think their consumer polls are still the go to source for a relatively unbiased opinion (considering the source) Like any owner feedback, reading a LOT of them is the only way to get a good picture of what you are buying

With CR you need to find the reason behind their ratings, or else you get come to a false conclusion. For example, my 2001 Passat had an ignition coil defect that was fixed with a recall that replaced it. Even after that they marked those model years of the car as "not recommended" because of that problem, even though it was completely fixed and no longer an issue. Looking at their ratings for the car in 2004 would make you think there was still a major problem.

jlv said:

With CR you need to find the reason behind their ratings, or else you get come to a false conclusion. For example, my 2001 Passat had an ignition coil defect that was fixed with a recall that replaced it. Even after that they marked those model years of the car as "not recommended" because of that problem, even though it was completely fixed and no longer an issue. Looking at their ratings for the car in 2004 would make you think there was still a major problem.

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Agreed. One thing to keep in mind; its ALL opinion. Have to have a complete understanding of the circumstances that created the opinion. I have gone against CR a few times but only because their surveys revealed an undeserved harsh rating from users over petty things or even things that were resolved but the consumer was upset that there was a small required action to get that resolution... Too many people want it perfect out of the box basically.

Re: the Bolt recalls, one of the first docs posted on NHTSA at https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2020/RCLRPT-20V701-2513.PDF says

The condition is specific to battery cells produced at LG Chem’s Ochang, Korea plant that are design level N2.1. Manufacturing records were used to identify vehicles built with battery cells of this design level that were produced at this facility.

All 2017-2018 Bolts are affected as well as certain 2019 Bolts with design level N2.1 batteries manufactured at the LG Chem’s Ochang plant.

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And, that design level N2.1 cells weren't used in production after model year 2019.

Also, semi-recently, in several places, the table at https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/data-request-for-2020-bolt-battery-capacity-measurements.36779/#post-570278 has been posted. Seems '19 Bolts may have a bit more capacity than '17 and '18 Bolts.

Also, per https://allev.info/2020/12/chevy-bolt-battery-recall-selective-replacements/, GM is collecting a selective set of battery packs for engineering analysis.

https://insideevs.com/news/464430/us-chevrolet-bolt-ev-sales-q4-2020/

In the full year 2020, Bolt EV sales also improved, by over 26% to 20,754 (compared to 16,418 in 2019), which is not that far from 23,297 in the record year of 2017. Really, not bad for a challenging year.

Since in 2020, the Chevrolet brand noted 1,739,792 sales (down 11.2% year-over-year), Bolt EV share is 1.2%.

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In comparison, https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/releases/release-beb6420a9f2916baf13a4ed150000089-nissan-group-reports-fourth-quarter-2020-and-2020-calendar-year-us-sales for US Leafs sales show a total for 2020 of 9,564 vs. 12,365 in 2019.

I wonder how much of this is due to slow sales or if Nissan is intentionally limiting supplies/hindering sales in order have more Ariya's eligible for the full $7500 Federal tax credit and more eligible for the reduced amounts...

Interesting Bolt inventory situation in BC.

Around 300 new 2020’s for sale. Still 9 2019’s. Weird.

cwerdna said:

https://insideevs.com/news/464430/us-chevrolet-bolt-ev-sales-q4-2020/

In the full year 2020, Bolt EV sales also improved, by over 26% to 20,754 (compared to 16,418 in 2019), which is not that far from 23,297 in the record year of 2017. Really, not bad for a challenging year.

Since in 2020, the Chevrolet brand noted 1,739,792 sales (down 11.2% year-over-year), Bolt EV share is 1.2%.

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In comparison, https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/releases/release-beb6420a9f2916baf13a4ed150000089-nissan-group-reports-fourth-quarter-2020-and-2020-calendar-year-us-sales for US Leafs sales show a total for 2020 of 9,564 vs. 12,365 in 2019.

I wonder how much of this is due to slow sales or if Nissan is intentionally limiting supplies/hindering sales in order have more Ariya's eligible for the full $7500 Federal tax credit and more eligible for the reduced amounts...

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That's an interesting question. I wonder what the Leaf inventory looks like?

Many people are aware of the Leaf's battery issues, even if they are overblown in my particular climate. My perspective is also certainly skewed because anyone I know considering an EV is much better informed than even the average EV customer.

Over in one of the Bolt forums (of which cwerdna is also a member), there is an increasing number of EV newbies buying Bolts without really understanding the EV paradigm. For example, many are still of the ICE mindset wherein you stop by a gas station (or charger in this case) once a week to "fill up", and don't have access to home charging (e.g. live in an apartment). So it seems that the Bolt is reaching a broader audience than the Leaf.

GetOffYourGas said:

there is an increasing number of EV newbies buying Bolts without really understanding the EV paradigm. For example, many are still of the ICE mindset wherein you stop by a gas station (or charger in this case) once a week to "fill up", and don't have access to home charging (e.g. live in an apartment). So it seems that the Bolt is reaching a broader audience than the Leaf.

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I met a fellow like that who bought the only Fiat EV in my city. He made it crystal clear that he bought the car because it was CHEAP.
For now, he has become an EV evangelist which I thought was fascinating, but car cost are his #1 through #10 considerations.

Which is to say that the influx of odd Bolt buyers you mention reflect Bolt price dumping by GM. If the next refresh of the Bolt goes back to $30k that emerging population of buyers disappears.

GetOffYourGas said:

cwerdna said:

https://insideevs.com/news/464430/us-chevrolet-bolt-ev-sales-q4-2020/

In the full year 2020, Bolt EV sales also improved, by over 26% to 20,754 (compared to 16,418 in 2019), which is not that far from 23,297 in the record year of 2017. Really, not bad for a challenging year.

