Chevrolet Bolt EV News
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The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first mass-priced electric car with a range of more than 200 miles, and it's already had a big impact on the California market. While it continues to trickle into dealerships in other states, a few lucky Californians now have six months in the 238-mile electric hatchback under their belt. An early owner, John Porter of San Diego, shared his impressions of the car after three months with Green Car Reports readers. DON'T MISS: 2017 Chevy Bolt EV: new owner's first impressions Now he's had six months with his Bolt EV—not bad considering the first one in...
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Chevy Bolt EV costs $28,700 to build, Tesla Model 3 a bit higher: analysisThe costs and prices of electric cars are endlessly debated, not only among owners and advocates but within the industry itself. The cost per kilowatt-hour of electric-car batteries is closely held, with a few notable exceptions. One of those was the statement by GM product chief Mark Reuss that...
John Voelcker -
Low-budget Chevy Bolt EV dealer ad normalizes electric carsAh, local car-dealer ads on television. You've likely seen them, usually during the local ad minute on national shows, often late at night or in the cheaper slots. They're mostly formulaic, but each one mixes several elements for its own unique blend of attention-grabbing pitch. DON'T MISS: This...
John Voelcker -
This family has two Chevy Bolt EV electric cars, uses no gas at allThe 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first mass-priced electric car to offer a range of more than 200 miles, something previously offered only by pricey Tesla luxury cars. Initially put on sale last December in California, the 238-mile Bolt EV is slowly rolling out across the country and will be on...
John Voelcker -
First impressions of Chevy Bolt EV by Nissan Leaf driverIf you're serious about driving a green car, but not happy with your local choices, you need to move to California. The Golden State has roughly two dozen battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on sale, not to mention three hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Electric-car advocate Kelly Olsen...
John Voelcker -
2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car: first national lease deal starts at $329 monthlyAs the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV rolls out across the U.S. over a nine-month period, electric-car advocates have focused intently on its sales numbers. It's fair to say that in its first four months on sale, they haven't yet broken any records. But now, for the first time, there's a national lease...
John Voelcker -
For a few years now, Tesla has shown what a nationwide network of DC fast-charging sites for long-range electric cars should look like. Its Supercharger network now covers virtually all of the lower 48 states, and until earlier this year, it was completely free to Tesla drivers. The Chevrolet Bolt EV, the first affordable battery-electric car with 200-plus miles of rated range, also offers DC fast charging as an option. DON'T MISS: Fast-charging a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car But Bolt EV fast charging is less capable than Tesla's in three crucial ways. First, there's no coherent...
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Fast-charging a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric carThe 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first mass-priced electric car with more than 200 miles of range to go on sale in the U.S. That alone makes it a landmark vehicle, and has led to significant interest in the first electric car that provides comparable range to that of Tesla cars over the last nine...
John Voelcker -
Which electric car will sell best during 2018? Poll resultsNext year should be a record year for sales of plug-in electric cars. A new crop of affordable electric cars with 200 miles of range or more will be available, joining this year's Chevrolet Bolt EV, including the next-generation Nissan Leaf and the mass-market Tesla Model 3. So our thoughts...
John Voelcker -
What IS 'one-pedal driving' in an electric car?One-pedal driving is rather like the experience of owning an electric car: it can be hard to appreciate until you've spend time doing it. The phrase "one-pedal driving" refers to the ability of some electric cars to be driven almost entirely with the accelerator pedal alone. It's a feature much...
John Voelcker -
Another Chevy Bolt EV electric-car owner weighs in on pros and consWe've had a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car in our fleet for a handful of days, and have been thinking about our impressions of the car in everyday use. While a major snowstorm cut half the days out of our test run—with a 7-foot snowdrift blocking the road to my house—we've been...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV pricing across U.S.: some discounts, some markups on electric carWith a base price of $37,495 and an EPA-rated range of 238 miles, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has no real direct competition at the moment. All other electric cars in its price bracket offer substantially lower ranges, while the 200-mile luxury electric cars sold by Tesla now start at $75,000. Just...
