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

[JST]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned yet.

Car & Driver reporting Coefficient of Drag for Bolt as .312 vs .24 for Model S.

25.8 square foot front area for the Bolt helps.

http://www.caranddriver.com/flipbook/12-things-to-know-about-chevrolets-30000-bolt-ev#6

Interesting. That's also the first place I've seen the 60 kwh number for the pack confirmed.

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This is not a question of FWD vs RWD, it is the fact they were force to adapt the EV drivetrain in a space designed for ICE. All the junk mounted up high will push back into the dash just like a ICE motor in a head on collision. The LG Bolt is compromised

Is it? Where would you have mounted the motor? In the back, down low, like the Model S? This is a smaller car, so even assuming you wanted it to be RWD (and there are lots of reasons why you might not), I bet putting the motor back there would eat up a lot of cargo space. Makes a lot more sense to put it up front, and keep the back hatch area open.

 

[qwk]

The Trax is a Top Safety Pick from the IIHS. It's an overall 5 star crash safety rating from NHTSA with 5 stars all around except for rollover which is 4 stars due to a higher center of gravity in a crossover/SUV (but fixed by a skateboard battery pack in a car like the Bolt or Model X).

Just what about the Bolt prevents it from qualifying as a "ground up EV"? What cars do you consider to be ground up EVs other than the Model S, Model X, and EV1 (because GM shredded it) and why exactly should anyone care? The battery pack in the Bolt is a structural member of the vehicle frame just like the Tesla models. It's a skateboard battery that doesn't take up any interior cabin space. Are you saying that ground up EVs have to be RWD with the motor in the rear? FWD cars have better traction and stability on ice and snow. Cars and trucks are mostly designed to be RWD to handle high levels of power to the road needed for ludicrous mode or towing RVs up mountain passes.

There are no ground-up ev's except for the ones you mention. Some of those did actually get ground up... Taking an existing platform and modifying it, (even if it is has a lot of modifications) doesn't count.

 

[Sad]

There are no ground-up ev's except for the ones you mention. Some of those did actually get ground up... Taking an existing platform and modifying it, (even if it is has a lot of modifications) doesn't count.

Leaf? i3?

 

[RiverBrick]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned yet.

Car & Driver reporting Coefficient of Drag for Bolt as .312 vs .24 for Model S.

25.8 square foot front area for the Bolt helps.

http://www.caranddriver.com/flipbook/12-things-to-know-about-chevrolets-30000-bolt-ev#6

Larger EVs like the Model S and the LEAF have less frontal area. Those are surprisingly poor numbers, but I guess I am the ignorant one for assuming a sub-compact would have less exposure to headwinds.

According to Car and Driver, Model S 25.2 frontal area and 0.24 Cd, LEAF 24.5 and 0.32.

Drag Queens: Performance Data and Complete Specs

 

[qwk]

The Leaf is a modified Versa, and one can buy the i3 with a gasoline engine. How exactly can a car with an ICE be a ground-up EV?????

 

[MorrisonHiker]

The Leaf is a modified Versa, and one can buy the i3 with a gasoline engine. How exactly can a car with an ICE be a ground-up EV?????

i-MiEV?

 

[trils0n]

If Bolt's Cd really is .312, and frontal area is 25.8 sq ft, that isn't very good. Surprising that is has larger frontal area than Model S, if those numbers are correct. Long range is mostly done at highway speeds, where aero is the biggest contributor to energy consumption -- it needs to be a priority for long range EVs, and it doesn't seem like other car companies are focusing on aerodynamics like Tesla.

Model S is .24 Cd and 25.2 sq ft frontal area, at least according to Car and Driver's tests.

 

[gregincal]

The Leaf is a modified Versa, and one can buy the i3 with a gasoline engine. How exactly can a car with an ICE be a ground-up EV?????

That's really stretching it. The i3 is definitely a ground up EV, and the optional ICE is a small motorcycle engine jammed into an odd space.

 

[WarpedOne]

And that odd space ends up unused and eating away trunk space in bev variant.
I3 is cmpromised in its own convoluted way.

 

[Bangor Bob]

GM not planning on funding DC charging


GM Won't Fund CCS Fast-Charging Sites For 2017 Chevy Bolt EV (GreenCarReports.com)

Total and utter fail...

