Chevy Bolt retuns?

[ALPHAZULU307]

GM has said to be restarting production of the bolt. After haulting the production a couple years ago. I always like the concept, and im a fan of chevy impalas, which are no longer being made. I hope that they make the bolt a little more appealing visually. I think that was their biggest downfall the first time, aside from some recalls. 

 

Summary

New Chevy Bolt in production

 

Quotes

Quote

“GM will resume production at its Orion Township, MI, plant the week of April 4, 2022,” GM spokesperson Dan Flores said in a statement obtained by The Detroit News. “We remain committed to Bolt EV and EUV and this decision will allow us to simultaneously replace battery modules and resume retail sales soon, which were strong before the recall.”

 

 

Sources

 https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/15/22936174/gm-chevy-bolt-production-april

[ProbablyNotFidel]

I jokingly think "brave" whenever I see a Bolt on the road. I was thinking they would end up retooling and calling it something else after things blew over enough. But, I suppose that would be extremely expensive on the back of the recall.

 

I was intrigued by the Volt, though never enough to get away from my more performance-oriented inclinations. 

[ALPHAZULU307]

3 minutes ago, ProbablyNotFidel said:

I was intrigued by the Volt, though never enough to get away from my more performance-oriented inclination

I agree, my dream car has been a chevy Impala, not the fastest or fanciest but I love them. I was able to buy one last year and I love it. Id be interested in switching to the bolt if thay made a more sporty style (like an Impala(not that their sports cars)) and nicer interiors.

[ProbablyNotFidel]

I remember the earlier Bolt interiors from car shopping with a friend. They were...awful, haha.

[Needfuldoer]

57 minutes ago, ProbablyNotFidel said:

I was intrigued by the Volt, though never enough to get away from my more performance-oriented inclinations. 

I've got a second-gen, and it's plenty quick for everyday driving on public roads. It kind of drives like a turbodiesel. You've got 300 pound feet of torque from just over 0 RPM, 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, and it's decently planted if you replace the OEM Michelin Energy Saver hockey puck tires. (The battery is under the back seat and up the middle, so it feels more balanced than most FWD ICE cars even though it's a 3600 pound chonker of a compact.) It only starts to run out of breath when you pass on the highway, because both electric motors and the engine together are only rated at 150 horsepower.

 

It's the dailiest daily GM ever dailied, and in typical GM fashion they took it out behind the barn just as they got it right. (The 2019s got a faster charger and an upgraded dashboard software package that brought it in line with the Bolt.) I'm still convinced if they had shoved that Voltec powertrain into the Equinox instead of making it its own car, they wouldn't have been able to build them fast enough to keep up with sales. Just look at the RAV4 Prime.

 

30 minutes ago, ProbablyNotFidel said:

I remember the earlier Bolt interiors from car shopping with a friend. They were...awful, haha.

Yeah, the early Bolt interiors were worse than what you used to get from Saturn, or the Chevy Cavalier. Hopefully that's been addressed in either the facelift or the EUV.

 

The Volt's interior is mostly plucked out of the same parts bin as those of its platform-mates the Cruze, Malibu, and Equinox.

[IPD]

6 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

It's the dailiest daily GM ever dailied, and in typical GM fashion they took it out behind the barn just as they got it right. (The 2019s got a faster charger and an upgraded dashboard software package that brought it in line with the Bolt.) I'm still convinced if they had shoved that Voltec powertrain into the Equinox instead of making it its own car, they wouldn't have been able to build them fast enough to keep up with sales. Just look at the RAV4 Prime.

100% This.  GM has a time honored, proud and storied heritage of completely killing of everything that has promise and merit, and replacing it with the most lackluster, unappealing junk imaginable.

 

-Isuzu debuts a mid-engined sports car that could blow the doors off a vette.  GM kills it so badly that not only does Isuzu stop making sports cars shortly thereafter, but soon exists the USDM market entirely in another decade.

 

-Isuzu is still selling pickup trucks like hotcakes overseas.  Will GM ever bring up souped-up, top of the line D-Max Fury to the US market?  Nope.  GM simply wanted to pilfer every bit of off-road expertise out of Isuzu they could, and relegate the empty husk to badge-engineered offerings of Chevys.

 

-Aztek debuts to rave reviews at car shows.  GM promptly decides to overdesign it in committe and enters the consumer market as a gilded turd.

 

-Cadillac creates the Blackwing, an hot-V, V8, Twin-Turbo engine that is probably the most technically advanced engine ever produced by GM.  They promptly kill off the engine entire in Cadillac--without ever offering it in an Escallade, etc.  Then piss on the ashes by renaming several other things in the Cadillac lineup as "blackwing" even though they have 0 relation or bearing to the engine.

 

-Chevy debuts the most powerful engine ever put in a Z06 in the LT4.  Then promptly replaces the LT4 with the LT6 and owners lose both turbochargers and 190 ft lbs of torque.

