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Chevy Bolt at Supercharger
- Thread starter SSonnentag
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jelloslug
Active Member
The only non-Tesla public charging that I have used in recent history was Chargepoint. Their card works with Apple pay so it's a quick wave of the phone and off you go.
His sales rep probably said he could charge for free no problem at Superchargers.
This is funny but seriously has a 30% chance of being true. If you think Tesla sales people are misinformed, go ask a Chevy or Nissan salesman about the Bolt or LEAF.
Yep. If you buy a LEAF that is DC capable it has two charge ports. Imagine having an ICE car with two different gas tanks based on which one fills up faster.
jelloslug
Active Member
Well, all diesels in North America do come with two different tanks and both of them have to be filled up, but that's a different story...
The EVSE at my office accepts credit cards. It is available if people want to adopt it.
skitown
Member
Sure, from a usability standpoint, this obviously would be at parity with what people are used to. Credit cards are certainly being disrupted by the likes of Apple and Google Pay, which is a magical experience by comparison. Sounds like we're on the same page though. I see a response lower in this thread that the economics may not work with a CC transaction, per charge. I won't wade into that swamp.
skitown
Member
True stories from the past couple years or so:
I test drove a Leaf at the largest Nissan dealer in Idaho (I believe) and the salesman was trying to convince me that some silver box that was about 14"x14" under the front hood was the drive battery. I kid you not. I kept saying, "no, it's in the floor and under the back seat". He kept disagreeing with me. Sad times.
Then we went to the largest Chevy dealer and wanted to test drive a Volt. The salesman looked at us like we were kind of crazy. Said, the only time they get any are where the local power company gets them on lease. Suggested we go to Oregon or Washington or California, vs offering to give us a ring when they get one in. Then when we were leaving he yelled "But look me up when you're ready to buy a truck or SUV."
LOL. What an asshat. Ironically (?) I've been hounded via email from them now that they have Chevy Bolts on the lot they must not be able to sell. They often mention their great MPG.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Read that Tesla is going to open some future Superchargers that will also include a few spots for other EVs to plug in.
It will be a pay for use system of course with slower charging than the Superchargers provide to Tesla.
Community provides the location and electricity and Tesla provides the equipment and installation.
It will be a pay for use system of course with slower charging than the Superchargers provide to Tesla.
Community provides the location and electricity and Tesla provides the equipment and installation.
That one app could be "Pay with Plugshare" that several of them already do hook into.
skitown
Member
You're killing me Rocky. Maybe I need to get out of the Idaho wilderness and into the "big city" more often.
Edit: for humor.
Pretty sure you’re talking about how Tesla provides a few J1772s along with HPWCs in the destination and workplace charging programs. Nothing to do with superchargers. Otherwise please cite your source.
swaltner
Active Member
As @TexasEV said, I think you're thinking of the article a couple days ago on electrek that discusses a large Destination Charging installation with the city of Elgin (near Chicago). Tesla proposes to deploy 39 free-to-use charging stations near Chicago in latest EV infrastructure push The article states that the proposal is for 39 charging stations, 22 of which are Tesla Wall Connectors and 17 of which are standard J1772 stations. The article goes back and forth talking about Wall Connectors and Urban Superchargers, so it is a little difficult to keep straight what they're talking about.
Noting your location, not surprised at all by your experiences.
Reminds me of a funny (and equally sad) story of me trying to test drive a Ford C-Max Energi. I showed up at the Ford dealership (I'm in CARB state Maryland btw), and asked to see a particular unit I saw online. The sales guy tells me it's out back, and he'd bring it around the front of the dealership.
10 minutes later, I'm wondering if the sales rep had a heart attack or something as he still hadn't returned. I walk outside and looked towards the back of the dealership's lot, and I see what looks like 2 guys pushing a white C-Max towards me, with my sales rep being one of the guys. When I ask him what's wrong, he replies that the C-Max was out of battery charge AND gas. Suffice to say, I didn't do a test drive that day.
If I had been an EV n00b and that was my first exposure to plug-ins at a dealership, I may have very well written them off forever.
ai4px
Wes
A month or two after I bought my Bolt EV, the dealer (not GM) sent me a nice post card in the mail reminding me it was probably time to change my oil. I drove a Volt at the dealer once and they didn't know squat about it... the battery was low, so it wouldn't drive by electric. Same for a Prius Prime I test drove. They don't know to keep them charged. At least the Prius I took home and charged to play with it. Salesmen are their own worst enemy. Oh and another funny one... when I was looking for the Bolt, I called several Chevy dealers to ask if they had any. When I asked if they had any Chevy Bolts, the salesman said "Hold, I'll connect you to parts department". I took that as a "no".
We presently have a bolt and a MS.
skitown
Member
I disagree. The Boise metro area isn't huge, but it's pushing a million folks, and there are lots of Leafs running around. It's just lazy salesmanship; at best. Painting with a broad-brush, my view is that for most legacy manufacturers, their dealerships are a liability when it comes to selling their EVs. Seeing this article about Scandinavia published today seems fitting.
Scandinavian Car Dealers Don't Want People To Buy Electric Cars | CleanTechnica
Benjamin Sovacool, a professor of energy policy and one of the researchers, tells Digital Trends, “We essentially found that, contrary to conventional wisdom, most car dealerships do not want to sell electric vehicles, even though they cost more than ordinary vehicles. This creates a key barrier to adoption that has not yet been addressed by policy, let alone explored systematically in research.”
67% of the time, the salespeople tried to steer the researchers toward gas-powered cars, while dismissing electric vehicles outright. In more than 75% of the visits, dealers did not even inform the researchers that they had EVs for sale. At one dealer, the researcher was told, “Do not buy this electric car. It will ruin you financially.” That’s enticing.
ai4px
Wes
Car dealers don't know much about EVs and don't want to learn. They realize that there is no need for service after the sale. You cannot make money on oil changes and tranny fluid flushing on an electric car. It *is* counter productive for them to sell you an EV.
It makes me think of Kodak. They invented the digital camera and buried it because it would have blown their business model.
I know that Boise's EV friendly* but part of the problem for car dealers there would be that CARB mandates mean that manufacturers will throw larger rebates at dealers in CA and OR and they're close enough for people to ship or drive from OR. After that it's low maintenance. What's the incentive?
* My wife was just there on vacation and noticed a bunch of chargers downtown.
skitown
Member
I think we are in violent agreement. They are not incentivized to adapt to the new paradigm. It's unclear to me if they will ultimately adapt in time to save themselves; if it's even possible given their structural challenges.
Also imagine buying a BOLT without the CSS DC charge ability... yes they actually come without the hardware.... instead of being software limited feature. I looked at several BOLTS and one of the "big" dealerships for them here in Maryland, they had about 6 when they first came to this state, and only 2 has the ability to DC fast charge! The sales team had no idea, and tried telling my wife that it wasn't necessary... I pointed out to them the physical hardware wasn't there, and of course it's necessary if you want to leave the area on say a road trip, or vacation or drive more than 250 miles etc....
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