{"id":397,"date":"2017-02-03T06:02:13","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T06:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/?p=397"},"modified":"2019-12-17T21:30:08","modified_gmt":"2019-12-17T21:30:08","slug":"2017-chevy-bolt-changing-of-the-guard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/2017\/02\/03\/2017-chevy-bolt-changing-of-the-guard\/","title":{"rendered":"2017 Chevy Bolt EV: A Changing of the Guard?"},"content":{"rendered":"
February 2017. California.<\/pre>\n
Today I got my first turn behind the wheel of\u00a0the Chevy Bolt. By now\u00a0you’ve probably\u00a0seen reviews of the Bolt, like\u00a0the\u00a0Transport Evolved Review<\/a><\/em>, so I’ll keep my comments on the Bolt’s features short, since others have already reviewed this compact car.<\/p>\n
\"The
The Chevy Bolt is here. It’s now. And it’s a nice car.<\/p><\/div>\n
My take in 2 words? Im Pressive. In 25 words?\u00a0The Bolt is quick, sporty, and handles well. It feels solid, well built. It\u00a0looks like and drives like other compact cars I have driven.<\/p>\n
The Bolt is quicker than the compacts I’ve owned. But, the everyday look, feel, and drive of the Bolt could very well speed\u00a0adoption of EVs by the public at large.<\/p>\n
It’s all about Range<\/strong>\u00a0(…and price)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
If you haven’t heard about\u00a0the Bolt, two key\u00a0features have everyone talking: 238 miles of EPA-rated range and a starting price of\u00a0 $37,495. In\u00a0coupling long range with an affordable price GM has leap-frogged the competition. The Bolt\u00a0really can’t be compared to any EV currently on the market. Sure,\u00a0Tesla has been producing 265+ mile EVs for over 4 years, but a base\u00a0Model S starts at $71,000. We all know the Tesla Model 3 is around the corner, but it’s around the corner. The Bolt is here now and has more than double the driving range of any other EV in its price range. For this reason the Chevy Bolt represents\u00a0a changing of the guard. I won’t say that days are numbered for the 70, 80 – 100 mile EVs, but clearly the standard has changed. Other manufacturers will have to compete at this level or be left behind.<\/p>\n
The Bolt has arrived with\u00a0glowing reviews from new owners, some with big names.\u00a0All signs point to big interest. Now it’s up to GM\u00a0to\u00a0promote the Bolt\u00a0for potential buyers. To do this GM must have a vision for how this car will be used.<\/p>\n
\"Inspiration\"<\/p>\n
Automobile\u00a0companies usually help customers\u00a0imagine\u00a0how a car will\u00a0be used. For example, advertisements show pick-up trucks driving over\u00a0rough terrain and hauling big payloads, or cars driving through\u00a0open spaces to explore\u00a0the great outdoors. These ads speak of inspiration, getting things done, driving, seeing the world. What is\u00a0GM’s vision for the Bolt? Is it a car for daily trips to work and the grocery store? Is it a family car for running the kids around? Is it a car for long road trips and journeys?<\/p>\n
Let’s talk\u00a0about Charging<\/strong><\/p>\n
With 238 miles in the pack, the Bolt\u00a0will easily\u00a0handle day to day driving. Many folks will charge at home for their daily driving, but for longer trips the Bolt needs a network of fast charging stations to refuel on\u00a0longer journeys.<\/p>\n
Until now there have been\u00a0roughly 2 categories of EVs: 1) The 80 mile EV that perfectly handles daily commuting, and may be\u00a0capable of longer trips with\u00a0decent DC fast charger (DCFC) infrastructure; and 2) the Tesla Model S and Model X.<\/p>\n
\"Location
Location of Tesla Superchargers and Destination Charging stations as of Feb 2017.<\/p><\/div>\n
Tesla leads the way for long distance travel in an EV with their extensive Supercharger network. The Teslas\u00a0have a driving range of\u00a0210 to 335 miles depending on the size of battery pack. With these cars you can drive coast to coast, east-west and north-south on the\u00a0Supercharger network. The Superchargers are spaced up to 170 miles apart, and at 120 kW can provide\u00a0up to 170 miles of range in 30 minutes.<\/p>\n
