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Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

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Re: Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

#191

Post by pi-rat »

Tade0 wrote: post #186
mtgx wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow...at least they sold Ampera-E to Renault. Hopefully Renault won't make the same mistake, considering they din't name their ZOE "Clio-E" (which of course would've been pretty dumb).

I believe Opel was sold to PSA, not Renault-Nissan. This does not bode well for the Ampera-e, because PSA has a penchant for crises.

I ordered my Ampera-E 11 months ago. Last time I heard anything at all was 5 months ago. Sent a email to my seller couple of weeks ago - nada. Norwegian electric car forums are full of similar stories.

Now they've stopped taking new orders for Ampera-E (as of last week).

I might have to cancel and get the Hyundai Kona instead if this continues..

Re: Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

#192

Post by Aoyagi »

strin wrote: post #177

I own a chevy volt and it never felt as good as it should be. Initially it has a burning smell on gas mode. I took it to the dealership for maintenance and they said GM's official solution is to install a "carbon filter" to the venting. It has an integration with Apple CarPlay that works most of the time but has some small glitches. It all felt like... Nokia - you know the times when you buy those smartphones expecti…

>expecting them to be really intelligent but they turn out to be awefully hard to use

I don't think the two attributes contradict.

Re: Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

#193

Post by kalleboo »

whalesalad wrote: post #15

Note that this is the Bolt not the Volt. Even as a petrol head who owns a V8 and a Subaru STI, I really like what GM has done with this vehicle. Really really great review from Doug DeMuro here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2ogGZXmepY Doug has a great style - really digs deep into all the quirks and oddities of the cars he reviews.

I'm also a fan of RegularCarReviews, who tends to get a better sense of the whole car rather than the details https://youtu.be/m-gDhq8VKsQ?t=37

Re: Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

#194

Post by Angostura »

bbarn wrote: post #136
CaliforniaKarl wrote: post #42

The question I have to ask: Has anyone here gotten an EV and successfully gotten a charger setup going in an apartment garage? For where I live, I'd say we have 100-150 parking spaces, all underground. There are two spaces that have chargers, which are first-come-first-served, I don't count them. So, the idea would be to get my own charger. I already have a safe place to put it: There is a wide-but-not-deep storage u…

That's the real rub for me with limited range EV's. It's all but impossible to own one for your average street parking city dweller. I rent a garage, but it's non powered, so basically it's just a nice place to lock a vehicle and keep it out of the elements (and because even street parking is tough in my neighborhood). I'd love to own an EV - it makes perfect sense for about 95% of the car trips I take, but I'd have…

Absolutely. I live in London, with on-street parking only. I've love an electric vehicle, but I've just bought another ICE.

Re: Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

#195

Post by mach5 »

dclowd9901 wrote: post #141
mach5 wrote: post #7

we own one, can agree that its great! it's my wife's daily driver, and with my own trips in it, i can't even imagine getting another ICE when the time comes to get a new car for myself. the L mode itself is almost a new driving experience, controlling the car fully through just one pedal and trying to eke out every last drop of kinetic energy back into the battery, and making it a challenge to never use the brakes. i…

Yeah, but are you a driving enthusiast?

very much so, yes. i have a sim racing rig

Re: Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

#196

Post by tomohawk »

Other than virtue signalling, what's the point of this car? I can get a Honda Fit for half the price.

The Fit will have twice the range on a 5 minute fillup, instead of needing an all night charge. This means I can be way more casual. This thing seems more like a pet that I have to assiduously care for each and every day just to keep it going.

And what's the range of this EV after 5 years of use? In the middle of the winter?

It just doesn't seem very practical. With that Fit, I can hop in the car and drive out to the mountains and do some hiking any time I want. I don't have to specially charge it, timing my departure at peak charge.

Re: Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

#197

Post by BoorishBears »

tomohawk wrote: post #196

Other than virtue signalling, what's the point of this car? I can get a Honda Fit for half the price. The Fit will have twice the range on a 5 minute fillup, instead of needing an all night charge. This means I can be way more casual. This thing seems more like a pet that I have to assiduously care for each and every day just to keep it going. And what's the range of this EV after 5 years of use? In the middle of the…

The Bolt is quieter, rides better, and has vastly better performance compared to the Fit. And the range quoted is pessimistic if it's anything like my Volt.

It's not like it's being sold as the perfect car for everyone, but it's also not like the Bolt is a strictly worse Honda Fit for virtue signaling.

Re: Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

#198

Post by BoorishBears »

ec109685 wrote: post #98
nixgeek wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure taking your foot entirely off the gas pedal when in "L" mode actually activates the brake lights.

It does on the Tesla.

And anything with regen because of this:

UN Regulation on Stoplight Activation:

http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/main/wp29/wp29regs/...

Electric regenerative braking systems as defined in paragraph 2.17., which produce a retarding force upon release of the accelerator control, shall generate the signal mentioned above according to the following provisions:

> 0.7 m/s/s and > 1.3 m/s/s The signal shall be generated

Re: Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

#199

Post by lostboys67 »

DannyBee wrote: post #157
erik_seaberg wrote: post #23

Hours per week charging is better than hours per day, but still only practical for people who can run heavy wiring to a private garage. I keep wishing gas station battery swaps were happening.

8 awg wire (max 50 amp charger, since 90C breakers don't exist in residential) is not that heavy or hard to work with. 4 awg wire (max 85 amp charger) would be heavy wiring for most folks. You can also get 6 or 4 gauge soow or whatever and make a long cord from charge spot wherever you want. (But i don't remember what NEC has to say about this and am too lazy to look)

You don't have to get a real electrician in to do the wiring esp. at the higher Amperage's? which presumably maxes out at 240v in the USA as opposed to a 415 V in the Uk.

Re: Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

#200

Post by imglorp »

tomohawk wrote: post #196

Other than virtue signalling, what's the point of this car? I can get a Honda Fit for half the price. The Fit will have twice the range on a 5 minute fillup, instead of needing an all night charge. This means I can be way more casual. This thing seems more like a pet that I have to assiduously care for each and every day just to keep it going. And what's the range of this EV after 5 years of use? In the middle of the…

First of all, a use case might include someone who needs a local commuter and grocery getter. Not everyone has 2 hour commutes. They might also be pondering what happens if gas price ever reflects its true cost like it does in Europe.

Second, it's more than a virtue signal, for some. It's a commitment to make a contribution where they can, whether anyone else knows or not.

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