Bolt EV: 2017 Motor Trend Car of the Year

[RiverBrick]

Outside CA and OR, don't expect to see a Bolt soon.

In Canada, it will start arriving in late January or early February.

Maybe it has something to do with Quebec recently enacting California-style ZEV regulation. If you're not already on a waiting-list, a brief survey of Quebec dealers indicates you probably will not be able to order until July, though.

 

[Jeff N]

Also, there is apparently a strange way that some dealerships are handling the pre-orders. You don't get to choose your options. Instead, the dealership has already ordered their allotment, and you get to choose amongst the allocation that arrives in order. Otherwise, you can put in a custom order and it will take a while longer. Seems a bit crazy.

Yes, a few dealers are doing this but plenty of others are not.

 

[bro1999]

Yes, a few dealers are doing this but plenty of others are not.

Yeah, I also wonder why some dealers (like Keyes) ordered every one as dealer inventory, and then matched them up to customers, instead of in customer names. I wonder if it has something to do with supplier pricing programs or something (factory order not eligible, in-stock units are).

edit: got an answer from Keyes: GM said "timing was an issue". Not sure what that exactly means....maybe GM required orders submitted by a certain date in order to guarantee Dec delivery? So dealerships like Keyes just filled all their allotments as dealer inventory, matching some to the specs people who put deposits down desired, and guessed what customers would want with the rest.

From what I've heard, the majority of Bolt orders were for Premiers (and probably a lot of them fully loaded), and 90% had fast charging selected as an option.

 

[McRat]

Where did you get this impression?

Thank you kindly.

GM has been servicing >100k Volts, ELR's, SparkEVs, Silverado Hybrids, for years now without significant trouble. Lots of high voltage techs have been certified.

 

[jgillispie]

I didn't realize how many EV's GM has sold. By my math using insideev's numbers they were at 117,099 sold in US at the end of October. It looks like there will be a tax credit available for the first ~75-80k Bolts sold; assuming the Volt is cannibalized by the Bolt.

 

[Eclectic]

Where did you get this impression?

Thank you kindly.

There are over 2200 GM dealers certified to sell GM's electric/hybrid cars, and they provide service for those cars. Compare that to, what, about 120 Tesla service centers?

 

[808?]

Oh well.

GM officially gives up on nationwide launch of the Chevy Bolt EV, now commits to ‘slow’ ramp up in 2017

 

[electracity]

I expect the Model 3 plus the upcoming new Nissan EV makes GM nervous about ramping up Bolt production volume. The Bolt will be the hard to get EV in 2017. They will not have enough units to allocate. But what about 2018/19? The New Nissan is likely a good looking vehicle. We know the Model 3 is a great looking car. The Bolt will still sell with these competitors in the market, especially outside the U.S. But the volume they will sell is unknown.

GM is looking for modest EV success at this point. They are not trying to hit a homerun.

The positive reputation GM has gained from the quality of the engineering in the Volt and the Bolt is a good setup for future success. Likely the Bolt ramp is a bit slow because they want to be careful with initial quality. They are not going to make money on the Bolt beyond ZEV credits, so there is little reason to aggressively push the car out.

Prospective Bolt customers outside the pacific northwest may face frustration. Although the Opel advertising suggests they will test northern Europe with some units.

 

[AustinPowers]

But you didn't answer my objection. Model 3, Bolt. Claiming that one car will be voluntarily optioned out at a higher price, and then not purchased because it is too expensive is crazy enough. Claiming that somehow that doesn't apply to the other car with the higher starting price, and which will be optioned by dealers who are incentivized to add as many options as possible, is surreal.

I am sorry, but I don't understand what you are trying to say. I didn't say what you are trying to imply. And since when is a car optioned by the dealers and not the customers who order the car? Do you go to a dealer and he tells you what to buy? If that were really the case, then US car buying is very different from German car buying. Over here you go to the dealer, tell him what you want, and then they order the car for you. Like with Tesla you get exactly what you order. Is that different with you? I just don't understand your line of thinking on this matter. There are no new cars standing around at a dealership for you to just buy and drive off in. Used ones, sure, but not new ones. People who spend a lot of money on a new car don't want to be told what to buy, they want a customized order.

