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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

#241

Post by radiorental »

bluedino wrote: post #213

>> $43,905 Wow. For that much money, I'll take a Chevy pickup. Twice the interior room, a bed for storage, 4WD for the winters... They show the Bolt with a kayak on the roof, but with a truck I can take 2 kayaks (or pull a boat), still put 3 other people and a dog, a cooler, everyone's camping gear for the weekend, fishing poles, everything I'd actually need to go on kayaking trip for the weekend. Sure, I'll have to…

There's a number of ongoing incentives at the Federal, State and dealer level. Bolts can be had for $20-25K

e.g. here in MA http://massenergywebservices.com/drivegreen/table-all.php#bo...

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

#242

Post by vvanders »

hedora wrote: post #30
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…

Case in point. I thought I read bolts (volts?) sometimes put themselves into reverse and accelerate while off+charging. I wanted to paste a link, but found this article instead. It looks like this safety issue is by design. (Also, CR says the handling is “choppy” on uneven pavement, which matches my old lemon): http://www.chevybolt.org/forum/#/topics/7778?page=1 “On this rainy morning while turning to park in a stall…

That seems crazy to disable something the use is expecting in gnarly traction situations.

In comparison I've driven our Tesla in heavy rain, snow and regenerative braking has never disabled, although traction control does take over occasionally. Tesla also gradually ramps down the braking to zero at 5mph so it doesn't suddenly disappear.

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

#243

Post by SubiculumCode »

greglindahl wrote: post #106
bane wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A couple counterpoints, there's something like 11 million hybrids on the road today. I'm also somebody who would like to buy an all electric car for various reasons, but the cars just aren't there yet.

Sorry, I really meant to refer to plug-in hybrids, not mild hybrids: https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ I totally understand that there are people who would buy a pure EV if it was cheaper, and that's not here yet.

The used market for EVs show rock bottom prices. Made them tempting, but I live in an apartment complex.

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

#245

Post by drzaiusapelord »

bluedino wrote: post #213

>> $43,905 Wow. For that much money, I'll take a Chevy pickup. Twice the interior room, a bed for storage, 4WD for the winters... They show the Bolt with a kayak on the roof, but with a truck I can take 2 kayaks (or pull a boat), still put 3 other people and a dog, a cooler, everyone's camping gear for the weekend, fishing poles, everything I'd actually need to go on kayaking trip for the weekend. Sure, I'll have to…

>$43,905

In IL we get the $7500 tax break and a $2500 break for state taxes. My real world price is closer to $33k. All EV makers are better on tax breaks to make their cars look affordable.

Also its odd for someone shopping for an SUV to settle for a pickup. They're an entirely different class of car that appeal to different market needs. I could never get away with a pickup. Its not an option.

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

#246

Post by Tade0 »

pi-rat wrote: post #191
Tade0 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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..

Heh, and I'm here complaining that Toyota Bank is four days late with my share of the insurance money on the car I was leasing that had been stolen.

Anyway I'm sorry to hear that. They really should have given you at least a reply - especially that so much time has passed.

I sure hope they won't try to make the Kona drive "like a normal car". I test drove the IONIQ hybrid and it seems that some genius thought it would be great if you hadn't had instant torque, as opposed to hybrids from Toyota.

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

#247

Post by tigeba »

SubiculumCode wrote: post #233
arrrg wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

In my area when the first wave of EV spots went in they tended to be very 'premium' spaces. I think this was a result of novelty. Recently they have been making them the 'worst' spots or at least not 'premium' spaces and I think this is a better move. It also has reduced the instances of people parking ICE cars in EV spots.

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

#248

Post by schiffern »

bane wrote: post #22
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.

I love the idea of Electric cars and even own Tesla stock, but I think they're still a ways off from me seriously considering buying one. Why? I drive a large Hybrid sedan. I get a bit above 600 miles on a tank of gas without thinking about it. That's a trip from NYC to Toronto with about 100 miles of driving around range left before having to think about finding a gas station...or for our European friends, Paris to…

>I get a bit above 600 miles on a tank of gas

>it's about $40 to fill up or about $500 - $600 per year

>the average cost in the U.S. is $.12/kWh. The cost to charge a Bolt for a year with my profile turns out to be $400-500/yr

Does not compute.

The above two figures indicate that you drive 7500-9000 miles per year. So a Bolt would cost you $250-300 per year in electricity (assuming real-world driving), not $400-500 per year.

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

#249

Post by drzaiusapelord »

bluedino wrote: post #236
inferiorhuman wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Chicago is 230+ sq miles, its a huge city. Parking on, say, far south side or NW side is very different than parking in hot neighborhoods or downtown. Unless you're paying for a space you're going to have issues with street parking in many areas.

A 210-250" car will absolutely present challenges street parking in many neighborhoods. My 170" car does sometimes due to average street space size. I can't imagine adding another few feet to my car and being happy with street parking experiences.

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

#250

Post by tigeba »

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?

Anyone that wants an EV ultimately benefits from the credits. Take a look at the prices of used EV's (other than a Tesla).
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