Stephen Edelstein -
Lots of people like horse races, win-or-lose competitions, and rankings. They're easy to understand, and definitive. They may also lose the forest for the trees, which is what we're tempted to suggest about a new article that addresses the launch of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car. GM's 238-mile battery-electric hatchback is rolling out across the country, with actual lineups of people waiting to test-drive it in at least some dealerships. DON'T MISS: Chevy Bolt EV tested by Tesla Model S owner: his assessment An article in Forbes last week puts its impact into the win/lose dichotomy...
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Chevy Bolt EV tested by Tesla Model S owner: his assessmentFleeing my home in New York’s Hudson Valley for California during February and March has a number of charms. Currently at the top of the list: reading about Winter Storm Stella while watching the surfers at Rincon Beach. For electric-car nuts like me, however, there’s another California...
David Noland -
Why I canceled my Chevy Bolt EV electric-car order: a reader explainsThe advent of affordable 200-mile electric cars promises to increase public acceptance of cars with plugs—or at least that's the hope of both carmakers and advocates. The first of those, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, is now entering the market, state by state, to great acclaim. But not every...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV, Hyundai Ioniq show slow, confusing state of 'fast' charging todayWhen you drive into a U.S. gas station to pump gas, every pump works exactly the same way. The only choice to make is which grade of gasoline you want. If you want diesel fuel, of course, you may have to find one of the six out of 10 stations that offer it. DC fast charging for electric cars isn't...
John Voelcker -
Five electric-car questions to worry about this yearIt seems fair to say that the new presidential administration may have increased the generalized level of worry among many Americans, not to mention the rest of the world. Among the things to worry about are the future of incentives, infrastructure, and legislation encouraging the adoption of...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV: 800-mile trip in 238-mile electric car shows challenges remainWith about twice the range of any non-Tesla electric car, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has generated a great deal of excitement and won numerous awards over the last year. In combination with a nascent DC fast-charging infrastructure, it offers the possibility of much longer road trips powered solely...
John Voelcker -
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is a crucial car for General Motors in more ways than one. With an EPA-rated 238-mile range and $37,495 base price (before federal, state, and local incentives), the Bolt EV considered a groundbreaking electric-car game changer. But the Chevy hatchback is also GM's main platform for self-driving car development. DON'T MISS: GM releases second Chevy Bolt EV autonomous driving video GM subsidiary Cruise Automation is already testing prototype autonomous Bolt EV electric cars on public roads—and their numbers are about to grow. The automaker will deploy...
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GM's Maven car-sharing adds Chevy Bolt EV electric cars (in LA)With the 238-mile Chevy Bolt EV electric car now in its third month of sales and rolling out to additional states every month, the industry is focused on its sales numbers. Retail buyers have asked to what degree GM's plans to dedicate a number of the early Bolt EVs to its Maven car-sharing service...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV electric range: can 238 miles stretch to 300 miles?The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has an official EPA-rated range of 238 miles per charge on the combined test cycle. That gives it the longest range of any electric car currently on sale in the U.S. that isn't a Tesla, at a base price around half that of the least-expensive model from the Silicon Valley...
Stephen Edelstein -
Chevy Bolt EV is basis for 'huge range of electric cars': GM CEO Mary BarraIt's common practice in the industry for automakers to base multiple different models on the same basic platform or architecture. This allows them to amortize the development costs of new platforms across a wider range of products. It also means that two seemingly dissimilar models—such as a...
Stephen Edelstein -
GM releases second Chevy Bolt EV autonomous driving videoThe Chevrolet Bolt EV may very well turn out to be a game-changing electric car in more ways than one. With an EPA-rated 238-mile range and a base price of $37,495, the Bolt EV has the potential to appeal to a much broader range of customers than previous electric cars. At the same time, it's also...
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car: new owner's first impressionsAs the first mass-priced electric car with more than 200 miles of range to hit the market, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has attracted a great deal of attention. It's won numerous awards, including the Green Car Reports 2017 Best Car To Buy title, and received rave reviews from a wide variety of media...
John Voelcker