Chevy Bolt: the First Practical, Mass-Market Electric Vehicle • Hacker News Board

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

#231

Post by cobookman » Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:17 PM UTC

kqr2 wrote: post #175

cobookman wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you can buy a new volt and sell it for a profit. Managed to secure a new base 2017 volt for 21k 0 down 0% interest after all rebates & dealer intensives.

Can you provide details?

Fremont Chevy. Had them apply the sticker rebate on the car. They only get a few of those a month.

I also used a company rebate for the 0 down 0 interest.if you join the farmers guild you get 500$ off for 50$. And you also get a pge 500$ rebate for having an electric car.

Work also had a spreadsheet of all past volt sale prices. So negotiations were easy.

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

#232

Post by radiorental » Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:22 PM UTC

EADGBE wrote: post #229

gilrain wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people value reduced impact on our ailing environment over immediate convenience.

How about both? I'm waiting for an electric truck. I'll have my cake and eat it, too. For some folks - a surprising amount in the United States - the practicality, livelihood, and sometimes necessity of a truck outshines its inefficiencies.

Some folks, yes. This is true around the world.

Unfortunately, for too many folks... pickups are a lifestyle vehicle. Like Jeeps that never go off road or bright yellow humvee's.

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

#233

Post by SubiculumCode » Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:26 PM UTC

arrrg wrote: post #14

usaphp wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> $7500 federal tax rebate, most people can't take full advantage because they don't owe that much I am pretty sure most of those who can afford to purchase a 35k+ car are making at least 40k / year and owe that much in federal taxes, unless I am not calculating something right

What I never really thought is that that‘s still a pretty dumb was to subsidize any kind of purchase. It massivly advantages the rich(er). Why do it that way?

And they get reserved parking spots at many deprtment store stoo, at least in CA.

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

#234

Post by drzaiusapelord » Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:27 PM UTC

hedora wrote: post #104

dpweb wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Kill you"? Sorry but this is fud unless you can cite death rates. This site here lists the Volt as lowest death rate listed among small 4-dr cars. http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/driver-death-rates

All the cars I mentioned have internal combustion engines, FWIW. I wonder if the volt does so well because of limited range — I doubt typical owners clock many highway miles at speed, given that it is most useful in congested cities. Anyway, here are lists of recalls across their lines. Glancing at it reveals shocking things (the GMC canyon hood can unexpectedly open, and it has killed people, to pick one at random).…

The volt has 'unlimited' range. When the battery is exhausted, its ICE runs to power the electric engine. Volts get driven as hard as normal cars.

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

#235

Post by radiorental » Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:29 PM UTC

davexunit wrote: post #221

I love my Bolt. I bought it in MA for $3000 off MSRP thanks to Mass Drive Green, got a $2500 rebate check from the state, and will get a $7500 federal tax credit. I was really nervous to pull the trigger and go full electric and buy a new car for the first time (always bought used) but 11,000 miles later I have no regrets.

Nice, I got my leaf through drive green for $16K after tax & fees. Nissan's 0% financing and free state-wide charging are nice bonuses if you need them.

I've been putting 1K miles / month on it, which is my historical average.

The charging at work seals the deal. For the few times I need to charge at home I think I've spent somewhere under $30 to travel 11K miles this year (o;

Short range EVs are not for everyone but if it suits your commute, they're a no-brainer. And a hell of a lot of fun to drive (o;

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

#236

Post by bluedino » Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:29 PM UTC

inferiorhuman wrote: post #230

gilrain wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people value reduced impact on our ailing environment over immediate convenience.

Some people also having a car that can be parked in many places easily. Especially in cities, you're going to have a hell of a time parking a big truck.

No problem parking my F150 in Chicago.

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

#237

Post by tigeba » Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:29 PM UTC

Pxtl wrote: post #57

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.

Calling their new full-electric the Bolt after they already had the Volt was the dumbest product naming marketing fowlup since the Wii-U.

I came here to make this comment as well. They had to know they were making an all electric vehicle when they named the Volt...

I drive a Leaf and this makes me an un-elected ambassador for EV's in general. When I'm at a charger people will randomly drive up and get out of their car and ask questions about EV's, charging, range, etc. I'm always happy to talk to to folks about my experience with an EV and in my experience there is quite obvious consumer confusion about the Bolt and Volt.

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

#238

Post by SubiculumCode » Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:32 PM UTC

jrs95 wrote: post #11

ukulele wrote: post #3

At $35k+ with 240 miles of range, it's starting to get close but realistically not quite there yet for "mass market" adoption. I hope I'm wrong but this will likely be a minor seller. Also re: the $7500 federal tax rebate, most people can't take full advantage because they don't owe that much and it doesn't carry over past the first year. Still a good program but not a magic wand solution.

Agreed. Even if I were going to spend that much on a car, it wouldn't be this car at that price point. I got a lightly used Fiesta ST for around $15k, and I'm very happy with it and probably wouldn't even want the Bolt for the same price (even if it's more practical)

Is it is manual transmission? I heard the auto is junk, and avoided.

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

#239

Post by drzaiusapelord » Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:32 PM UTC

Aloha wrote: post #120

hedora wrote: post #20

We just managed to sell another flagship GM vehicle, and the software was so bad, it was nearly a deal-breaker. (Most years of this model had software bugs that were so bad, they could literally kill you — for example, the exhaust system could overheat, and burn the car down). Also, basic electro-mechanical things, like seat belts and the FM radio started to die after 3-4 years. This is with light use in CA. Even whe…

I don't think these issues are unique to GM sadly.

I once got into a shouting match at the dealership over warranty engine issues for my Jeep. I've had similar experiences with Ford as well. So we have GM, Chrysler, and Ford all with horror stories. I'm sure buyers of foreign cars have the same stories to tell.

I recently test drove a Honda CRV and told the salesperson explicitly not to call me and that we're just test driving and comparing various models for a couple months. He not only sat us down with the 'hard sell' but literally called me every day for 2 months. Note his 'hard sell' was $300 off MSRP.

I feel the independent dealer system has largely failed us and they're all terrible and unfixable. If I end up buying a Tesla it will be less for the car and more for the lack of traditional dealer experiences. Or I end up buying a 3 year old car and enjoy the savings from massive depreciation.

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

#240

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Oct 23, 2017, 2:33 PM UTC

radiorental wrote: post #232

EADGBE wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about both? I'm waiting for an electric truck. I'll have my cake and eat it, too. For some folks - a surprising amount in the United States - the practicality, livelihood, and sometimes necessity of a truck outshines its inefficiencies.

Some folks, yes. This is true around the world. Unfortunately, for too many folks... pickups are a lifestyle vehicle. Like Jeeps that never go off road or bright yellow humvee's.

[deleted]