Chevy Bolt Hits Pre-Production = Media Loses Their Minds

[scaesare]

This Volt owner could care less....... so want gm to go out of business....someone buy my volt never want another gm product....
TESLA RULES

I find this an unfortunate and lamentable attitude.

 

[bonnie]

I hope GM sells plenty of Bolts. They probably will. There are a LOT of people across the country who are brand loyal, have always driven GM, and because of that, will try out an electric car. And their friends and families will see driving electric as normal. But when THEY shop, they'll consider a Tesla. It won't seem so 'out there', it will be cooler than what Bolt-owners are driving. And they'll buy.

Every Bolt sold will sell many more Teslas. Every Bolt sold will help with communities putting in more infrastructure, which will sell more Teslas. Let GM posture right now. That's the short game. Everything they do gets Tesla's name into the news and will ultimately sell more Teslas.

 

[Buckeye2320]

Q: Which one of these is not like the other?
A: They are all the same

Kia Soul

BMW i3

Chevy Bolt

 

[ohmman]

I hope GM sells plenty of Bolts. They probably will. There are a LOT of people across the country who are brand loyal, have always driven GM, and because of that, will try out an electric car. And their friends and families will see driving electric as normal. But when THEY shop, they'll consider a Tesla. It won't seem so 'out there', it will be cooler than what Bolt-owners are driving. And they'll buy.

Every Bolt sold will sell many more Teslas. Every Bolt sold will help with communities putting in more infrastructure, which will sell more Teslas. Let GM posture right now. That's the short game. Everything they do gets Tesla's name into the news and will ultimately sell more Teslas.

It's great if the Bolt encourages sales of Teslas specifically, and I think that's a reasonable assumption. However, I think the more important thing to note here is that there are going to be more EVs on the road because of the Bolt. There will be more Bolts (obviously), there will be more Teslas, there will be more Leafs, and there will be more EV awareness which will lead to more entrants. Tesla wants more EVs on the road. I want more EVs on the road.

I have nothing bad to say about the Bolt. I bet it winds up being a well put together vehicle with a lot of line consistency. GM has been making the vast majority of what a Bolt is (wheels, suspension, interiors) for many years. I am encouraged to see another manufacturer building and selling a mass market EV. Sure, GM is being a PITA when it comes to Tesla's direct sales model, but there is no room for spitefulness when it comes to advancing the adoption of EV transport.

If you find yourself wishing ill against the Bolt, I suggest you revisit whether you're feeling that way because it's bad for the consumer or the industry, or whether you're engaging in a weird form of tribalism. If the latter, it's worth revisiting your feelings.

(Note: this isn't directed to you, @bonnie. I was just piling onto your comment.. you had a plenty positive attitude).

 

[Krugerrand]

If you find yourself wishing ill against the Bolt, I suggest you revisit whether you're feeling that way because it's bad for the consumer or the industry, or whether you're engaging in a weird form of tribalism. If the latter, it's worth revisiting your feelings.

I don't think it's weird anything type of behavior. When the enemy tries to kill you the natural thing to do is try and survive, unless you're a laydown, roll over and give up kind of a person.

Yes, GM is perceived here by some to be the enemy and that's their (GM's) own fault. GM has gone out of their way to put themselves in that position so now they get to wear that hat.

To be clear, I'm not wishing ill on GM or the Bolt because I believe as Bonnie does. At the same time, I won't shed a tear when Karma comes knocking.

 

[bonnie]

It's great if the Bolt encourages sales of Teslas specifically, and I think that's a reasonable assumption. However, I think the more important thing to note here is that there are going to be more EVs on the road because of the Bolt. There will be more Bolts (obviously), there will be more Teslas, there will be more Leafs, and there will be more EV awareness which will lead to more entrants. Tesla wants more EVs on the road. I want more EVs on the road.

