Chevrolet Bolt & Bolt EUV

[dgpcolorado]

And, least around here, CCS and CHAdeMO will offer more locations.

More locations - but not (yet) high availability. Basically you can't count on them being up and working when you need them ... unlike a managed network like Tesla's.

Yes. Even if there are more locations for conventional DCFC stations they have a long way to go to approach the Tesla network. How many Chademo/CCS stations have four/six/eight/ten/twelve units at each location? How reliable are they? And don't forget that the somewhat slower charging of those units means that each will be occupied somewhat longer than a typical Supercharger.

A hodge-podge of DCFC stations, with a variety of payment schemes and little redundancy, doesn't really present competition to Tesla's system. Even if they do fill in some of the blank spots on the map, such as the Intermountain West and the vast majority of the Great Plains. If all you are interested in is regional travel in heavily urbanized areas, especially on the coasts, fine. But to suggest that Chademo/CCS will allow for long distance travel in the next few years without some sort of massive building program (paid for by whom?) is absurd.

And, least around here, CCS and CHAdeMO will offer more locations.

Depends on where you live, I suppose. I can flip that around: I am within Tesla distance of six Supercharger stations, with 28 Superchargers. By contrast, I am not within Tesla range of a single Chademo or CCS station. Not one.

 

[minispeed]

How many Chademo/CCS stations have four/six/eight/ten/twelve units at each location? How reliable are they? And don't forget that the somewhat slower charging of those units means that each will be occupied somewhat longer than a typical Supercharger.

Also I'd like to add how many of them are working on automatic arms that connect to your port for you and an auto park feature that means the car could drive it self out when done and another un-attended car could drive into that spot. Not only does that mean you don`t have to stay there and wait but if you leave your spot will not be taken by someone else who shows up before you get back.

Although I didn`t read a direct quote saying that superchargers will work that way they have said all those things will be able to be done.

 

[edatoakrun]

Add less aerodynamic, to heavier and more expensive, to the progress GM has made in the Bolt, compared to the LEAF of ~five years ago:

According to C&D, Bolt's claimed drag area is ~8.05 SFT, considerably worse than the tested results for a 2012 LEAF

The Bolt’s claimed 0.312 aerodynamic-drag coefficient and modest 25.8-square-foot frontal area...

http://www.caranddriver.com/flipbook/12-things-to-know-about-chevrolets-30000-bolt-ev#6

The Leaf is the boxiest shape we wheeled into the wind tunnel, and it has this test’s second-largest frontal area at 24.5 square feet. Combined with a 0.32 drag coefficient, that yields a 7.8-square-foot drag area. This is a reasonable figure for a five-passenger wagon...

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/drag-queens-aerodynamics-compared-comparison-test-fifth-place-nissan-leaf-page-2

Not unexpected, considering the bolt is shorter, taller, and ~the same width as a LEAF.

So you can probably expect the Bolt to get ~160 miles of total freeway range (if ~54 kWh use is allowed, and efficiency is ~3 m/kWh) from a Bolt at ~70 mph, with warm temperatures on a level route, using no climate control.

Less range in any less than ideal conditions, of course.

 

[abasile]

Add less aerodynamic, to heavier and more expensive, to the progress GM has made in the Bolt, compared to the LEAF of ~five years ago:

According to C&D, Bolt's claimed drag area is ~8.05 SFT, considerably worse than the tested results for a 2012 LEAF

The Bolt’s claimed 0.312 aerodynamic-drag coefficient and modest 25.8-square-foot frontal area...

Heavier and more expensive, I can understand to a degree, given the 250% increase in battery capacity.

If the design of the Tesla Model S is any indication, I do expect the Model 3 to be far more aerodynamic than the Bolt. This is important for those of us who prefer to drive at real-world freeway speeds rather than having to hypermile at 55 mph (90 km/h) just to have enough range. It's sort of a shame to waste 60 kWh on an EV lacking the aerodynamics for optimal long-distance travel.

