Steve Wozniak looking to "Bolt" from his Model S

[hill]

I drove my Bolt EV from San Francisco to Los Angeles via an extended dinner layover in Santa Barbara with family there. That amounts to around 440 miles. ........snip..........

SF to LA is a cake walk. the boast will be boast-worthy once the drive can be timely from SF to Nashville ... or SF to Chicago for example. Now if GM were to make a combo to CHAdeMO adapter? That'd make cross county do-able for the SAE format - making available QC's more than double the existing amount. In the mean time? Not so much.
.

 

[nativewolf]

Probably because he did more interesting technical things by the age of 30 than you or I will ever do so that...frankly it does not matter what he does today. Hope he is having a ball, he's a neat guy who was never afraid to question the norm or let the lack of something stop him.

 

[disagree]

Probably because he did more interesting technical things by the age of 30 than you or I will ever do so that...frankly it does not matter what he does today. Hope he is having a ball, he's a neat guy who was never afraid to question the norm or let the lack of something stop him.

And really, if Woz is setting an example that smart people can have useful electric cars without having to get a Tesla, then he's helping the cause.

 

[McHoffa]

And really, if Woz is setting an example that smart people can have useful electric cars without having to get a Tesla, then he's helping the cause.

Most people COULD drive an EV most of the time. I have a Nissan Leaf. It's fine for our second car. I purposefully have to limit my driving, think ahead for my day's travels, and could never take a trip in it, but it's fine, and probably would be for most people 95% of the time. It's that 5% of the time that the Leaf and even the Bolt fail at. The 400+ mile road trips, where you really don't want to stop for two hours to charge every 200 miles in a Bolt (and you can't even realistically do in a Leaf/CMax/eGolf). DC fast charging isn't fast enough if you can even find them. I WISH Tesla wasn't the only real game in town, but they are. GM did better than the previous EVs, but the charging part is what will prevent the average Joe from adopting the EV lifestyle (well that, and trucks). When you're used to stopping for 5 minutes to refill, stopping for 2 hours, every 200 or so miles would be painful. Even in a Tesla you have to change how you travel, but it's worth it.

 

[disagree]

Most people COULD drive an EV most of the time. I have a Nissan Leaf. It's fine for our second car. I purposefully have to limit my driving, think ahead for my day's travels, and could never take a trip in it, but it's fine, and probably would be for most people 95% of the time. It's that 5% of the time that the Leaf and even the Bolt fail at. The 400+ mile road trips, where you really don't want to stop for two hours to charge every 200 miles in a Bolt (and you can't even realistically do in a Leaf/CMax/eGolf). DC fast charging isn't fast enough if you can even find them. I WISH Tesla wasn't the only real game in town, but they are. GM did better than the previous EVs, but the charging part is what will prevent the average Joe from adopting the EV lifestyle (well that, and trucks). When you're used to stopping for 5 minutes to refill, stopping for 2 hours, every 200 or so miles would be painful. Even in a Tesla you have to change how you travel, but it's worth it.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Well, yes, since 40% of the money is set aside for California due to the state's involvement in investigating VW and its unique role in emissions regulation -- and almost half of all plugin vehicles in the US are sold in California.

Right, but the point Lloyd was making was that you could drive a Telsa 1,000 miles simply and easily...which is also possible outside of the West Coast. Like I said, it's great that Californians are going to have access to more convenient long distance charging...but the Bolt will be released nationwide.

People like me, and there are a lot, are SOL...because GM is relying on others to develop charging infrastructure.

 

[Drone Flyer]

Bolt has no Navigation screen!

 

[McRat]

Right, but the point Lloyd was making was that you could drive a Telsa 1,000 miles simply and easily...which is also possible outside of the West Coast. Like I said, it's great that Californians are going to have access to more convenient long distance charging...but the Bolt will be released nationwide.

People like me, and there are a lot, are SOL...because GM is relying on others to develop charging infrastructure.

People like me and the other 3 drivers in our family, any EV will get the job done, even an old Leaf. But we elected to use the GM 2007 tech, the Volt. It runs on EV nearly all times, with full peak acceleration. Or it can travel coast to coast faster than any BEV especially in areas with no DCFC coverage with high MPG and low emissions.

If the Bolt has range issues, the other GM model covers it.

 

[SageBrush]

Probably because he did more interesting technical things by the age of 30 than you or I will ever do so that...frankly it does not matter what he does today. Hope he is having a ball, he's a neat guy who was never afraid to question the norm or let the lack of something stop him.

Woz has his quirks but his Karma pile is never going to be used up. His philanthropy towards education is just awesome, and there is little doubt that he is an all around good (tm) guy. And a publicity hound <<shrug>>

Some years ago he was involved in an accident (piloting a plane, IIRC) and I don't think he retained the super-unusual intellect that put Apple on the map. He is still smart, just not a prodigy anymore.

