Visual comparison: Bolt vs. Model 3

[Haxster]

Visually I would classify the Bolt as being more appealing to maybe 1% of the population. I don't think it matters how old you are.

While I'm in your 99% category and way past being a Millennial, my observations, at least in the SF Bay Area, is that there are way more than 1% of similar-looking new cars on the road. And those driving them appear clearly skewed toward the Millennials.

That's not to say the drivers chose these cars primarily based on their visual appeal. There are MANY other reasons.

 

[RayW]

My inner conspiracy theorist says the large auto manufactures make EVs that won't sell on purpose. They've invested 100's-of-millions of dollars to develop technologies, corporate knowledge, patents, and infrastructure to build ICE and transmissions, and they need to continue investing to remain competitive. Now, how does a CEO and BOD make the decision to invest 100's-of-millions of dollars to develop new electric motor & battery technologies which will directly impact the ROI of their ICE investments? They have to find a way to appear like they are trying without impacting sales of their main product lines; thus we get the Bolt, Leaf, i3, etc.

For example , if Honda simply put a decent Li-Battery in a Civic they could sell 200,000 units, but instead they give us the Fit because they're afraid of what will happen to Civic ICE sales and their power-train ROI.

 

[Az_Rael]

I saw my first Bolt in person the other day. Drove behind it for a while before I even noticed. I was just thinking "that's an odd duck of a Chevy" then got closer and saw it said Bolt on the back. It was both taller and uglier than I expected. In person it looked like the roofline was quite a bit higher than my S - we were looking up into it. The back end looks like it's smiling - the Sonic has a much more appealing rear design. Then I passed it, and thought - wow, that is way uglier in person than I imagined.

I figure the Bolt appeals to the sort of person who appreciates the practicalities of an EV with a large interior and a hatch and doesn't mind looks so much. My coworker is one of those folks. He sold a 90s era dual cab F150 and bought one of those Scion xB's (the square one). We all asked him why, and he said it was the only car on the lot that fit his two tall teenage boys in the backseat comfortably. And that was the deciding factor.

 

[ecarfan]

Less than 1% of the cars sold last year were plugins in the USA. More than 99% could have bought a new plugin but chose ICE instead.

That buying decision had nothing to do with visual appeal, which is what we are talking about here, it had everything to do with typical human resistance to change and to a general ignorance about BEVs.

 

[McRat]

That buying decision had nothing to do with visual appeal, which is what we are talking about here, it had everything to do with typical human resistance to change and to a general ignorance about BEVs.

OK... Why are all the best selling cars about as exciting as instant decaf coffee and all look the same? The Top 10 Passenger Cars of 2016!!!

#1
Toyota Camry
#2
Toyota Corolla
#3
Honda Civic
#4
Honda Accord
#5
Nissan Altima
#6
Ford Fusion
#7
Chevrolet Malibu
#8
Nissan Sentra
#9
Hyundai Elantra
#10
Hyundai Sonata

What an exciting bunch. I probably could not tell any of them apart from 100 yards from a side profile. They are commodity appliances. All FWD 4-door generic sedans.

This is what the Majority Wants. You might not agree, and I certainly wouldn't buy anything from that list, but facts are facts. People want appliances, not cars. Which is good for the Model 3's future. When put in with those cars at 100 yards, it will blend in perfectly.

 

[stopcrazypp]

While I'm in your 99% category and way past being a Millennial, my observations, at least in the SF Bay Area, is that there are way more than 1% of similar-looking new cars on the road. And those driving them appear clearly skewed toward the Millennials.

That's not to say the drivers chose these cars primarily based on their visual appeal. There are MANY other reasons.

You are mistaking visual preference with market preference. Millennials (or their parents) pick cars similar to the Bolt because that is typically the only type they can afford (the Bolt looks like any of the recent $15k hatchbacks). It doesn't mean they won't prefer a better looking car if it costs the same money.

 

[McRat]

You are mistaking visual preference with market preference. Millennials (or their parents) pick cars similar to the Bolt because that is typically the only type they can afford (the Bolt looks like any of the recent $15k hatchbacks). It doesn't mean they won't prefer a better looking car if it costs the same money.

There are cheaper cars. None are big sellers in the US.

The Corolla is the best selling $15k car, but it's closer to $20k than $15k.

The Yaris is closer to 15 but doesn't sell that well:

 

[stopcrazypp]

There are cheaper cars. None are big sellers in the US.

The Corolla is the best selling $15k car, but it's closer to $20k than $15k.

As you say, that is closer to $20k than $15k.

The Yaris is closer to 15 but doesn't sell that well:

View attachment 225438

The sedan versions of the same $15k subcompact hatches tend to look extremely ugly (the Yaris is no exception). I believe it largely has to do with proportions. Given the choice between the two, I would pick the hatchback too.

 

[McRat]

As you say, that is closer to $20k than $15k.


The sedan versions of the same $15k subcompact hatches tend to look extremely ugly (the Yaris is no exception). I believe it largely has to do with proportions. Given the choice between the two, I would pick the hatchback too.

Uh... The Yaris looks like a Model 3. If fashion is passion, Yaris is you.

 

[Krugerrand]

Some of us need glasses. Just sayin...