I really hope the timetable for the Model 3 doesn't get pushed back too much more...

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Bolt to be available nationwide:

‘Not a compliance car,’ GM says 2017 Chevy Bolt production capacity exceeds 50,000 per year - GM-VOLT
https://apple.news/AlN2ocE9BMi2O8_feQbHRlQ

 

[pkulak]

http://insideevs.com/exclusive-inside-the-chevrolet-bolt-with-its-chief-engineer-new-details/

No adaptive cruise, lane departure, self parking, etc! I can totally see leaving all that off in the base model to keep your price under the 30-grand barrier, but to not even charge for it? I know lots of people don't care, but you can get all this stuff in a Honda CRV these days. And with a 200-mile range, this car could spend a lot of time in freeway traffic!

 

[EVDRIVER]

http://insideevs.com/exclusive-inside-the-chevrolet-bolt-with-its-chief-engineer-new-details/

No adaptive cruise, lane departure, self parking, etc! I can totally see leaving all that off in the base model to keep your price under the 30-grand barrier, but to not even charge for it? I know lots of people don't care, but you can get all this stuff in a Honda CRV these days. And with a 200-mile range, this car could spend a lot of time in freeway traffic!

Looks like I will be sitting on my computer the min before Tesla pre-orders open unless it's a flop. Since I can have supercharger plus all the other automated driving features on the Tesla as an option I don't see a Bolt for me. If you have driven a Tesla with this feature you know how amazing it can be and more so if you commute. The cd numbers on the Bolt are really disappointing and it looks like it will really suffer on the highway and be crippled with a poor QC network and one that will not be in places of low populations. By launch the supercharger network will likely get me to anywhere I need to go in CA. Sad, but they may do well with the Bolt in urban environments once they offer great lease deals or big discounts, of course we need to see what Nissan will offer in comparison. I expected GM to do a little better on this car in terms of efficiency.

 

[evnow]

Bolt to be available nationwide:

‘Not a compliance car,’ GM says 2017 Chevy Bolt production capacity exceeds 50,000 per year - GM-VOLT
https://apple.news/AlN2ocE9BMi2O8_feQbHRlQ

That doesn't mean it will be available nationwide in 2016. Even Volt 2 isn't available nationwide now.

I guess GM will take a year or more to make it available even in a top EV market like Seattle. Only question is will we (in Seattle) get Model 3 first or Bolt. Fairly sure, Leaf 2 will come here before Bolt.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Bolt to be available nationwide:

‘Not a compliance car,’ GM says 2017 Chevy Bolt production capacity exceeds 50,000 per year - GM-VOLT
https://apple.news/AlN2ocE9BMi2O8_feQbHRlQ

That doesn't mean it will be available nationwide in 2016. Even Volt 2 isn't available nationwide now.

I guess GM will take a year or more to make it available even in a top EV market like Seattle. Only question is will we (in Seattle) get Model 3 first or Bolt. Fairly sure, Leaf 2 will come here before Bolt.

It also says that it may not be carried by all dealers. Probably not all carry Volt either. But it does say you can have a dealer order one for you. Ford dealers here don't stock any EVs either, all special order. Still a few dealers here that won't stock LEAFs either, but there's a high density of dealers here. I wouldn't get one if there's no trained techs to deal with problems if they come up. Pretty sure the 3 will be last.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Bolt to be available nationwide:

‘Not a compliance car,’ GM says 2017 Chevy Bolt production capacity exceeds 50,000 per year - GM-VOLT
https://apple.news/AlN2ocE9BMi2O8_feQbHRlQ

That doesn't mean it will be available nationwide in 2016. Even Volt 2 isn't available nationwide now.

I guess GM will take a year or more to make it available even in a top EV market like Seattle. Only question is will we (in Seattle) get Model 3 first or Bolt. Fairly sure, Leaf 2 will come here before Bolt.