What I meant by my previous post was that no one over here buys a naked, bare-bones basic model of a car, neither of the Ampera-e, nor of the Model 3. Not even rental cars are that way (because the rental companies want to stand a chance of actually selling their vehicles after a while). But the Ampera-e will definitely max out at far less than the Model 3, if you believe me or not doesn't matter. it's almost guaranteed. Let's see again in late 2017 or whenever Tesla announces their pricing for the Model 3 on the German market.

 

[3Victoria]

In NA you go to a dealer and you choose from their local stock. If you don;t like any of those, the dealer can see if other close delares have one that matches your preferences, and they can get it transferred (usually for a fee). You can custom order, but then you are looking at 8-16 weeks wait time.

 

[mtndrew1]

The Bolt Premier at the LA auto show with an MSRP in excess of $42,000 had an interior that can best be described as grim. I took a video:

If Tesla delivers the Model 3 anywhere near $35,000 anywhere near on time they're just going to clobber the poor Bolt. Nobody in their right mind would pay more than $20,000 for the Bolt if it had a gasoline drivetrain. The Honda Fit feels more premium inside.

 

[McRat]

Makes me embarrassed to be an EV enthusiast.

 

[AndY1]

The Bolt Premier at the LA auto show with an MSRP in excess of $42,000 had an interior that can best be described as grim. I took a video:

If Tesla delivers the Model 3 anywhere near $35,000 anywhere near on time they're just going to clobber the poor Bolt. Nobody in their right mind would pay more than $20,000 for the Bolt if it had a gasoline drivetrain. The Honda Fit feels more premium inside.

Model 3 looks full of plastics as well:

Back of front seats are plastic as well:

So, what are we comparing BoltEV to?

 

[brianman]

There are Chevy dealers in every town and while they all may not have EV trained staff immediately, they will all be able to take in a Bolt and have it fixed as needed without inconvenience to the customer.

I'm looking forward to seeing if this is reality. Track record with EVs by dealership sales and service has been historically lacking in this regard, at least as I've seen it discussed on TMC.

 

[brianman]

Also, there is apparently a strange way that some dealerships are handling the pre-orders. You don't get to choose your options. Instead, the dealership has already ordered their allotment, and you get to choose amongst the allocation that arrives in order. Otherwise, you can put in a custom order and it will take a while longer.

If they're only making 30,000, can we assume these will never be delivered?

 

[mtndrew1]

Model 3 looks full of plastics as well:

Back of front seats are plastic as well:

So, what are we comparing BoltEV to?

In these photos I see soft upper door cards, alcantara A and B pillars, headliner, and sun visors, soft vinyl seat backs, and a soft upper dash. This is all nasty, easily scratched plastic in the Bolt.

 

[RobStark]

Model 3 looks full of plastics as well:

Back of front seats are plastic as well:

So, what are we comparing BoltEV to?

1) That is a concept Model 3 not the final interior.

2) There are hard plastics and soft touch plastics. The Bolt is hard touch just about everywhere except under your elbows for the front passengers.

 

[McRat]

In these photos I see soft upper door cards, alcantara A and B pillars, headliner, and sun visors, soft vinyl seat backs, and a soft upper dash. This is all nasty, easily scratched plastic in the Bolt.

Get in your personal car, and do the Pry The Panels test on video.

We will wait. Don't wuss out, pretend like it belongs to a stranger, and let 'er rip. Heck, use your keys and see if the paint is soft on doors.

 

[AustinPowers]

In NA you go to a dealer and you choose from their local stock. If you don;t like any of those, the dealer can see if other close delares have one that matches your preferences, and they can get it transferred (usually for a fee). You can custom order, but then you are looking at 8-16 weeks wait time.

Over here, such wait times for a built-to-order car would be considered short! Then again, it wouldn't come from a dealer but new from the factory.

 

[mtndrew1]

Get in your personal car, and do the Pry The Panels test on video.

We will wait. Don't wuss out, pretend like it belongs to a stranger, and let 'er rip. Heck, use your keys and see if the paint is soft on doors.

Went down to the garage just for you. Squishy soft upper door cards, mid door cards, dash top, instrument binnacle, headliner that doesn't separate from the upper console, etc. On a frikkin Kia. This car in gasoline trim starts well below $20,000.

Here's the video.

The Bolt has a very sad interior regardless of price point. For $43k it's downright embarrassing.