You have obviously never driven a Volt. I traded a Lexus in for one, the Volt was that nice. And I have driven Cruzes as loaners. Night and day difference.
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[NYT] How did GM Create Tesla's Dream Car First?
- Thread starter ohmman
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You have obviously never driven a Volt. I traded a Lexus in for one, the Volt was that nice. And I have driven Cruzes as loaners. Night and day difference.
diamond.g
Active Member
Honestly the Volt and the Bolt probably should have been Buicks. I think the pricing would have been better received that way.
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
Now I have one I think a Frunk is like Central locking and Electric Windows. I was certain I didn't need them ... until I had owned a car with them, and thereafter wouldn't buy a vehicle without them.
With an EV I have some cables to cart around; for a decade I haven't owned a vehicle that came with a spare wheel (I'm ambivalent about that; inconvenience if I get a side-wall puncture, but I really don't want to pay for Fuel to cart that weight around for a once-in-a-decade side-wall puncture ...). So for 10 years I've carried a bottle of gunge and a 12V air pump. I also cart (for EU regulations) a warning triangle, first aid kit, spare headlight bulbs, breathalyser kit ...
... before all that lot used to slosh around in the trunk, annoying me every time I had to stash them along with whatever cargo I was trying to chuck in the trunk, but now they are out-of-sight and out-of-mind in the frunk. So now that I have one I love my frunk
jgs
Active Member
I keep hearing this but not seeing it in practice. Anyway, I don't expect it to last forever.
jgs
Active Member
Last I heard it was still a flat USD 100 (or maybe it tops out there?). But waived for warranty issues which is the only way I've used it.
Reality check for BOLT fans:
1. Will it beat (or equal) the Spark EV as the 'most fun to drive' BEV? __ __ I hope so, but doubt it.
2. Will it be sold outside of CA, OR or MD? __ __ I hope so, but doubt it.
3. How many will be sold beyond 'compliance level'? __ __ I doubt many considering drivetrain is Korean and battery factory in MI will be limiting factors.
I don't yet see that GM has 'made a move' here of much significance compared to Model3. Both are still works in progress.
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1. Will it beat (or equal) the Spark EV as the 'most fun to drive' BEV? __ __ I hope so, but doubt it.
2. Will it be sold outside of CA, OR or MD? __ __ I hope so, but doubt it.
3. How many will be sold beyond 'compliance level'? __ __ I doubt many considering drivetrain is Korean and battery factory in MI will be limiting factors.
I don't yet see that GM has 'made a move' here of much significance compared to Model3. Both are still works in progress.
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No.. I believe that that may still be grandfathered for some of the early, mostly S-classic owners. But for vehicles bought past the fall of 2014, they switched to the per/km price model. When I ordered my car in fall 2014, they required me to sign an acknowledgement that I was aware of this change in policy. That applies for both warranty and paid service. It could well be that they still apply $100 for vehicles located within some short distance of a service center.
I was disappointed when this change took place, but it makes sense. At one time they had service people travelling thousands of km to service vehicles, and billing $100. This is outstanding customer service, and perhaps it had to be done in the early days to get people to accept an unproven vehicle with few local service centers.
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According to press reviews:
1) The Bolt handles very sharp except is limited by it's LRR tires. Very sporty feeling for it's weight.
2) GM has said the Bolt will be a global and 50 state platform. Yes, we know that GM haters never believe anything GM ever says on any subject.
3) GM does have limited production vehicles. AFAIK, they are all track versions.
Corrupted MP3 (broken record, dead horse) Edition: GM does not compete with Tesla. GM does not sell a Model S or X competitor, nor has Tesla had any effect on GM sales. GM worries about Toyota and Ford.
My new Audi has a cargo net in the trunk to keep all those things from bouncing around...
I see where in your profile, 'United Kingdom', land of the Euro hatchback. I can understand why you prefer a sedan -- I certainly do.
The question is, how often do you fill up both the trunk and frunk? Do you take many trips with your S? (My speculation is that for most people in the US, an electric will be a second car, so a daily driver/commute vehicle with one body Great for obtaining car pool stickers.)
This is a common assumption, repeatedly disproven by polls and discussions on this forum. My X is my only car, and a lot of folks use Teslas as only cars and road trip cars.
Admittedly, the Leaf is more often a second car I believe - but the Bolt is supposed to be something more than the Spark, possibly able to compete with Tesla for buyers.
Yes. The Bolt is faster with 0-60 in 6.5 seconds whereas Spark EV is something near 7.2 seconds. The Bolt has much better acceleration at highway speeds than the Spark EV. The Bolt likely has better weight distribution and a lower center of gravity due to the battery position. The Bolt's physical powertrain design and software controls apparently do a better job reducing FWD torque steer effects seen in the Spark EV.