 

[stopcrazypp]

Uh... The Yaris looks like a Model 3. If fashion is passion, Yaris is you.

I'm not sure you will find many people agreeing with you. Judge for yourself (I used a Scion iA picture as it's hard to find one with similar colors and angle):

 

[ApauloThirteen]

OK... Why are all the best selling cars about as exciting as instant decaf coffee and all look the same? The Top 10 Passenger Cars of 2016!!!

#1
Toyota Camry
...

This is what the Majority Wants. You might not agree, and I certainly wouldn't buy anything from that list, but facts are facts. People want appliances, not cars. Which is good for the Model 3's future. When put in with those cars at 100 yards, it will blend in perfectly.

Don't forget, the majority wants trucks, not cars. Example:

Ford's F-Series pickup remained the bestselling vehicle in America in 2016, with 820,799 trucks sold. That's the equivalent of 93 trucks sold every hour. The Toyota Camry was the bestselling car, despite a 9.5% drop in sales to 388,618.

So when Tesla pushes out the compact SUV and full/mid size pickup trucks, they'll have the law of large #s on their side. Hopefully soon. One can wonder/guess if they wanna intro an all e big rig first, to gain truck cred. Then when they move to full size pickups, the conversation can go something like... well if Tesla can displace a Peterbuilt / Kenworth rig, it can displace my <insert massive pickup truck brand here>.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

I'm not sure you will find many people agreeing with you. Judge for yourself (I used a Scion iA picture as it's hard to find one with similar colors and angle):

There is a strange similarity, but there is really no comparison. Kind of like when people say I look like Tom Cruise.

 

[scottf200]

Have you seen Renault's and Nissan's EV cars! They are selling to the world in larger numbers. The Bolt fits in other countries just fine ... where there is a bigger market.

"RENAULT-NISSAN ALLIANCE HITS MILESTONE OF 350,000 ELECTRIC VEHICLES SOLD, MAINTAINS POSITION AS GLOBAL EV LEADER"

http://www.media.blog.alliance-rena...-sold-maintains-position-as-global-ev-leader/

 

[AustinPowers]

While many Tesla owners complain about the Bolt looks, I think it's pretty darn mainstream and wasn't intentionally uglified to help them sell more higher-margin alternatives.

That I think is a very important point, especially here in Europe.
The Bolt looks like many cars that are very popular and sell in large numbers over here. Compact hatchback/crossover vehicles are immensely popular over here. Traditional sedans like the Model 3 form factor have been losing popularity for years.
I think the Bolt, or Ampera-e as it is known here, will sell quite well in Europe, possibly even better that the Model 3. We will see. But looks are certainly not something that will drag down its popularity.

I think it's impressive that a $44k microcar like the Bolt EV that can only be used to reach the store and back, outsold the much larger Fiat 500e...

Ahem, you are being ironic, right? The Fiat 500e is the "microcar" in this comparison. I just saw the first Ampera-e driving around here in Frankfurt yesterday, and it is certainly much larger than a Fiat 500e. It even looked larger than an i3, which in itself is not a small car. Compact, yes, small, no. Ok, for Americans perhaps

 

[AustinPowers]

I figure the Bolt appeals to the sort of person who appreciates the practicalities of an EV with a large interior and a hatch and doesn't mind looks so much. My coworker is one of those folks. He sold a 90s era dual cab F150 and bought one of those Scion xB's (the square one). We all asked him why, and he said it was the only car on the lot that fit his two tall teenage boys in the backseat comfortably. And that was the deciding factor.

Well, you see, quite a few people buy cars because of practical needs. For all the others there are Teslas

(Partly) kidding about Teslas of course, but 99% of the people I know do prefer a practical car over a handsome looking one every time.

OK... Why are all the best selling cars about as exciting as instant decaf coffee and all look the same? The Top 10 Passenger Cars of 2016!!! ...

Quite interesting, especially to see the difference between what Americans want versus what kind of cars Germans (and quite likely many Europeans as well) prefer.

For comparison, here are the Top 10 Passenger Cars of 2017 so far over here in Germany:

#1 VW Golf 73.872
#2 VW Tiguan 24.782
#3 VW Polo 24.732
#4 Mercedes C-class 23.297
#5 VW Passat 22.616
#6 Opel Astra 22.134
#7 Audi A4/S4/RS4 20.643
#8 VW Touran 18.064
#9 Opel Corsa 17.963
#10 Audi A3/S3/RS3 17.114

And as for the numbers for C-class, Passat and A4/S4/RS4, keep in mind that usually about 60% or more of those are the station wagon version!

Perhaps also interesting the Top 3 segments as percentage of total new registrations 2017:

Compact cars (like VW Golf, Audi A3, Opel Astra, etc.): 23.7%
what Germans call "SUVs" (like BMW X1, Ford Kuga, Opel Mokka): 14.4%
Small cars (like VW Polo, Opel Corsa, Skoda Fabia): 14.3%

For comparison: Luxury cars (like S-class, 7-series, Panamera, Model S): 0.8%

 

[AustinPowers]

Uh... The Yaris looks like a Model 3.

Yeah, and the Bolt looks like a Panamera...