I have nothing bad to say about the Bolt. I bet it winds up being a well put together vehicle with a lot of line consistency. GM has been making the vast majority of what a Bolt is (wheels, suspension, interiors) for many years. I am encouraged to see another manufacturer building and selling a mass market EV. Sure, GM is being a PITA when it comes to Tesla's direct sales model, but there is no room for spitefulness when it comes to advancing the adoption of EV transport.

If you find yourself wishing ill against the Bolt, I suggest you revisit whether you're feeling that way because it's bad for the consumer or the industry, or whether you're engaging in a weird form of tribalism. If the latter, it's worth revisiting your feelings.

(Note: this isn't directed to you, @bonnie. I was just piling onto your comment.. you had a plenty positive attitude).

Agree 100%. I have no love for GM, but I am totally bought into the idea of sustainable transport.

Theory of Abundance works well here - instead of viewing as a competition, sales of EVs result in more EVs being sold. If they succeed, we succeed.

Of course, my personal experience with the various dealership battles in different states points to GM's hand behind some of it. They clearly view it as a competition (hence Mary Barra's snarky comments at Bolt launch) and are doing whatever they can to torpedo Tesla. So I think it's natural to 'not wish them well', even though I happen to think they have some fine products either in the pipeline or about to be launched. I think the Volt has been a great 'training wheels' for EV ownership. Most Volt owners love the car. It's GM's corporate behavior that is driving my personal dislike of the brand.

 

[techmaven]

I'm not against the Bolt, but I am as conflicted about supporting GM as I am about VAG. GM is the company that knowingly let people get convicted of vehicular manslaughter in cases where the airbags did not deploy and there was high likelihood that the ignition switch issue was the culprit. They used their bankruptcy as a shield against $7-10 billion of damages of which they failed to disclose at the time of their bankruptcy. They also just went through a period of high recalls that should put them at the joke level. I just can't buy a GM product at this point, they need a timeout in my opinion.

Similarly, the entire Volkswagen Automotive Group is on the outs too... it is clear that they knowingly perpetrated fraud at the grandest scale across multiple brands. They deserve a timeout too.

Unfortunately, of the EV pioneers, that leaves Tesla, BMW, and Nissan to carry the torch no matter what the technical achievements of GM and VAG. The problem is that Nissan seems to still follow the Prius shtick in designing their EVs as well as singularly focussed on lowering EV cost at significant expense to technical features. They don't offer an alternative that doesn't compromise battery life, range, driving performance or aesthetics. They apparently have no interest in offering a competitive BEV under the Infiniti brand. BMW seems similarly focussed on the i3 as a small urban vehicle and everything else is a PHEV. I don't trust Ford to lead in anything, everything feels like leftovers.

 

[forumman83]

Is it just me or is GMs video release of the Bolt in production eerily similar to some of Tesla's marketing?

It's almost like a pathetic, failed attempt to emulate Tesla.

 

[Jeff N]

My take on GM's direct vs. dealer sales lobbying is that GM worries about Tesla's long-term success as a competitor on profitable higher-margin EVs. They don't want Tesla to have a permanent advantage in direct sales when GM sees no likely legal path towards a direct sales model for itself. In the long-term, that is a legitimate concern.

 

[Az_Rael]

... I personally plan to drive a Bolt EV for 3 years first before making the transition to the M3.

This is a great idea that I hadn't really thought about. Lease a Bolt for 3 years when they come out and pick up a Model 3 after all the initial craziness/QC problems have been sorted (and maybe after Autopilot 2.0 is released).

Hmmmm. Would just have to figure out if I could survive mileage-wise on a lease. Right now I drive too many miles to lease, but that might change in 2017 as I have some job changes planned.

 

[scaesare]

I hope GM sells plenty of Bolts. They probably will. There are a LOT of people across the country who are brand loyal, have always driven GM, and because of that, will try out an electric car. And their friends and families will see driving electric as normal. But when THEY shop, they'll consider a Tesla. It won't seem so 'out there', it will be cooler than what Bolt-owners are driving. And they'll buy.