 

-GM's Blazer has a long and proud heritage.  So do they compete with the Wrangler or the Bronco?  No.  They bring back the blazer as a glorified grocery-getter.

 

-Does GM decide to bring a Ute back to the States after a decades long drought without an El Camino or a Ranchero?  Nope, they kill off the Ute entirely--even in OZ.

 

-GM makes the Montana for the Mexican market (among others).  Does it bring a car-based truck to the USA to compete with the likes of the Maverick or the Santa Cruz--a void that has existed since mini-trucks died off?  NOPE.

 

-Consumer reports has a witch-hunt for the Jimny, and gets the Suzuki pulled from the US market.  Does GM partner with Suzuki to bring it back to the USA in the 4th gen after a decades long absence?  Nope.  Nobody cares that it sold out in record time in Mexico when it debuted back after many years absence there.

 

-Does the Fiero get to stick around and get a better powerplant and transmission to compete against the MR2 or Porsche?  Nope.

 

-Buick GNX is a beast of a turbocharged Regal.  Similar bombast results in the creation of the Typhoon and the Syclone.  Not only does GM kill off all of these, but promptly stops making any tech advancements on the turbocharged engines in them. (either the 4.6 or the 3.8).

 

This list can go on and on.  GM cannot find its ass with both hands.

 

 

 

 

[ProbablyNotFidel]

1 hour ago, Needfuldoer said:

I've got a second-gen, and it's plenty quick for everyday driving on public roads...

 

It's the dailiest daily GM ever dailied...

Yeah, the near perfect everyday daily driver is what seemed like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, I have no brain and like spirited back road romps.

 

28 minutes ago, IPD said:

-Buick GNX is a beast of a turbocharged Regal.  Similar bombast results in the creation of the Typhoon and the Syclone.  Not only does GM kill off all of these, but promptly stops making any tech advancements on the turbocharged engines in them. (either the 4.6 or the 3.8).

I've been a Buick guy since my first car. I'm more of a late 60's/early 70's muscle car guy, but I love the GNX and the T-Types. That 3.8 is damn near bulletproof and I would have loved to see more innovation come out of their turbo foray.

 

Alas, as we all agree, GM doing GM things...

[Needfuldoer]

37 minutes ago, IPD said:

-Isuzu debuts a mid-engined sports car that could blow the doors off a vette.  GM kills it so badly that not only does Isuzu stop making sports cars shortly thereafter, but soon exists the USDM market entirely in another decade.

A facelifted 1989 Fiero with the DOHC Tech IV and Gretag 5 speed could have been a contender in the hot compact market. Nope, it might dethrone the almighty Vette and That. Will. Not. Do.

[Heliian]

3 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

Fiero

The Fiero was a plastic garbage death trap. 

 

Sporty and could have evolved into something but the originals were awful and didn't stand up to even mild use.  There are probably 5 left on the road, if that. 

[IPD]

15 hours ago, Heliian said:

The Fiero was a plastic garbage death trap. 

 

Sporty and could have evolved into something but the originals were awful and didn't stand up to even mild use.  There are probably 5 left on the road, if that. 

That's why platforms evolve over time.  You refine them, addressing the issues of previous models.  It sold WAY more than the 1g MR2, but then was killed off because GM did GM.  You could even see that the model was significantly improving when they added the fastback and better styling.  We could have had a mid-engined counterpart to the firebird in the early 90's to compete with the 2g MR2, but.....

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

On 2/16/2022 at 5:52 AM, ALPHAZULU307 said:

GM has said to be restarting production of the bolt. After haulting the production a couple years ago. I always like the concept, and im a fan of chevy impalas, which are no longer being made. I hope that they make the bolt a little more appealing visually. I think that was their biggest downfall the first time, aside from some recalls. 

 

Summary

New Chevy Bolt in production

 

Quotes

 

 

Sources

 https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/15/22936174/gm-chevy-bolt-production-april

Something the article fails to mention is that it seems GM has also facelifted the car during its hiatus. The front and rear got an update and the interior has been given a once over. Haven't looked over the technical specs because I'm frankly not interested in any GM product being from the Lower Mainland. 

 

 

[Needfuldoer]

I hope that interior feels as good as it looks. The original Bolt's interior was harder and more plastic-y than even the old Saturns and the Cavalier/Sunfire twins.

[Beerzerker]

On 2/16/2022 at 9:51 AM, IPD said:

100% This.  GM has a time honored, proud and storied heritage of completely killing of everything that has promise and merit, and replacing it with the most lackluster, unappealing junk imaginable.

 

-Isuzu debuts a mid-engined sports car that could blow the doors off a vette.  GM kills it so badly that not only does Isuzu stop making sports cars shortly thereafter, but soon exists the USDM market entirely in another decade.