From CEO Mary Barra: "We are not actively working on providing infrastructure [for the Bolt EV]."
From electrification exec Pam Fletcher: "We believe all our customers should benefit from any infrastructure spending."

And so that is that. Roll on Model 3. Don't $(%&% this up Elon...

 

[JST]

GM not planning on funding DC charging


GM Won't Fund CCS Fast-Charging Sites For 2017 Chevy Bolt EV (GreenCarReports.com)

Total and utter fail...



And so that is that. Roll on Model 3. Don't $(%&% this up Elon...

Yes, that's extremely disappointing. Too bad that puff piece in Wired doesn't delve into this issue.

 

[dsm363]

Yes, that's extremely disappointing. Too bad that puff piece in Wired doesn't delve into this issue.

Agree. That solidifies that GM isn't really serious about this being a mass market car that sells more than than tens of thousands of cars instead of hundreds of thousands of cars.

This is extremely short sighted (from article)

From electrification exec Pam Fletcher: "We believe all our customers should benefit from any infrastructure spending."

 

[Bangor Bob]

This is extremely short sighted (from article)

From electrification exec Pam Fletcher: "We believe all our customers should benefit from any infrastructure spending."

Easily solved. Put a plug on EVERYTHING you make. GM is going to have to do it eventually. Why not start today?

(Yeah, not holding my breath on that...)

 

[Breezy]

There are no ground-up ev's except for the ones you mention. Some of those did actually get ground up... Taking an existing platform and modifying it, (even if it is has a lot of modifications) doesn't count.

The Bolt is a ground up EV on a dedicated platform called BEV II. A lot of people, including me, thought it was on the next-gen Gamma platform. We were wrong.

 

[Cebe]

Agree. That solidifies that GM isn't really serious about this being a mass market car that sells more than than tens of thousands of cars instead of hundreds of thousands of cars.

This is extremely short sighted (from article)

I'm guessing GM is hoping the government steps in and pays for it. Make enough cars, have people complain how they can't charge, and when they go to GM, GM sends them to their senator.

 

[qwk]

The Bolt is a ground up EV on a dedicated platform called BEV II. A lot of people, including me, thought it was on the next-gen Gamma platform. We were wrong.

That's probably what GM marketers say, but using existing ICE tooling, and a shared assembly line, doesn't fool many.

 

[flankspeed8]

Agree. That solidifies that GM isn't really serious about this being a mass market car that sells more than than tens of thousands of cars instead of hundreds of thousands of cars.

This is extremely short sighted (from article)

I don't think that you can jump to that conclusion simply because they don't want to fund a fast charging network. Is Toyota personally building h2 stations? Once EV's become mainstream the marketplace will work it out. Since they are not using a proprietary plug, anything they build could be used by competitors. I hate it, but I don't think this undermines their commitment in the long run. I don't know my history but did Henry Ford also build gas stations?

 

[Bangor Bob]

I don't think that you can jump to that conclusion simply because they don't want to fund a fast charging network. Is Toyota personally building h2 stations? Once EV's become mainstream the marketplace will work it out. Since they are not using a proprietary plug, anything they build could be used by competitors. I hate it, but I don't think this undermines their commitment in the long run. I don't know my history but did Henry Ford also build gas stations?

CCS makes a CANBUS connection to the car. It can ask for the VIN and allow, say, free or cut-rate access for GM vehicles, and charge for non-GM. I see it as an area where GM could take charge of the experience of owning one of their vehicles. Choosing not to reinforces that end-buyers are not GM's customers, dealers are.

In the early days Ford anticipated that his farmer customers would make their own ethanol fuel...

 

[ggies07]

It's amazing, they thought they would be glorified for making a cheaper EV, but they never realized they needed to do more than that. They couldn't see this because their heart isn't in a full transition to sustainable transportation.

 

[Breezy]

That's probably what GM marketers say, but using existing ICE tooling, and a shared assembly line, doesn't fool many.

It was GM engineering, actually. GM made a $160 million investment for tooling and equipment at Orion Assembly for the Bolt, and $40 million for new dies at Pontiac Metal Center.