Every Bolt sold will sell many more Teslas. Every Bolt sold will help with communities putting in more infrastructure, which will sell more Teslas. Let GM posture right now. That's the short game. Everything they do gets Tesla's name into the news and will ultimately sell more Teslas.

Indeed.

I'm amazed and the number of folks who don't get the "rising tide raises all boats" concept despite the fact that Elon himself has stated that the goal of Tesla was to spur EV adoption, other manufacturers included.

 

[S'toon]

Why is this thread in the Model 3 subforum instead of the EV subforum?

 

[Vitold]

I don't think it's weird anything type of behavior. When the enemy tries to kill you the natural thing to do is try and survive, unless you're a laydown, roll over and give up kind of a person.

GM can bash Tesla with or w/o producing Bolt. It it gets sold in quantities, Bolt will be the first real success of Tesla Motors in their quest to change the world by putting pressure on other car manufacturers.

 

[SageBrush]

Is GM making the Bolt fugly on purpose? How do they expect it to sell vs a Model 3 with a sexy traditional sedan body and an autopilot?

Heh. I have not seen the Bolt, but I sure dislike the "traditional sedan" design.

 

[calisnow]

Heh. I have not seen the Bolt, but I sure dislike the "traditional sedan" design.

You don't like the S's body design?

 

[Trev Page]

Is GM making the Bolt fugly on purpose? How do they expect it to sell vs a Model 3 with a sexy traditional sedan body and an autopilot?

I'm not going to speak for GM but if I was designing a pure EV with decent range and it had to hit a price target and be quite roomy inside I'd have to go with a compact body style. The problem is, that physical size doesn't traditionally give you a lot of interior space and cargo so they have to do the only sensible thing: go taller. This is what Mercedes did with the B class , BMW i3, Kia Rondo and Honda Fit just to name a few. It's had to make a a tall compact car look good and sleek because you don't have the length to help you.

It's not "ugly" on purpose, it's just a subjective opinion based what they have to work with.

The Bolt concept was nicer than the production version but they can't do flush door handles, all glass top and fancy interior and keep the price at $37K. Tesla might very well do these things with Model 3 given they will have way cheaper batteries at their disposal but the ASP will be much higher than a Bolt.

I personally don't mind the look of the BMW i3 but I sure prefer the look of a Model S and hope the Model 3 looks very close to it.

 

[SageBrush]

You don't like the S's body design?

I find it somewhere between conventional and boring.

My outlook though is very non-American. I have never owned a sedan and doubt I ever will, and I much prefer small cars. I think the Gen2 Prius is a work of art from many angles, and I grin every time I see a mini-cooper. There is also a Nissan (I think) that reminds me of cars drawn in cartoons I find refreshing although too much for me to personally own.

I find many forms of architecture very appealing, but I think I have only been known to drool in bicycle shops.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I find it somewhere between conventional and boring.

My outlook though is very non-American. I have never owned a sedan and doubt I ever will.

Hmm, now that you mention it I've never owned a sedan either, before the Model S. I've always owned hatchbacks for their utility. And the Model S is also a hatchback, so it has the utility base covered:

I call this picture "Model S as truck". I was repairing some of my neighborhood street signs (I am builder/installer/maintainer of about 50 of them) and had a shovel, post hole digger, and 27 pound rock bar in my car less than two days after it was delivered. That's decent utility for my needs.

 

[SageBrush]

Hi DPG,
I see you had to add another PV panel

BTW, my wife and I moved to SW Colorado ~ 2 years ago

 

[dgpcolorado]

Hi DPG,
I see you had to add another PV panel

BTW, my wife and I moved to SW Colorado ~ 2 years ago

Yes, my 2170 watts of panels has covered all my car charging and household electricity use for several years now; I pay just the $16 monthly service charge to my local power co-op. (And they even have a $750 EV rebate that I am eligible for).