 

-Isuzu is still selling pickup trucks like hotcakes overseas.  Will GM ever bring up souped-up, top of the line D-Max Fury to the US market?  Nope.  GM simply wanted to pilfer every bit of off-road expertise out of Isuzu they could, and relegate the empty husk to badge-engineered offerings of Chevys.

 

-Aztek debuts to rave reviews at car shows.  GM promptly decides to overdesign it in committe and enters the consumer market as a gilded turd.

 

-Cadillac creates the Blackwing, an hot-V, V8, Twin-Turbo engine that is probably the most technically advanced engine ever produced by GM.  They promptly kill off the engine entire in Cadillac--without ever offering it in an Escallade, etc.  Then piss on the ashes by renaming several other things in the Cadillac lineup as "blackwing" even though they have 0 relation or bearing to the engine.

 

-Chevy debuts the most powerful engine ever put in a Z06 in the LT4.  Then promptly replaces the LT4 with the LT6 and owners lose both turbochargers and 190 ft lbs of torque.

 

-GM's Blazer has a long and proud heritage.  So do they compete with the Wrangler or the Bronco?  No.  They bring back the blazer as a glorified grocery-getter.

 

-Does GM decide to bring a Ute back to the States after a decades long drought without an El Camino or a Ranchero?  Nope, they kill off the Ute entirely--even in OZ.

 

-GM makes the Montana for the Mexican market (among others).  Does it bring a car-based truck to the USA to compete with the likes of the Maverick or the Santa Cruz--a void that has existed since mini-trucks died off?  NOPE.

 

-Consumer reports has a witch-hunt for the Jimny, and gets the Suzuki pulled from the US market.  Does GM partner with Suzuki to bring it back to the USA in the 4th gen after a decades long absence?  Nope.  Nobody cares that it sold out in record time in Mexico when it debuted back after many years absence there.

 

-Does the Fiero get to stick around and get a better powerplant and transmission to compete against the MR2 or Porsche?  Nope.

 

-Buick GNX is a beast of a turbocharged Regal.  Similar bombast results in the creation of the Typhoon and the Syclone.  Not only does GM kill off all of these, but promptly stops making any tech advancements on the turbocharged engines in them. (either the 4.3 or the 3.8).

 

This list can go on and on.  GM cannot find its ass with both hands.

 

Had to fix that, 4.6 is a Ford powerplant.

Speaking of such Ford had a turbocharged 2.3 in a few things like Mustangs, T-Birds and the like that was actually good but like the others, sales are "King" and if it doesn't sell well it has to go.

I had one of those from a 79 Mustang Turbo stuffed into a 72 Pinto body and it was a little monster of a motor.

Along with the lighter/and lightened body of the Pinto it was deceptive to the point it had that 4-banger sound while idling and running so no one really thought much of it until it was "Go" time. If someone just happened to walk by while I had the hood up it was largely the same story unless you already knew what to look for or got lucky and saw it.

Let's just say many a V8 got it's ass handed to it by a little 4-banger at the track.

The GNX wasn't a widescale/regular release and that's why not too many of those were ever sold of course and the Grand National was more or less the same.
BTW these two models (GNX and Grand National) weren't exactly "The Same" car yet they were.... 
The T-type is another variant of the turbo Regal lineup and more easily found.

The Syclone and Typhoon with the 4.3 both were intentionally limited releases to boost the image of the entire S10 and S10 Blazer lineup, which it did for a short time.
Unlike the GNX/Grand National, these were made and sold too few in number to have a lasting effect so sales not too long after slumped again.

The have come back with a remake of the Syclone that's essentially the same as the old "Yenko" Camaro's of the day, being done by a more independent shop instead of straight from GM to create a special model with a limited run of these.
SVE Announces 750-Horsepower 2022 GMC Syclone

Related to the comment above about a Fiero, it WAS a real-life, life-sized Matchbox car (Not for the kiddies to play with and collect) and the name "Fiero" was misspelled, should have been "Fiery" instead.

[Needfuldoer]

32 minutes ago, Beerzerker said:

Had to fix that, 4.6 is a Ford powerplant.

And a damn stout one, until the exhaust header bolts corrode into a solid mass of rust and the header gaskets start leaking.

  

19 minutes ago, Beerzerker said:

Speaking of such Ford had a turbocharged 2.3 in a few things like Mustangs, T-Birds and the like that was actually good but like the others, sales are "King" and if it doesn't sell well it has to go.

The Mustang SVO and Thunderbird Turbo Coupe were killed for the same reason as the Fiero: We Don't Outshine the Halo Car. (In Ford's case, the Mustang GT.)

 

Of course, in 'Murica small engines are considered "lesser", and insecure bros can't be seen driving anything less than a V8, so turbo 4 Mustangs and Camaros are rare. I wonder if that would have changed if the big three went all-in on forced induction in the 80s.