The idea for long distance trips in a Tesla is to drive for ~3 hours, take a break to eat, stretch your\u00a0legs, refresh your mind and get back on the road. You can also\u00a0visit locations or stay in\u00a0hotels that host\u00a0Tesla Destination charging stations. Tesla has put thought and money into making their cars useful.<\/p>\n
\"The
The author charging his Rav4 EV at a DCFC station in Santa Cruz, CA. Right side: Orange icons show current location of CHAdeMO and CCS DCFC charging stations. Although the network is decent, many areas remain to be served.<\/p><\/div>\n
If you don’t drive a Tesla and plan longer trips, you will need to charge at\u00a0a\u00a0CHAdeMO or CCS DCFC station. In California the number\u00a0of DCFC\u00a0stations is growing fairly quick. But the patchwork network of 24 – 50 kW\u00a0stations has been\u00a0funded by different agencies, parties or companies, with different goals, and little coordination. The new Chevy Bolt charges on these CCS DCFC stations. Many more are needed.<\/p>\n
Here’s where GM should provide guidance and lead the way. Last year\u00a0GM stated that they would\u00a0not participate in establishing a nationwide network of DCFC stations. They should reconsider. There is talk that Chevy dealers\u00a0might be required\u00a0to install DCFC stations, but this is not the way to go for charging on the go. I’ve charged in dealer lots. Some dealers are busy charging cars they want to sell, or block access by parking cars in front of\u00a0chargers, or lock the gates after hours, preventing access.<\/p>\n
\"Location
Location of Tesla Superchargers (red icons) and DCFC stations (orange icons) as of Feb 2017.<\/p><\/div>\n
A\u00a0dedicated network of \u00a024 hour DCFC stations is needed. Nissan has worked to build out a DCFC network for the Leaf. BMW and VW have partnered with ChargePoint to begin installing DCFC stations for their electric cars. GM should partner\u00a0up and help establish the DCFC charging\u00a0network for the Bolt. Without\u00a0a decent DCFC network, the Bolt – even with it’s impressive range – will be limited in some regions until somebody\u00a0builds out the charging network. There are states with\u00a0few, and several states without\u00a0any DCFC stations. It is not yet possible to drive cross country using DCFC stations.<\/p>\n
GM also needs to have a consistent advertising effort across the board. The very same day that Chevy announced the first delivery of Bolts to new owners in California, Chevy radio ads began airing in the San Francisco Bay area that were decidedly anti-BEV. The gist of the ad was if you want to\u00a0buy an EV, you better get a tent and prepare to camp out because charging an EV takes 21 hours. To Chevy’s\u00a0credit\u00a0this ad was pulled\u00a0soon after it began, but somebody within the organization thought this was a good idea.\u00a0Better ads will help educate\u00a0the public about\u00a0a car that can sell itself if properly promoted.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0base model Bolt with DC charging is listed on Chevy’s website for $38,245. Adding typical\u00a0options puts\u00a0the price in the\u00a0 40-41k range…. before currently available rebates. So, at this moment, in California, you can\u00a0order a Bolt with DC charging and effectively pay less than $30,000 after federal and state rebates.<\/p>\n
Conclusion. GM has delivered on the car, the Chevy Bolt is a game changer. Now GM should deliver on establishing a fast charging\u00a0network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
February 2017. California. Today I got my first turn behind the wheel of\u00a0the Chevy Bolt. By now\u00a0you’ve probably\u00a0seen reviews of the Bolt, like\u00a0the\u00a0Transport Evolved Review, so I’ll keep my comments on the Bolt’s features short, since others have already reviewed this compact car.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transport-evolved-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3360,"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions\/3360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ventricular.org\/ItsElectric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}