Just watched Doug's review and I am intrigued. It is WAY over stock and there are deals to be had beyond the incentives. It is the first Electric that can handle my 85 mile commute. I can't really afford the $500 a month payment but I am spending half that on fuel with $50 oil changes every other month.
I have yet to see one in real life. The concept is interesting, and should be appealing to people, but I think the styling is keeping some people away (compared to something a bit more sleek like the Tesla 3), and a lack of marketing (hey buy more Silverados!) keeps the general public from knowing they exist.
When is your break-even date if you bought one?
Assuming that my paid off Saab 9-3 has zero break downs, 8 1/2 years.... Not good. I would save about $2k a year in fuel and oil changes. The Saab has just over 110k miles on it. Really, I should wait at least 2 years but I have auto ADD like so many others on here.
I've seen a few in the Bay Area. I find the looks to be on the, err, more practical side but you can't argue with it from a "practical electrical vehicle" point of view that's not from a niche manufacturer. For me the range isn't enough yet, but that's because I have a 280 mile "commute" (one way) at the moment.
ArsTechnica says that they're pretty fun to autocross.
Other than that they're a pretty standard commuter pod made by a mass market company who, while not "cool" in the same way Tesla is, understands that production runs aren't driven by technological fairy dust and NHTSA rules aren't suggestions. I'd like one but a car payment isn't in the cards right now.
I've seen some on the roads around here. To me it looks basically like a 200 mile Fit EV, which I certainly don't consider a bad thing if in the market for a practical 4-door commuter vehicle.
In reply to The0retical :
Yeah, this is strictly a commuter appliance. I will have to wait until there are some used ones on the market where the payment goes under the cost of the fuel I would use. My electric coop has CHEAP energy. 8.5c per KW in my current usage. Maybe cheaper if I use more.
Note to the Chevy design department: There is nothing about the styling of this car that I find appealing. Nada. I'm in the market for a new EV, and on paper the Volt ticks all the boxes, but looking at this car fills me with disappointment. A $40K car should *look* desirable. What did they benchmark, a Nissan Versa?
I like it. Looks like a thoroughly modern compact hatchback.
I especially like it in the blue or orange
In reply to nderwater :
They are fairly forgettable but they have super cheap consumables, are generally quiet, and comfortable. That's what most people want out of their commute-o-mobile. The tax incentives help to lower the cost to the 32k mark.
We're moving into what Seth Godin calls the Early & Late majority stage with electric cars (thank god.) Innovators and Early Adopters want "Look at me! I'm so awesome saving the planet" cars. The styling of the Leaf, MiEV, and Prius very much reflect that. The Tesla Model S is the outlier as it was basically a successful design exercise. It does boast a more contemporary design but due to it's costs, in tech, materials used, and access to infrastructure, it isn't nearly as scalable as something like the Bolt. Hence the need to completely retool for the eventual mass production of the Model 3, which I'm sure the interested parties providing interest free loans will get in 3 to 5 years. I'll be interested to see if Tesla can actually produce 30k of the Model 3 by the end of next year.
The meat of the bell curve, the early and late majority, just want something that functions and provides utility. They're not interested in a design exercise, a spaceship, or a burple TVR (also see why the Versa and Mirage are still things.)
On the flip side Chevy is doing as good of a job marketing the Bolt as they did with the SS. Sooooo yea. I'm sure they'll still blame Tesla.
Hmm... interesting... when I do a Autotrader nationwide search, there are a few under $30K - 3000 miles away in Seattle. Within 100 miles of me near Philly, the lowest price goes up to the mid-$36K range.
I would need to run some numbers to see how long the pay-off would be. And there would be the general convenience of not having to stop for fuel. If/when I ever get an EV, adding a NG generator to my house would also jump up the priority list. While areas around me can lose power from time to time, losing natural gas is extremely rare. Which means when others are scrambling to find a gas station with gas and/or power, I'd would only need to plug in.
For cars like this, how they look isn't important. As SVeX stated - it looks like a fairly benign hatchback. I do wish it were a tad bigger/longer so one of my bikes could fit inside with the seats folded and only the front wheel removed.
Ian F said:Hmm... interesting... when I do a Autotrader nationwide search, there are a few under $30K - 3000 miles away in Seattle. Within 100 miles of me near Philly, the lowest price goes up to the mid-$36K range.
I would need to run some numbers to see how long the pay-off would be. And there would be the general convenience of not having to stop for fuel. If/when I ever get an EV, adding a NG generator to my house would also jump up the priority list. While areas around me can lose power from time to time, losing natural gas is extremely rare. Which means when others are scrambling to find a gas station with gas and/or power, I'd would only need to plug in.
For cars like this, how they look isn't important. As SVeX stated - it looks like a fairly benign hatchback. I do wish it were a tad bigger/longer so one of my bikes could fit inside with the seats folded and only the front wheel removed.
If you're running numbers.. how many days would it take to get from Philly?
At 200 miles/day? Many, many days... would be kinda funny to drive across the country from Chevy dealer to Chevy dealer recharging the car... 
(why doesn't the Quote or Reply function work?)
In reply to Ian F :
I think if you can find DC chargers you could cut it down significantly, maybe even do 400 - 600 miles a day.
If anyone does end up buying a Bolt make sure you actually sit in the one you're buying first. There has been an issue with inadequate seat foam in the driver's bottom cushion in many of them, and GM isn't fixing them as far as I know. Some are fine, and some are so painful you wouldn't want to sit there for 5 minutes.
