gangzoom Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 So the first 'affordable' EV is here. GM Bolt. Sub $30k, 238miles of real life range (EPA range ratings is very accurate, my Leaf has a EPA range of 78 miles), 0-60 in 7 seconds, seats 5 adults, deliveries start THIS year!! http://insideevs.com/chevrolet-bolt-ev-rated-238-miles-electric-range/ The price/range ratio of EVs is now getting very close to mass adoption, the end of the combustion engine in sight, I cannot wait to see what Jaguar/BMW have planned too as both have now confirmed to be pushing hard to bring new EVs to market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 And just look at it. It's an instant cure for insomnia. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Looks like a Korean made Audi a2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 I don't mind the futuristic Teslas but FFS there's no need to post up a link with pictures of that monstrosity. This is surely just trolling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 To be honest it's not that bad uglier things have come from the French auto makers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Someone's ironed a pleat down the middle of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 hmm, that looks like a perfectly normal car to me... an by that I mean if I saw it driving down the street, it doesn't scream electric vehicle like most of them do. and 200 mile range is plenty, if you've got the means to charge easily on a driveway at home, I see no reason why people wouldn't move out of a small petrol engined Kia/Hyundai/Chevrolet/Dacia and into one of these. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 I agree! Makes sense for your boring A-B family wagons to replace with something like this if you live outside of any major city (which is ironic as surely in the city is where you want ownership of these types of cars). They certainly seem to be up there now on distance and starting to come close to cost levels (although Kias and the like are still a fair bit cheaper) The major issue which no one is taking responsibility for as far as I can see is charge points, there simply is not an infrastructure to charge them unless you have your own driveway. I know we have seen some solutions in Scandinavia of charging 'posts' on the street but the countries are chalk and cheese, they have huge national tax levels of a minimum 50% income tax, whereas here that's literally the maximum. We cannot afford to fix potholes in the roads these cars drive on let alone install 20 million charging posts across the country. I would also imagine the era of free charging at service stations and the like will soon end as demand increases, the tax taken in VED still needs to be covered when people switch over, as EV becomes more popular there will be a charge made against them. It wont be called VED, something like battery disposal tax or something, but cost of ownership will go up. So is the era of the combustion engine at an end? I don't think so, not by some distance. It will end at some point but not because a company makes an EV that can do 200 miles on a single charge. Just MHO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share Posted September 13, 2016 (edited) hmm, that looks like a perfectly normal car to me... an by that I mean if I saw it driving down the street, it doesn't scream electric vehicle like most of them do. and 200 mile range is plenty, if you've got the means to charge easily on a driveway at home, I see no reason why people wouldn't move out of a small petrol engined Kia/Hyundai/Chevrolet/Dacia and into one of these. It's absolutely not exciting to look at, but 95% of the public buy cars that are pratical first. The two questions I get asked the most about the Leaf are How much? And how far on a charge?? At sub $30k the Bolt is getting there on price, and the range is now less of an issue. Would I buy a Bolt?? Nope, it's not the car for me, just like I wouldn't have bought a Vauxhall Astra. But it shows prices of batteries are falling and other manufacturers are getting involved. The best selling car in the UK has always been the Fiesta/Astra, this is the market EVs have to break into, and the Bolt is getting close. Finally it may look like a cheap 1.0 hatchback, a 0-60 time of 7 seconds is nothing to be dismissed. In fact add in the instant torque it'll probably beat a 350Z at traffic light GPs once you factor in the driver. Edited September 13, 2016 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy_Baton Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Does tarmac have a spoiler that would fit this? ... side steps? ... stubby? Some vinyl decals for the plug? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superman001 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Cars like this are pointless to me as I drive 430 miles to work, id have to keep stopping to recharge and the journey would take too long. Also pointless as a weekend car because thats where the Zed comes in and gets driven for fun, an electric car has no soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 I think it has a role as a short range run around - which many cars are used for. For me there is no infrastructure, car manufacturers are relying on the government to sort that out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Someone's ironed a pleat down the middle of it! To be fair the pre-HR 350Zs had 2 pleats... