Chevrolet Bolt EV News
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It's one of the major questions for any electric-car buyer: How long will the battery pack last? And what would it cost to replace it if I do need a new one sometime down the road? Now a new video looks at that question, comparing the different thermal-management technologies in the batteries of the new 2018 Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car. DON'T MISS: Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car: what's inside the battery? Teardown video shows all The presenter is John D. Kelly, a professor in the Auto Technology department of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. It's one of several...
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Which electric car is your favorite? Twitter poll resultsMany times our polls deal with weighty issues—climate change, renewable energy, the effects of denying science—or survey expectations for the future. But sometimes we just do a "Pick one!" kind of poll. That's what we did last week, when we asked Twitter followers to name their favorite...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV production to grow, GM to work for single set of fuel-economy rules: CEO BarraGeneral Motors CEO Mary Barra told energy conference attendees in Houston on Wednesday the automaker would increase production of its newest electric vehicle, push for a single fuel-economy standard nationwide, and support expanding tax credits for electrified vehicles. "The good news is that our...
Aaron Cole -
Which electric car is your favorite? Take our Twitter pollThis week's Geneva auto show has seen lots of news about new electric cars, but almost all of them come from luxury brands. The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace has made its debut, Aston Martin announced its Lagonda brand would be dedicated to all-electric vehicles, and so forth. That's all very nice, but what...
John Voelcker -
Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car: what's inside the battery? Teardown video shows allThe battery packs of most modern electric cars are far different than those in your mobile phone or other portable devices. In most cases, they include hundreds or thousands of cells, arranged into modules, and usually surrounded by channels containing liquid coolant to keep the battery in its...
John Voelcker -
Is this the country's first Chevrolet Bolt EV police car? (updated with video)Using electric cars as police vehicles has some distinct advantages. Among them are near-silent operation, maximum acceleration from 0 rpm, and a novelty factor that can lead to friendly, beneficial interactions between officers and citizens. Now, the small Maryland city of Hyattsville, a suburb of...
John Voelcker -
It's been six months since General Motors completed the sale of its Opel division in Europe to PSA Group, the French parent of the Citroën, DS, and Peugeot brands. With the sale came licenses to run out the model life of GM-designed vehicles sold as Opels (and Vauxhalls in the U.K.) while PSA developed successors on its own underpinnings. Now the electric-car piece of that puzzle has come into clearer focus. DON'T MISS: Strong demand for Opel Ampera-e in Norway moves up launch date (Feb 2017) It appears that the Opel Ampera-e battery electric car, essentially a Chevrolet Bolt EV with a...
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Will GM or Tesla buyers lose electric-car tax credits first? (updated)A major contributor to electric-car sales is the program under which buyers of new electric cars qualify for a federal income-tax credit of up to $7,500. But these tax credits are not unlimited. Once a manufacturer reaches sales of 200,000 plug-in electric cars (after December 31, 2009), the...
Stephen Edelstein -
Chevy Bolt EV electric car range and performance in winter: one owner's logThe arrival of the first affordable long-range electric car on the market has naturally led some owners to push the car in a way that they might not do with a plug-in car offering just 80 miles of battery range. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, EPA-rated at 238 miles combined, removes most daily range...
John Voelcker -
Changing tires on Chevy Bolt EV electric car: your range, grip, and noise may varyOne of the many tactics used by carmakers to boost efficiency in their vehicles is fitting low-rolling-resistance tires. Specially designed to reduce the energy wasted as heat from the friction between the tire and the road, these tires can boost efficiency by a few percentage points in an electric...
John Voelcker -
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car: owners' impressions after a yearCalifornians got the chance to buy Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars before everyone else, and the compact hatchback has sold well in the state, aided by its 238-mile rated range. Last February, readers John and Mimi Porter of San Diego shared their first impressions of the new silver Bolt EV they...
John Voelcker -
Cruise AV, GM's autonomous electric Bolt EV, to go into production in 2019How comfortable would you be in a taxi or car-service vehicle that had no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedals? That's the question prompted by a photo that has already produced some subconscious anxiety among at least auto writers. How the public will react remains to be seen, but they'll...