The Bolt EV is being sold in all 50 states plus Canada. It is also being sold in various European countries branded as an Opel Ampera-e.
GM says their parts supply chain will allow them to sell at least 50,000 Bolt/Ampera-e per year which is about as many cars as Tesla manufactured and sold globally last year.
The Bolt's battery factory is in South Korea. LG has a battery factory in Michigan that makes cells for the Volt, Spark EV, and Chrysler's upcoming Pacifica PHEV minivan. Of course, LG could begin Bolt EV battery manufacturing at the Michigan factory in the future but there are no announced plans for that yet.
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Sorry, but "polls" are not real market research. And most of this forum are true believers and early adopters, i.e., not representative of the masses. (Me too.)
The 5 folks I know that own Teslas all have other cars in the garage. Everyone with me in the M3 line also had others cars. (Of course, just anecdotes from SoCal, not data.)
btw: As an SUV, by definition, the X does not need a 'frunk'.
Tam
Well-Known Member
I ditched my Prius for Tesla and it has been 4 years without a drop of gas.
My Tesla has been hauling more stuff and heavier loads and it has gone further than my ICE ever did. 9,000 miles annually with my Prius. More than 20,000 miles annually with Tesla.
diamond.g
Active Member
Do you have some actual market research to contribute?
If not, I'll stick with the objective data I have, which also matches with the folks I watch on YouTube - LikeTesla has just an X and a Leaf, Bjorn has just an X (and an S he's selling, but he's in Norway.)
I'm sorry if the limited data available doesn't match your speculation, but I'm not sure what you think you're gaining by telling us we don't use the car the way most of us do.
Having a Frunk in an SUV is just as useful as in a large sedan, and for the same reasons.
jgs
Active Member
Whereas when I placed my order in October of 2014, I was not presented with any such acknowledgement to sign, and Ranger service was represented to me as I've described it. Maybe it's a US/Canada thing? Maybe it relates to Tesla wanting to sell to and retain the goodwill of owners in benighted states like Michigan that are prevented by law from having an SC (as you describe below)? Maybe it's just inconsistency on Tesla's part? In any case, I have indeed received free visits for warranty service in 2015. Of course, on the other hand I don't think I have any written material committing Tesla to those terms, so I would (will) probably be on scant contractual footing if they did (when they do) arbitrarily change them.
Yes exactly, and my speculation is that's why they still are doing it hereabouts. (Unless they've changed recently and I just haven't experienced it, which is entirely possible.)
Edit to add: related, a few months ago I had my car serviced in Chicago (I was there for a trip). It's not "Ranger Service" but they valeted the car for free, a few miles from the SC.
jgs
Active Member
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
Not sure I said that anywhere? I'm ambivalent about Hatchback or Sedan, we've still got Hatchback ICE and I don't have much opinion of how the cabin, or cargo space, is better in one than the other. We drive distance and short trips in either (although we prefer / favour the S for both)
That wasn't my point, sorry if you inferred that. The trunk on my S is always empty when I arrive at, say, the supermarket, because all the "occasional use" junk is in the Frunk. On the hatchback everything is in the Trunk. Several of the bits and pieces (e.g. a can of spare engine oil) have some sort of velcro that sticks to the "carpet", and there is also a cargo net, so they do all stay put, but they are invariably in the way of whatever I want to put in there (well ... not if I only have one bag of shopping of course, but certainly on the not-infrequent occasions when I have several bags and other shaped objects) so I wind up "tearing" the velcro bags off the carpet and rearranging everything elsewhere in the trunk for that trip, just to get all the cargo in. I don't have that issue with the S.
Its a trivially minor thing of course, but it is one of those things where, having now owned a car with a Frunk where all that occasional-use stuff is stored, I find I prefer having a Frunk. I never open / use the Frunk - unless I need one of the occasional use items. No doubt other people have different strategies for using the Frunk, so mine might be a rare use-case .
We are a multi-car family. Wife and I each have a car, plus we have people carrier (not yet an X but it could be in the future) which we use for both people and large-cargo haulage. I also have a 2-seater sports car (which the kids call "The Hooligan", you'll get the picture
)For us the S is the car used by my wife for her daily commute [I work from home] and for all trips where we travel together; definitely our "primary" car. It also satisfies my "itch" to have a supercar, without actually having to pay & own, say, a Ferrari that is utterly useless for anything else. I have not driven The Hooligan at all since we got the S, and there is every chance it will sell without me putting another mile on it.
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