Chevy Bolt - 200 mile range for $30k base price (after incentive)

[mtndrew1]

Are the 'better seats' going to work for me? The OEM seats on the Bolt are fine for me. I can't say that for all seats in all cars.

The Bolt seat issues are well documented and widespread. There are people on the Bolt forums trading in their cars at great expense to escape the seat pain.

Furthermore the issue is extremely inconsistent from car to car; one driver tried a dozen or so Bolts on the lot and found extreme variation (and comfort/pain) on the same lot on the same day in cars with the same trim level.

Personally I never made it out of the dealer's parking lot the seats were so uncomfortable; my hips rest right on the seat frame with no cushioning. If the seats work well for you then that's great, but there's a seat issue that the Bolt team needs to deal with. Or not, I don't really care, but the seats were the absolute deal-breaker for me even considering the car at any price.

 

[McRat]

The Bolt seat issues are well documented and widespread. There are people on the Bolt forums trading in their cars at great expense to escape the seat pain.

Furthermore the issue is extremely inconsistent from car to car; one driver tried a dozen or so Bolts on the lot and found extreme variation (and comfort/pain) on the same lot on the same day in cars with the same trim level.

Personally I never made it out of the dealer's parking lot the seats were so uncomfortable; my hips rest right on the seat frame with no cushioning. If the seats work well for you then that's great, but there's a seat issue that the Bolt team needs to deal with. Or not, I don't really care, but the seats were the absolute deal-breaker for me even considering the car at any price.

Although it's funny that many major media car reviewers, including 2 very popular Tesla Bloggers, and Woz, who don't mention any seat discomfort.

You are probably safer just saying GM killed the electric car, and quote the movie. That is way more effective FUD.

 

[mtndrew1]

Although it's funny that many major media car reviewers, including 2 very popular Tesla Bloggers, and Woz, who don't mention any seat discomfort.

You are probably safer just saying GM killed the electric car, and quote the movie. That is way more effective FUD.

Monthly Update for March 2017 - 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Long-Term Road Test

""These might be the least comfortable seats I can remember sitting in. They're way too narrow, and the back is shaped for a much shorter person than me. In addition, the padding is very thin. The combination of wrong shape and thin padding meant that the hard plastic was giving me intense sore spots. I really cannot remember ever being less physically comfortable in a driver seat, which is insane because the seats in the Volt are perfectly comfortable."

BOLT SEAT ISSUE - no DATA thread - Page 5 - Chevrolet Bolt EV Forum

"I absolutely believed the seat issue was a farce until I rented a Bolt for a day. There was a problem, in my opinion.

Not severe, not painful, but something that .I would have to deal with every single day. So I passed on the Bolt, got another Volt instead."

"I just bought my Bolt over the weekend. The first bolt I sat in, the seat on passenger side felt like it was digging into my hip. The bolt in the show room, on the drivers side had the seat digging into the hip feeling. The 3rd bolt that I sat in, had no seat problems and just drove it 430 miles with no problems."

"I think a sadist designed the seats in the Bolt. I've had mine a week and I'm really miserable. I haven't had this much back pain in 35 years, when I was disabled by a back injury."

The Front Seats - OUCH! - Chevy Bolt EV Forum

"The front seats are really awful.

My wife and I test drove the car last week for roughly 5 minutes and loved it. We came home in a leased LT.
The next day, 10 minutes into her first drive, my wife said "wow these seats are really uncomfortable" and 15 minutes in she was in pain. Both of us are not big ( 34 inch waists). There is a plastic railing underneath the seat just jams into your hip and makes driving anywhere more than 5 minutes, not a pleasurable experience. It doesn't hurt me so much , as long as i concentrate to sit in the middle of the seat, but comfortable it is certainly not. and why should have to concentrate to sit in the middle of the seat on a 40K car? Sucks because we love everything else about the car.

Now what do i do.... wonder if i can get out of the lease after 24 hours."

GM fanbois are exhausting.