John Voelcker -
Year-end roundups are an unavoidable necessity of the media business. They let editors and writers opine, and they fill space when there may be little real news. They also serve the more valuable function of forcing a longer-term perspective on the hundreds of news items a month that flow through any given writer's feeds. DON'T MISS: Tesla Model 3: impressions of a BMW i3 driver (and reservation holder) We'll offer our own assessment of the year's most important green-car news story in a few days. But we decided we'd poll our Twitter followers to get their views, offering up four major...
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What was the most important green-car story of 2017? Take our Twitter pollLists, news roundups, and general reflections are the usual order of business as a calendar year comes to a close. We've published more than 1,600 green-car news stories so far during 2017, and it's proven to be quite a year. In the car market at large, the most notable trend was a continued move...
John Voelcker -
Four of Wards' Top 10 Engines are actually electric or electrified powertrainsThe industry trade journal WardsAuto has been giving out "Best Engine" awards for 24 years now, and this year's list includes some interesting choices. For starters, there are no engines from German manufacturers on the list: The sole luxury recipients this year are Infiniti and Jaguar. But more...
Mark Stevenson -
Could Tennessee top Michigan in U.S. electric-car production (if not California)?Today, battery-electric cars are built in volume at only three locations across the entire United States. Tesla builds its three different electric models in Fremont, California; the new 2018 Nissan Leaf has just gone into production in Smyrna, Tennessee; and the Chevrolet Bolt EV is built at the...
John Voelcker -
Electric car buyers' struggle: practicality vs luxury, Chevy vs TeslaCompetition for the title of most popular electric car has sparked a long and highly charged race between Tesla and Chevrolet. Though these brands offer vastly different versions of electric vehicles, they seem to be the two dominating electric vehicle sales in 2017. Reports show that top monthly...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
What's a self-driving Chevy Bolt EV electric car like to ride in? Jerky, says one reportWhile such autonomous players as Uber, Tesla, and Waymo have already opened their car doors to the public, GM's autonomous subsidiary Cruise Automation has held its cards close to its vest. This past week, the Detroit-based automaker and Silicon Valley-based subsidiary allowed select members of the...
Mark Stevenson -
General Motors officials made a bold announcement on a Thursday conference call with investors: the automaker plans to launch commercial autonomous fleet operations beginning in 2019. The Detroit-based automaker's vision for commercial, autonomous ride sharing will begin with self-driving Bolt EV robo-taxis operating in dense urban areas in multiple cities. “If we continue on our current rate of change we will be ready to deploy this technology, in large scale, in the most complex environments, in 2019,” said GM President Dan Ammann on the conference call. DON'T MISS: Self-driving...
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2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV previewThe 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car is now arriving at Chevy dealers with no major changes—though drivers may find the heated steering wheel now turns itself on and off. Otherwise, the deletion of the map pocket on the back of the passenger seat from the 2LT trim level is the sole other...
Sean Szymkowski -
2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV: minimal changes, same range and priceWith sales of the Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car rising every month, shoppers are inevitably curious about any changes to the Bolt for the 2018 model year, its second. Now the information is out, and buyers will find the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV is virtually the same car as the 2017 model—with...
John Voelcker -
Don't be fooled: only some electric cars are sold nationwide, even nowAlmost seven years after modern electric cars entered the mass market, there are now more than two dozen battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models on sale in the U.S. But that impressive number shouldn't disguise a fundamental truth about those vehicles: only about half of them are widely...
John Voelcker -
Costco members now get GM Supplier Pricing on Chevy Bolt EV, VoltCostco members in the market for a new vehicle now have a new round of incentives to consider as they head into the final car-buying months of 2017. Specifically, shoppers interested in a General Motors vehicle will discover Supplier Pricing on nearly every car—including the Chevrolet Bolt EV...
Sean Szymkowski -
Which electric car will sell best in 2018? Take our Twitter pollOK, now the 2018 Nissan Leaf has made its debut, and we know the prices, specifications, and standard and optional features of the updated electric car with a projected 150 miles of range. Deliveries of the 2018 Leaf will start early next year, but meanwhile the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has been on...
John Voelcker