The0retical said:We're moving into what Seth Godin calls the Early & Late majority stage with electric cars (thank god.) The meat of the bell curve, the early and late majority, just want something that functions and provides utility. They're not interested in a design exercise, a spaceship, or a burple TVR (also see why the Versa and Mirage are still things.)
My family started with a Leaf in 2013 and I've driven a Soul EV for nearly three years. I'm ready for the meat of the bell curve! But for $40K why can't the Bolt look and feel like a more premium automobile and not an econobox?
"It looks basically like a 200 mile Fit EV." Exactly.
Yes, there are federal, state and dealer incentives at play -- but the fact remains that the MSRP on the Bolt starts at $37,500 and in Premier trim climbs into the mid $40's with sensible options. GM prices the Cadillac ATS in that range and the 3 Series, A4, C300 and Q50 also compete in that space. By 2018 I was really hoping that there would be mass-market EVs whose curb appeal was more like that of the new Alfa Giulia (priced from $38K!) and less like a Honda Fit.
Hey, you know what's 30-something thousand dollars, has ~200 mile range, and doesn't look like a Fit? A used Model S. 
I'm happy the Bolt exists but i suspect the Model 3 will substantially outshine it over the next few years.
Another hurdle for the Bolt, is that for substantially less $, you can buy a brand new Volt and get a larger, more normal looking car that has 90% of the benefits and none of the range anxiety. That would likely be the way that I'd go if I were seriously in the market.
I was thinking about the Bolt last night, as I tanked up my 240D at the diesel pumps. But quick mental math nixed the idea. ~700 gallons of diesel per year even at $3 a gallon (It was $2.64 last night, for 50 cetane) does not equal anything close to $500/ month for a payment even if electricity were free.
30 grand, after tax incentives, and it doesn't even look as good as a Mirage. Yup. Meet the new GM...same as the old GM.
volvoclearinghouse said:I was thinking about the Bolt last night, as I tanked up my 240D at the diesel pumps. But quick mental math nixed the idea. ~700 gallons of diesel per year even at $3 a gallon (It was $2.64 last night, for 50 cetane) does not equal anything close to $500/ month for a payment even if electricity were free.
30 grand, after tax incentives, and it doesn't even look as good as a Mirage. Yup. Meet the new GM...same as the old GM.
You can say that about any new car vs any old car, though. The point is, IF you're already going to get a new car, why not make it a long range EV and this is what that kind of money gets you.
Chris_V said:volvoclearinghouse said:I was thinking about the Bolt last night, as I tanked up my 240D at the diesel pumps. But quick mental math nixed the idea. ~700 gallons of diesel per year even at $3 a gallon (It was $2.64 last night, for 50 cetane) does not equal anything close to $500/ month for a payment even if electricity were free.
30 grand, after tax incentives, and it doesn't even look as good as a Mirage. Yup. Meet the new GM...same as the old GM.
You can say that about any new car vs any old car, though. The point is, IF you're already going to get a new car, why not make it a long range EV and this is what that kind of money gets you.
Because the type of car that 30K (after the tax rebate) buys you is essentially the same sort of car that 15k buys you, other than the method of propulsion. If I want a subcompact commuter car, there's loads of better choices. $15,000 buys a lot of gasoline, which, at ~35mpg, goes a helluva long way.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
That somewhat depends on where you are, though? For example, in parts of CA the $15k car wouldn't necessarily buy you access to the HOV lane even if you're alone in the car. On some commutes like in the Bay Area, that can be worth a lot to the right people. Of course one could also just spend $5k on a motorcycle instead...
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
That's true but, my understanding, is that the batteries and various bits of tech like the new infotainment system, the motors, and the regenerative braking systems for this make up the bulk of the production costs as they're only produced for one vehicle. It's not like GM stripped them off the Volt or other production line cars, although doing that would have probably saved some money if it were possible. I'm not an insider here so this is just speculation.
Chevy realistically only crossed the 100k threshold of the Volt mid last year. It's not like these things are being produced and adopted in huge numbers. I'm actually staggered that there's 35k Bolts already sitting out there for sale. Realistically all we need is an event such as $100 dollar a barrel oil to happen again and it will trip the switch for widespread electric car adoption. There now appears to be enough capacity to meet that demand as GM already idled the Bolt plant due to overproduction and battery tech has come a long way.
I'd put money on the fact that there will be $20k electric cars by 2020 supplanting the likes of Versa and Mirage. It could stand to be a little sexier though.
nderwater said:
I like the look, but then, I drive this:
While heavier than the FiST, it has a lot more grunt and way down low. With some tires, it might be a fun car to autocross. If it were $22K after rebates, I'd consider one.
A friend of mine has the new Volt and it seems good, especially for the price. I think if you commute at a short range the majority of the time then the Volt makes a lot of sense. Under 15 or so miles it's all EV. He has filled up the tank twice in eight months of use.
I can't imagine range anxiety is a huge factor with the Bolt. They say 238 miles of range at max. So, you're safe assuming around 200 at bare minimum. This is more than enough for the majority of commuters.
Here is a recent article that says it's outselling the Volt and a lot of other offerings.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/chevy-bolt-ev-outsells-the-volt-plug-in-for-two-months-straight/
I don't mind the look myself.
I don't mind the looks of the Bolt either. I agree it costs too much to make purely economic sense at $2.60 a gallon. Gas approaching $4 a gallon and they make a lot of sense.
I will say, driving a pure EV will spoil you commuting. You never have to stop for gas, they give you instant torque and acceleration, and they're whisper quiet. Once they get a true 150 mile electric car with automation capabilities at about $30k, I'm buying.
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