 

[JRP3]

You are probably safer just saying GM killed the electric car, and quote the movie. That is way more effective FUD.

Sure, keep pretending that any less than positive real world experience with a GM product is FUD. I'm sure that's the mentality at GM that led them to their last bankruptcy.

 

[JRP3]

Looks like the Bolt may very well be the #1 selling BEV this month again.

Yet the more than twice as expensive S and X outsold it.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Already beaten by Model S at 1,620 and Model X at 1,730 for May. June is of course the big US Tesla delivery month (end of quarter) and if history is any guideline both Tesla models will double their deliveries over the prior month.

The Bolt has nearly 6,000 units in stock (four months worth) in the bulk of the EV-heavy states. In Los Angeles there was a giant Memorial Day ad from Community Chevrolet for Bolts at $149/mo with $4k due at signing (less than $9500 for a three year lease at 10k/year). This is approaching the deals offered on Leafs and compliance cars.

The car needs a price cut and better seats, stat.

Wow, that's a lot more stock than I expected. I wonder what is the current days on lot average. It seems the Bolt may be past the supply limit already and it's starting to be demand limited. I guess we'll see how it goes when it reaches nationwide availability.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Wow, that's a lot more stock than I expected. I wonder what is the current days on lot average. It seems the Bolt may be past the supply limit already and it's starting to be demand limited. I guess we'll see how it goes when it reaches nationwide availability.

To me, more important than nationwide availability is release of the Model 3. I think that once the Model 3's released it'll unfreeze a lot of BEV demand.

 

[stopcrazypp]

To me, more important than nationwide availability is release of the Model 3. I think that once the Model 3's released it'll unfreeze a lot of BEV demand.

Unfreeze or make it worse for others? When the Bolt came out first, there was a lot of talk that it gave GM a head start, but it seems that didn't really happen if everyone is really still waiting for Model 3 release before making a decision.

 

[mtndrew1]

Unfreeze or make it worse for others? When the Bolt came out first, there was a lot of talk that it gave GM a head start, but it seems that didn't happen if everyone is still waiting for Model 3 release before making a decision.

I think it's plausible that a sexy affordable Tesla with a year-long wait to take delivery might uncork some demand for other BEVs, once people start seeing them on the road. Right now the Model 3 is largely hypothetical in many people's minds.

That said, once people wander into the Chevy showroom and see a loaded Bolt for $44k with a chintzy interior and weird/painful seats they might wander out. There's nothing wrong with the Bolt that a price cut and new seats (even existing Bolt/Sonic seats!) can't fix. It's a fine car, just overpriced and painful for some.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Unfreeze or make it worse for others? When the Bolt came out first, there was a lot of talk that it gave GM a head start, but it seems that didn't happen if everyone is still waiting for Model 3 release before making a decision.

Unfreeze. A expect a lot of BEV buyers are in a position where they want to support Tesla so were willing to put down the $1k and wait until the Model 3 is in production. More will simply be waiting for the final version without a deposit. Once people have more details on the Model 3, they'll be able to make a better decision and have less reason to wait. Some might wait for the Leaf Gen 2 reveal as well. GM really doesn't need much movement from the hundreds of thousands to hit their modest production target.

 

[McRat]

Sure, keep pretending that any less than positive real world experience with a GM product is FUD. I'm sure that's the mentality at GM that led them to their last bankruptcy.

A quick check of this site indicates there are complaints about the seats.

And pretty much every car site I've visited.

 

[stopcrazypp]

A quick check of this site indicates there are complaints about the seats.

And pretty much every car site I've visited.

The difference is the Bolt's is a new seat design that is much thinner. This is not shared by other cars. That's why people noticed seat discomfort much more than other cars.

Here's an article that summarizes the problem:
Chevy Bolt seat and seat frame discomfort - Electric Vehicle Wiki

There's a couple of different very long threads on this on the Bolt forums, so I don't think this is a simple case of just some people not liking the seats (as in typical cars).

