Chevy Bolt gets the ax

[starise]

Seems odd to me that a car line still being sold until the end of 2023 is referred to as old tech. Must make new owners cringe. The only thing 'old' in terms of the tech might be that it has a different battery pack and slower charging. Still lithium ion, but not "Ultium" although it's not a honed in term for a honed in system because GM is using cylindrical cells in the Lyriq in China and maybe elsewhere.. One gets the feeling GM doesn't really know what GM is doing or has decided what to do with ultium. My hunch is it will be whatever batteries are available to scale they can get their hands on.

The cells in Bolt EUV look very similar to ultium pouch cells. I understand ultium is really a platform term and not expressly a battery term, but I have associated the battery tech with their term. In reality ultium seems to be something that changes. Ultium 2.0?

Most Bolt owners love their cars. According to most info we have on the battery longetivity, the Bolts are every bit as resilient at pack retention over time as Teslas. Average short commuter 30-60 miles a day still has no issue just plugging the car in over night at home for a full ( if not slow) charge.

The things I've seen GM do recently just cause me to shake my head. A sure strategy to lose customers, build up a following for a car and then.....kill it completely. They did the same thing with the Volt. Then they build the Hummer one of the most inefficient large SUVs out there.

For a minimum of 10 years I still see the popularity of this car holding as it will continue to make an excellent runner. Has features Tesla doesn't have, such as integrated apple car play and ventilated seats. The car is really more efficient than the dual, motor Tesla platform, and you couldn't touch a Tesla for what one of these cars cost.

It's unfortunate the Bolt is going away. It fits a nice niche'.

 

[lencap]

In terms of which car do I prefer, the Y or the Bolt, the answer is "It depends". I bought the Bolt to have a SUV like vehicle for around town tasks, with an occasional longer trip. My son lives about 90 miles away, and that's a very doable roundtrip. My other child is more than 120 miles away, and at highway speeds that requires a recharge. My extended family is 200 miles away and that is about the outer range of my "normal" driving. The trips to family are random, and for many of them we take my wife's BMW 330e Plug in hybrid. It's much more comfortable than my M3, quieter, better tolerances and a far better suspension and handling combination. That'a also why the Bolt was a good match - we have a highway car, lacked a "errand" car.

I moved up to the Y for several reasons. If I want to visit family/friends and it's a 200+ plus one way trip the Bolt's charging issues become more obvious. The 30 minutes/90 mile range time to charge gets old, but for occasional trips it's fine. The issue is the charging network. When you buy a BOLT EUV you get your choice of in home installation of a 30-40 amp outlet or $500 credit on the EVGO charging network. That network has very few fully operational locations in my state, and the downtime on them is significant. I had trouble connecting and the customer service is terrible. That was a primary reason for the shift.

The ultimate reason is a combination of having owned the 2018 M3 RWD I generally enjoyed the car, but found the high levels of tire and road noise very tiring. The suspension also was terrible, especially compared to the many BMW cars I've owned over the last 20 years. Any of those cars are better than the Tesla. I was hoping that the new GIGA PRESS manufacturing combined with the 4680 battery pack will be an improvement to the M3. Add to that AWD capability (not a big deal, but welcome) and the far greater room than the EUV, along with the other features of the Y and that makes it worthwhile to upgrade at $16K instead of $35K.

Still, I'll miss Apple Car Play, blind side warnings in the mirrors instead of on the screen, cross traffic warnings that work flawlessly, and being able to finally get windshield wipers that work! I can't believe that Tesla still can't figure out how to make windshield wipers work. I also don't think I'll live long enough to every sell Full Self Driving actually work as intended, or be able to avoid continuing drops in Tesla resale values as new changes come out in rapid succession.

Still, I think the Y is a far more attractive car than it was before, a combination of price declines, tax incentives and better build/updates from Tesla. And to top it off my all in cost of the car I bought, including all fees/taxes/etc, is about $40-41K. At that price I'm all in, and even with a lower priced RWD Y likely in the next few months, I'm content and pleased with my decision.