 

[Jeff N]

SF to LA is a cake walk. the boast will be boast-worthy once the drive can be timely from SF to Nashville ... or SF to Chicago for example.

Although hardly anyone does that, even in ICE cars....

 

[Jeff N]

Bolt has no Navigation screen!

And Tesla doesn't have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

I'm pretty happy with the Apple Maps navigation so far although it needs more EV-specific enhancements for road trip purposes.

 

[Jeff N]

People like me, and there are a lot, are SOL...because GM is relying on others to develop charging infrastructure.

Tesla had to develop their own Supercharger network because they were first on the market with long-range cars. That doesn't then imply that every car maker has to equivalently built out their own GM, BMW, Mercedes, Ford, etc. DC network. In the US, VW is going to end up doing the job although there will also be various government grant programs and private networks like EVgo. Once a skeletal but usable national CCS network is up and running and there are cars on the road using it then I think we will see other investors follow with their own charging networks.

VW should be publishing their draft first 2.5 year plan in the next day or two. We will know more soon. If they just privately hand off the draft directly to CARB and EPA it might take longer to learn the details but in any event it should be finalized and approved by April or May and we should certainly see a public version by then.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Tesla had to develop their own Supercharger network because they were first on the market with long-range cars. That doesn't then imply that every car maker has to equivalently built out their own GM, BMW, Mercedes, Ford, etc. DC network. In the US, VW is going to end up doing the job although there will also be various government grant programs and private networks like EVgo. Once a skeletal but usable national CCS network is up and running and there are cars on the road using it then I think we will see other investors follow with their own charging networks.

No one is asking GM to be Tesla, we're asking them to partner with one of the many companies building CCS stations to provide a means for their customers to use the vehicles they're selling them. The positive PR would outweigh the upfront cost of doing so.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

People like me and the other 3 drivers in our family, any EV will get the job done, even an old Leaf. But we elected to use the GM 2007 tech, the Volt. It runs on EV nearly all times, with full peak acceleration. Or it can travel coast to coast faster than any BEV especially in areas with no DCFC coverage with high MPG and low emissions.

If the Bolt has range issues, the other GM model covers it.

Yes, the Volt is the primary reason GM isn't investing in infrastructure. I'm not in the market for a 4 seater hybrid, however.

 

[McRat]

Yes, the Volt is the primary reason GM isn't investing in infrastructure. I'm not in the market for a 4 seater hybrid, however.

Huh... We travel with 5 adults all the time in the Volts except the 2013. In any case, EV infrastructure issues are not going away this decade.

Did you know the average Chevrolet Volt travels more pure EV miles than Nissan Leafs do? So that must make the Leaf a sub-hybrid, ie- more gasoline dependent than hybrids. Odd.

Because if you must travel interstate all the time, you can't do it with a Leaf very well, you're using something else.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Huh... We travel with 5 adults all the time in the Volts except the 2013. In any case, EV infrastructure issues are not going away this decade.

Did you know the average Chevrolet Volt travels more pure EV miles than Nissan Leafs do? So that must make the Leaf a sub-hybrid, ie- more gasoline dependent than hybrids. Odd.

Because if you must travel interstate all the time, you can't do it with a Leaf very well, you're using something else.

That's great, but I doubt very much you take 3 people in the back on long distance trips...which is the point we're discussing here. If you do, I'm sorry for them.

Were you aware the Avg. Volt drives more petrol miles than the Avg. Leaf, as well? The Volt doesn't have enough AER to allow us to handle all of our metro driving, nor does it have enough seats to cover our (soon to need) daily needs. We're a two car family, and I'd prefer that both cars be able to take us outside of the metro...which the Bolt cannot, and the Volt can't comfortably carry the family and luggage we require for the long distance trips.

Yes, we're getting a Pacifica Hybrid...which will cover about 75% of our metro driving while transporting the family around. We have the LEAF to replace what the Bolt, or Volt, would do for us...and it's considerably cheaper.

 

[SageBrush]

Although hardly anyone does that, even in ICE cars....

It is one of the paradoxes of car purchase decisions. People want flexibility, even if it is rarely used. I have always promoted the idea of rental for infrequent use but it has never caught on. Even my wife gives me push-back.

 

[habanero69]

Honestly, he looks more like a Bolt driver/owner than a Model S. Take that anyway you want....

 

[bro1999]

Honestly, he looks more like a Bolt driver/owner than a Model S. Take that anyway you want....

Like a guy choosing to marry a smart, decent looking chick instead of the smoke show gold-digging bimbo with 13 STIs? The bimbo at least shops at Whole Foods.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Although hardly anyone does that, even in ICE cars....

They should, though. Chicago to LA via 66/40, then up the 1 to SF, was probably the most fun I've ever had in a car.

It is pretty rare. Just about everyone told us it was a dumb idea. As big a proponent as I am, I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone buy a car around being able to do that, though.