 

[bro1999]

The Pope goes green....with an Ampera-e.
The New Popemobile is a Chevy Bolt in German Clothes - GM Inside News

 

[mmd]

Yet the more than twice as expensive S and X outsold it.

Be careful comparing US+Canada Tesla S/X sales to Bolt sales in only parts of USA.
Once Bolt is known in Chicago hinterland and other backward regions of USA, where electric cars are unheard of, Bolt sales will soar.
Do you recall how many Tesla S were sold in its 6th month, or within the first 6 months? It was 2650 in the first 7 months.
Last month was a different story. Both Bolt and Volt handily beat S & X sales.

This shows, that Tesla's claims, that dealers will only sell gas cars and encourage consumers to ditch the electric cars is wrong. GM dealers sell many gas cars. Some showrooms here have only 2-3 cars in their showrooms, and Bolt is displayed right at the front entrance. Consumers can make their judgement which car fits their needs. Internet carries all kinds of information nowadays.

 

[wdolson]

The Pope goes green....with an Ampera-e.
The New Popemobile is a Chevy Bolt in German Clothes - GM Inside News
View attachment 229272

I was about to post the same thing. Good thing I read the thread before posting.

 

[Waiting4M3]

It seems that the M3 may have a larger Osborne effect on the Bolt than the MS/MX

 

[McRat]

It seems that the M3 may have a larger Osborne effect on the Bolt than the MS/MX

Wrong syntax. Osbourning is when you release data about upcoming improvements to your product which harms your inventory sales.
Chevrolet has released nothing about the 2018 Bolt. Not a peep.
Tesla has released very little new information that wasn't known in April 2016.

What are you trying to convey?

 

[Waiting4M3]

Wrong syntax. Osbourning is when you release data about upcoming improvements to your product which harms your inventory sales.
Chevrolet has released nothing about the 2018 Bolt. Not a peep.
Tesla has released very little new information that wasn't known in April 2016.

What are you trying to convey?

I meant that M3 had a bigger impact on the Bolt sales than on the MS/MX sales. I was trying to make a stupid joke about Bolt sales.

But, thank you for turning it into a boring lecture on the exact definition of Osborne effect.

 

[scaesare]

Although it's funny that many major media car reviewers, including 2 very popular Tesla Bloggers, and Woz, who don't mention any seat discomfort.

You are probably safer just saying GM killed the electric car, and quote the movie. That is way more effective FUD.

Odd... you seem to be a big proponent of folks accepting the real-world "positive" experience of the Bolt when first-hand accounts have been shared here about good range performance, good efficiencies, positive drivetrain characteristics, useful layout or cargo capacity, etc... And I for one have "thumbs-upped" a number of such posts.

Yet someone here has a first hand a negative experience when it comes to significant build variation in the seats, and an uncomfortable (for him) design, and you immediately dismiss them as a FUDster and practically put words in their mouth.

Seems an odd dichotomy, if not rather hypocritical..

 

[JRP3]

Be careful comparing US+Canada Tesla S/X sales to Bolt sales in only parts of USA.

"Every month InsideEVs tracks all the plug-in sales for the United States"

Once Bolt is known in Chicago hinterland and other backward regions of USA, where electric cars are unheard of, Bolt sales will soar.

You mean the same places that don't know about Tesla?

Do you recall how many Tesla S were sold in its 6th month, or within the first 6 months? It was 2650 in the first 7 months.

Production limited, as you know, unlike the Bolt sitting unsold on lots.

Last month was a different story. Both Bolt and Volt handily beat S & X sales.

As should most vehicles at less than half the price point.

This shows, that Tesla's claims, that dealers will only sell gas cars and encourage consumers to ditch the electric cars is wrong. GM dealers sell many gas cars. Some showrooms here have only 2-3 cars in their showrooms, and Bolt is displayed right at the front entrance. Consumers can make their judgement which car fits their needs. Internet carries all kinds of information nowadays.

I'm not going to bother to pull up all the tales of GM dealers anti-selling the Volt in favor of gas cars, or the misinformation they spread about the vehicle.