For those on the fence about a BOLT - test drive one. You'll find it a very soft ride, with an amazing array of standard/optional features at a great price. I highly recommend it, and if I didn't want TWO cars that I could drive anywhere anytime, I'd still have it. Get the silver paint - it's the came color as the Corvette!

 

[starise]

In terms of which car do I prefer, the Y or the Bolt, the answer is "It depends". I bought the Bolt to have a SUV like vehicle for around town tasks, with an occasional longer trip. My son lives about 90 miles away, and that's a very doable roundtrip. My other child is more than 120 miles away, and at highway speeds that requires a recharge. My extended family is 200 miles away and that is about the outer range of my "normal" driving. The trips to family are random, and for many of them we take my wife's BMW 330e Plug in hybrid. It's much more comfortable than my M3, quieter, better tolerances and a far better suspension and handling combination. That'a also why the Bolt was a good match - we have a highway car, lacked a "errand" car.

I moved up to the Y for several reasons. If I want to visit family/friends and it's a 200+ plus one way trip the Bolt's charging issues become more obvious. The 30 minutes/90 mile range time to charge gets old, but for occasional trips it's fine. The issue is the charging network. When you buy a BOLT EUV you get your choice of in home installation of a 30-40 amp outlet or $500 credit on the EVGO charging network. That network has very few fully operational locations in my state, and the downtime on them is significant. I had trouble connecting and the customer service is terrible. That was a primary reason for the shift.

The ultimate reason is a combination of having owned the 2018 M3 RWD I generally enjoyed the car, but found the high levels of tire and road noise very tiring. The suspension also was terrible, especially compared to the many BMW cars I've owned over the last 20 years. Any of those cars are better than the Tesla. I was hoping that the new GIGA PRESS manufacturing combined with the 4680 battery pack will be an improvement to the M3. Add to that AWD capability (not a big deal, but welcome) and the far greater room than the EUV, along with the other features of the Y and that makes it worthwhile to upgrade at $16K instead of $35K.

Still, I'll miss Apple Car Play, blind side warnings in the mirrors instead of on the screen, cross traffic warnings that work flawlessly, and being able to finally get windshield wipers that work! I can't believe that Tesla still can't figure out how to make windshield wipers work. I also don't think I'll live long enough to every sell Full Self Driving actually work as intended, or be able to avoid continuing drops in Tesla resale values as new changes come out in rapid succession.

Still, I think the Y is a far more attractive car than it was before, a combination of price declines, tax incentives and better build/updates from Tesla. And to top it off my all in cost of the car I bought, including all fees/taxes/etc, is about $40-41K. At that price I'm all in, and even with a lower priced RWD Y likely in the next few months, I'm content and pleased with my decision.

For those on the fence about a BOLT - test drive one. You'll find it a very soft ride, with an amazing array of standard/optional features at a great price. I highly recommend it, and if I didn't want TWO cars that I could drive anywhere anytime, I'd still have it. Get the silver paint - it's the came color as the Corvette!

Very similar reasons here for why I eventually bought an MYLR. Most families can make use of at least two cars, even if it's because one is in the shop. With most of my errands not further than 20 miles from where I live aside from my daily commute, a car like the Bolt would fit well as that second driver. If we lived in the UK or Australia we would have all kinds of similar choices to the Bolt. Here in the US those choices for a smaller EV to get around town in are more limited.
A Tesla will probably always be my first choice for longer distances in an EV, however as a second driver I believe many of us can get more creative. Doesn't have to be a Tesla for that car.

 

[TRWhit]

I briefly considered the Bolt EUV when I was car shopping. I was put off by the horribly slow recharge time and frankly just the look of it. The EUV is a bit better than the original Bolt but neither will win a beauty contest. Used Model 3 v new Bolt EUV the Tesla wins every time.

 

[jeremymc7]

I read this yesterday and was so they took away a general all purpose family's SUV and replaced it with two work trucks? Way to go.