Since in 2020, the Chevrolet brand noted 1,739,792 sales (down 11.2% year-over-year), Bolt EV share is 1.2%.

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In comparison, https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/releases/release-beb6420a9f2916baf13a4ed150000089-nissan-group-reports-fourth-quarter-2020-and-2020-calendar-year-us-sales for US Leafs sales show a total for 2020 of 9,564 vs. 12,365 in 2019.

I wonder how much of this is due to slow sales or if Nissan is intentionally limiting supplies/hindering sales in order have more Ariya's eligible for the full $7500 Federal tax credit and more eligible for the reduced amounts...

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That's an interesting question. I wonder what the Leaf inventory looks like?

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According to Cargurus, about 1800 Leafs and 5800 Bolts are for sale in the US. Nissan would probably sell more if they had as much inventory as Chevy.

Re: Bolt pricing, maybe that's another reason?

Perhaps people might be more aware of Bolt's being heavily discounted and some folks being confused by the Federal tax credit and required tax liability to get the full $7500 on (non-GM and non-Tesla) EVs? So... they look at Leaf and think too expensive and they think they can't get the full $7500? There is one anti-EV troll who comments a lot on Facebook groups of EV web sites and posted misinformation about the tax liability aspect...

Tax credit ended on GM EVs and PHEVs long ago...

Some guy on a Bolt group pointed to https://www.offleaseonly.com/used-cars/type_used/make_chevrolet/model_bolt/sortby_price_asc/ for cheap Bolts. He said that he used them before and they shipped a car (not Bolt) to WA for $1500. I looked at a few cars and they had no charging inlet pics to be able to confirm DC FC or no.

https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/dc-fast-charging.35619/#post-562394 supposedly can tell you though. Supposedly, 1st pic is no DC FC while the 2nd one w/the extra cabling near the front == with DC FC. From that pic, https://www.offleaseonly.com/used-car/chevrolet-bolt-ev-lt-hatchback-fwd-1g1fw6s01h4182359.htm probably has DC FC and it's also listed in the options. I checked some cheaper probably no DC FC ones and they don't have it listed in options.

Too bad that wasn't an option when I was in the market in Jan 2019. Back then, none of the 3 year leases on Bolts had run out (went on sale Dec 2016) so the used market for Bolts was horrible. There were few and they were overpriced vs. new.

cwerdna said:

Some guy on a Bolt group pointed to https://www.offleaseonly.com/used-cars/type_used/make_chevrolet/model_bolt/sortby_price_asc/ for cheap Bolts. He said that he used them before and they shipped a car (not Bolt) to WA for $1500. I looked at a few cars and they had no charging inlet pics to be able to confirm DC FC or no.

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The website has a 'specs' section. In the one car I looked at it included DCFC.

What is the status of the Bolt fires ? Has the problem been resolved ?

It's best to verify as I've seen sometimes incorrect specs on other used car listings (not necessarily Bolt) elsewhere.

Nope. No resolution yet. Currently, at https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2017/CHEVROLET/BOLT/4%252520DR/FWD#recalls there are 15 associated documents for campaign 20V701000, so one would probably have to look for that to grow to include something useful. The stop sale on '17 and '18 Bolts + the affected '19 Bolts (not mine) is still in place. Interim fix is still deemed insufficient to make it saleable. Some GM dealers are following the instructions while some (fewer?) are ignoring them and selling them anyway.

I've heard no additional reports of fires so that could mean one of several things...

By not mine, the last time I checked the My Chevrolet app (yesterday), it said none applied to my vehicle. I put in my VIN again into https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls and as always, it says 0 unrepaired recalls.

update: I checked their app again. Answer unchanged. Recall still doesn't apply to me.

Here is a cool Bolt super journey.

https://alaskalandmine.com/landmines/plug-and-chug-driving-an-electric-car-from-vermont-to-alaska-during-a-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR06UhabBT2qxllf1PytvcNeZhu6Gv0N04-FqdBoYQOdNDaqBoX9npRKtU4

Maybe I'll snag a $99 Bolt lease later this year.

DougWantsALeaf said:

Here is a cool Bolt super journey.

https://alaskalandmine.com/landmines/plug-and-chug-driving-an-electric-car-from-vermont-to-alaska-during-a-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR06UhabBT2qxllf1PytvcNeZhu6Gv0N04-FqdBoYQOdNDaqBoX9npRKtU4

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That was quite a trip. It reminded me of the motorcycle trip my nephew and I took in August 2019 from Anchorage to Portland, Oregon. Although we did not need to carry extra gasoline in portable containers, there were places in Alaska, northern British Columbia, and Yukon Territory that required careful consideration of fuel stops.

While the article itself is short on information, the implications are great.

GM will reveal its new Chevy Bolt and Bolt 'EUV' next month
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chrysler-teaser-chevy-electric-bolt-super-cruise-february-reveal-143000632.html?guccounter=1

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This is the teaser video of the new Bolt dash ("available summer 2021"):



Along with this whole website: https://www.gmexhibitzero.com/live-talks.html
including videos titled "The Time for EVs is Upon Us" and "EV Technology at the Turning Point"

Chevy offers 0% financing on used (certified) Bolt EV and Volt
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1130944_chevy-offers-0-financing-on-used-bolt-ev-and-volt

The stop sale on '17 to '18 + affected '19s appears to be still in effect and those are decertified right now anyway. So, I guess for Bolt, you'd have to spring for a used certified unaffected '19 or '20, unless GM lifts the stop sale on the other vehicles and undoes the temporary decertification.