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEUS Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Someone's ironed a pleat down the middle of it! To be fair the pre-HR 350Zs had 2 pleats... No they are muscle pleats on the zed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Someone's ironed a pleat down the middle of it! To be fair the pre-HR 350Zs had 2 pleats... No they are muscle pleats on the zed They also don't run through the bumper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Would I buy a Bolt?? Nope, it's not the car for me, just like I wouldn't have bought a Vauxhall Astra. More importantly; they're not going to sell it in the UK, so you can't buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 More importantly, if there's one place in the world that EVs make even less sense than in the UK, it's the US! As I've said before, it's fine if you live in a city, but America is a biiiiig place and a lot of things aren't remotely close by. Are those people going to get an EV? Ever? Are they heck. If the nearest town is 80mi over then you're simply never going to chance it, not when you've got the AC or heating on with the tunes banging out. EVs make a lot of sense if you live in a city with plenty of charging points, but otherwise it's a no-go in the long term. I'd like to know the demographics of all the people buying these cars. Are they previously non-car owners? Is it their only car, or an additional one? How many of them live in urban environments, and how many are company cars? Just curious on these, not casting anti-EV aspersions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 There are a few EVs dotted around Richmond, those house owners with a fair bit of wodge to afford one with a drive. They are however always accompanied by a BMW or the like as well. So imagine they are not being relied on as a sole means of transport. For me they actually are not that great for cities, unless you can charge the things up. Its an absurd concept for somewhere like Richmond if you have no driveway, you would have to drive off out somewhere miles away to go get the car charged, sit with the car whilst it charges, then drive it home. There are three petrol stations within 2 minutes drive of my house. There is currently absolutely no business case for myself or in fact anyone living on our road for buying an EV right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Just dangle the cable across the path, I'm sure it'll be fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Random trips over, cuts their knee, 6 months later you are still paying out the compensation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Random trips over, cuts their knee, 6 months later you are still paying out the compensation! Random trips over, pulls cord out of the wall at a funny angle and damages the socket, you sue them for criminal damage and for emotional distress as it was hate crime against electric car lovers, they pay for you electric bill forever. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 This is surely just trolling! Like every other ev thread that always ends up with the same "discussion" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy78 Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 I don't get the EV hate. They aren't for everyone granted, but I probably would / will get one in the future for commuting. I live close-ish to work and queue the whole way. These aren't conditions the Z likes (Or anything which I replace it with will like). Something like this will be perfect for 1000's of people and it will save the petrol we need for fun driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 (edited) I don't get the EV hate. They aren't for everyone granted, but I probably would / will get one in the future for commuting. I live close-ish to work and queue the whole way. These aren't conditions the Z likes (Or anything which I replace it with will like). Something like this will be perfect for 1000's of people and it will save the petrol we need for fun driving. Because to some people the idea of change is hard to accept. I'm constantly getting 'tuition' on how to get people to accept change at the work place as I'm now getting into more management roles. Resistance to change is one of the hardest things to deal with in a organisation. But the reality is the world changes at a rapid pace. The 'norm' today quickly becomes the past. Just look at the world 100 years ago. I'll be amazed if my 5 month old daughter will ever need to drive/sit in a combustion car when gets old enough to drive... Or even if she will need to learn to drive at all. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37302722 Edited September 16, 2016 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeezeebaba Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Let's not get carried away about EV just yet, its still in its infancy relatively speaking. There is currently a certain demographic who buy EV and the majority that don't. Every mainstream car brand wants to appeal to every potential customer. The flip side is of course the fact oil derived products will eventually run dry and manufacturers need to adapt as do we. Is the future EV, to be fair I don't know and neither I suspect do auto makers. You can't possibly say it's the way of the future but the innovation is to be applauded. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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