 

[Cosmacelf]

I wonder if the reason GM is dropping the bolt, an inexpensive smaller car, and going all in with pickup trucks and more luxury expensive cars is that they are fearing a Chinese EV invasion in the US?

 

[brainhouston]

But Bolt sales never caught on as well as many executives hoped, as EV sales overall remained miniscule outside of Tesla.

it would never catch on with its ugly looks n tiny size lol

 

[Watts_Up]

I read this yesterday and was so they took away a general all purpose family's SUV and replaced it with two work trucks? Way to go.

In fact the plan is to replace the Bolt with the Equinox.

GM unveils the Chevrolet Equinox EV, its budget SUV offering

General Motors has unveiled their all-new Chevy Equinox EV, and its $30,000 price tag makes it quite a tantalizing option.

www.teslarati.com

 

[ZenRockGarden]

Opens a nice market hole for someone to make a cheap-american-made small hatch

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

One word: Equinox.

Chevrolet has the Equinox EV coming this fall.
- Supposedly $30k base, although as typical initially will be more loaded
- Bigger - bigger means people will pay more
- Made in Mexico - low labor costs, and potential for other export, especially if the EU and Mexico close a free trade deal they were discussing pre-COVID.
- Ultium battery - can abandon Bolt's battery architecture which had known limitations
- Faster charging
- AWD option

Bolt tided them over for compliance and gave LG Automotive experience.

 

[carcrazyguy]

I love these headlines…..”GM to stop making its best-selling EV”…… yet every car magazine or automotive media rep wrote that it was cancelled because of low demand and dismal sales.

 

[zoomer0056]

One gets the feeling GM doesn't really know what GM is doing

I remember not long ago where Biden and scary Marry were both saying GM is the EV leader.

 

[brainhouston]

I love these headlines…..”GM to stop making its best-selling EV”…… yet every car magazine or automotive media rep wrote that it was cancelled because of low demand and dismal sales.

imagine how well other GM cars sell if Bolt is best selling

 

[carcrazyguy]

imagine how well other GM cars sell if Bolt is best selling

You read the headline wrong…the Bolt was their best selling EV. Not their best selling vehicle.

 

[andrewFW]

You read the headline wrong…the Bolt was their best selling EV. Not their best selling vehicle.

Not a high bar to meet!

Depending on your driving situation, the charging speed doesn't matter. Ours charges in our garage 100% of the time. If we need to drive more than 200ish mi in a day, we'll take the X. If you don't depend on it for long distance travel, its value is unparalleled. I agree the regular Bolt is ugly, but the EUV looks more "normal". It's a great second car, and I wouldn't expect too many people to be cross-shopping with a model 3.

Ventilated seats, 360° camera, parking and rain sensors!, it punches above its weight in features given the price.

 

[chinney]

I remember not long ago where Biden and scary Marry were both saying GM is the EV leader.

GM is sure not making and selling many EVs. At least not yet.

We'll see how they do with the Equinox. I am not entirely convinced that it will be a great vehicle and have high sales, but I would be happy to be wrong about that.

 

[brainhouston]

You read the headline wrong…the Bolt was their best selling EV. Not their best selling vehicle.

i was being sarcastic lol

but sure best selling EV out of 1 EV available

 

[jeremymc7]

I wonder if the reason GM is dropping the bolt, an inexpensive smaller car, and going all in with pickup trucks and more luxury expensive cars is that they are fearing a Chinese EV invasion in the US?

It's a top seller for them. It's almost stupid. But they do want to move to a new platform and this is holding them back.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

GM is sure not making and selling many EVs. At least not yet.

We'll see how they do with the Equinox. I am not entirely convinced that it will be a great vehicle and have high sales, but I would be happy to be wrong about that.

If they actually produce a $30k version, it'll sell in spades.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Actually, that Equinox looks like a worthy successor to the Bolt. 150 kW fast charging, 300 miles (top trim). Looks like a nice car. It'll be interesting to see how many they do sell.