It also says that it may not be carried by all dealers. Probably not all carry Volt either. But it does say you can have a dealer order one for you. Ford dealers here don't stock any EVs either, all special order. Still a few dealers here that won't stock LEAFs either, but there's a high density of dealers here. I wouldn't get one if there's no trained techs to deal with problems if they come up. Pretty sure the 3 will be last.

Pick up a used one cheap when the Model 3 is out, they should be all over the internet. :lol:

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Good plan. Pick up a relatively low mile, low range car for low money. I've only got a 20 mile RT commute. Plus a 3 for the family travel car. Good times.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Good plan. Pick up a relatively low mile, low range car for low money. I've only got a 20 mile RT commute. Plus a 3 for the family travel car. Good times.

I'm sure a used Bolt in a year will not be low range.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Good plan. Pick up a relatively low mile, low range car for low money. I've only got a 20 mile RT commute. Plus a 3 for the family travel car. Good times.

I'm sure a used Bolt in a year will not be low range.

No, probably still 200+

 

[mwalsh]

Probably everything you ever wanted to know about the active cooling in the Bolt:

http://www.hybridcars.com/2017-chevy-bolt-battery-cooling-and-gearbox-details/

I am a little wary of the changes made over the Volt's system (where the coolant passes through plates between the cells) so I guess we'll have to see how it works out in practice.

 

[LKK]

Probably everything you ever wanted to know about the active cooling in the Bolt:

http://www.hybridcars.com/2017-chevy-bolt-battery-cooling-and-gearbox-details/

I am a little wary of the changes made over the Volt's system (where the coolant passes through plates between the cells) so I guess we'll have to see how it works out in practice.

I believe the Gen 1 Volt uses liquid cooled cold plates between the battery cells.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Probably everything you ever wanted to know about the active cooling in the Bolt:

http://www.hybridcars.com/2017-chevy-bolt-battery-cooling-and-gearbox-details/

I am a little wary of the changes made over the Volt's system (where the coolant passes through plates between the cells) so I guess we'll have to see how it works out in practice.

It likely will work better than the cooling the present Nissan packs

 

[DanCar]

... I am a little wary of the changes made over the Volt's system (where the coolant passes through plates between the cells) so I guess we'll have to see how it works out in practice.

GM says that the Bolt's batteries have extra nickel in them so that they require less cooling.
http://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2016/Jan/naias/chevy/0111-bolt-du.html

... The nickel-rich lithium-ion chemistry provides improved thermal operating performance over other chemistries, which requires a smaller active cooling system for more efficient packaging. The chemistry allows the Bolt EV to maintain peak performance in varying climates and driver demands. ...

 

[EVDRIVER]

I wonder if he has a poker face on or is really concerned.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101940_carlos-ghosns-face-shows-nissans-reaction-to-2017-chevy-bolt-ev

 

[evnow]

Probably everything you ever wanted to know about the active cooling in the Bolt:

http://www.hybridcars.com/2017-chevy-bolt-battery-cooling-and-gearbox-details/

I am a little wary of the changes made over the Volt's system (where the coolant passes through plates between the cells) so I guess we'll have to see how it works out in practice.

Gen 1 Volt was basically built in military style - lots of buffer and over-engineering. That means it was expensive and a money loser. They have to make it more efficient and optimal before they can sell in larger numbers and make some money.

 

[edatoakrun]

I wonder if he has a poker face on or is really concerned.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101940_carlos-ghosns-face-shows-nissans-reaction-to-2017-chevy-bolt-ev

Maybe it's just that the Bolt smells as stale as it looks?

Voelcker has got to be one of the the most obtuse of all writers on the subject of EVs:

...Still, we're betting Carlos Ghosn was doing the sums in his head as he gazed at the car that will obsolete his prized Nissan Leaf within a year or so...

If the Bolt really were to become a success (doubtful, IMO) it's the Volt that will even more quickly pass from obsolescence to extinction.