 

[Beerzerker]

3 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

And a damn stout one, until the exhaust header bolts corrode into a solid mass of rust and the header gaskets start leaking.

I woudn't doubt it, my brother has a Marauder with a 4.6 in it that's strong. He's never mentioned about the bolts but I woudn't doubt it for a sec.

3 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

  

The Mustang SVO and Thunderbird Turbo Coupe were killed for the same reason as the Fiero: We Don't Outshine the Halo Car. (In Ford's case, the Mustang GT.)

 

Of course, in 'Murica small engines are considered "lesser", and insecure bros can't be seen driving anything less than a V8, so turbo 4 Mustangs and Camaros are rare. I wonder if that would have changed if the big three went all-in on forced induction in the 80s.

 

That's the same basic reason back in the day when the Mustang first appeared the Falcon didn't get the "Good" engines as a standard.
They didn't want it to outdo the Mustang and the few that were fitted with it in testing were at least as good as a Mustang if not better and Ford didn't want that to happen.
Normally they woudn't allow it, even if special ordered by someone and special ordered cars with performance engines and such were commonplace back then.
However according to the sources I have, none actually did but it's still possible a few slipped by.
The "Sprint" Falcons were restricted to the more standard 289 engines when those became available for them in 64. They did come with either a 2 or a 4-barrel carb but weren't the "Hi-Po" variant.
My 64 Sprint Convertible only has a 260 V8 in it but I don't mind, it's still a good engine even if it's a tad underpowered and I'm not looking to hotrod it anyway.

[IPD]

I just want a 3.5 ecoboost, AWD and a 91" wheelbase, 2-door SUV.  Ford clearly feels this is too much to ask for.

[cafe]

18 minutes ago, IPD said:

I just want a 3.5 ecoboost, AWD and a 91" wheelbase, 2-door SUV.  Ford clearly feels this is too much to ask for.

I just want an AWD diesel golf that has a standard transmission. 

[IPD]

57 minutes ago, coffeelogic said:

I just want an AWD diesel golf that has a standard transmission. 

Scirocco mk3.

[Commodus]

The Bolt very much struck me as GM testing the waters for modern EVs. It wasn't willing to go all-in and upset sales of gas cars, hence the low production numbers. And unfortunately, that hurt the Bolt's chances against the Tesla Model 3 and other EVs that were more 'committed.'

 

GM's next EVs are definitely more promising. The Hummer and Lyriq are luxury machines so you'd expect them to be better, but the Silverado, Equinox and Blazer EVs? Much better. The Equinox is not only better-looking than the Bolt, it's better-looking than the conventional Equinox... and it should cost near $30K while likely offering decent range. It's still good to be cautious, but it feels like GM learned some lessons from the Bolt.

 

 

[ALPHAZULU307]

On 2/16/2022 at 8:51 AM, IPD said:

GM's Blazer has a long and proud heritage.  So do they compete with the Wrangler or the Bronco?  No.  They bring back the blazer as a glorified grocery-getter.

 

 

Straight Fact, was so pissed!

[ALPHAZULU307]

On 2/20/2022 at 11:11 AM, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Something the article fails to mention is that it seems GM has also facelifted the car during its hiatus. The front and rear got an update and the interior has been given a once over. Haven't looked over the technical specs because I'm frankly not interested in any GM product being from the Lower Mainland. 

 

 

I knew they'ed F*** it up.

[Action_Johnson]

I would love an electric car, but goddamn. So expensive. 

I thought the Volt was a terrific idea, but it was too soon to take off. 

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, Action_Johnson said:

So expensive. 

Thats not only the car. Keep in mind that if you intend to charge at home you may want to install a 220v charger. Electricians are not cheap and in some cases the local government wants to jack you around, building codes in such. 

 

Im on the fence. After hearing about the guy who bought a used Tesla decided to blow it up due to the cost of the battery replacement ($22K USD). That basically tells me that the used car market for electrics is non existent, because no one in their right mind is going to buy a used one if the battery is a may pop. Another thing is how are they going to regulate them. Right now Michigan charges a higher registration fee each year vs a gas powered car. This is to make up for they gas tax that electric car owners wont be paying. That could change. Also electric utilities are pushing smart meters so they can charge different electric rates during peak usage. In some cases they might have a second meter on the house and have the ability to shut off certain appliance during peak usage. My brother in law had this on his last house for the air conditioning and oven. But what's to stop the electric company from putting a meter on the charger and charging a much higher rate? Maybe the state also throws some taxes on that as well? Id like to see some of the logistics worked out a bit more with these. 

[IPD]

Electric will NEVER be as versatile as liquid fuel.  Ethanol is still the way to go.  But there's too many armchair QB's who think they know better--and disagree based off "Science" that isn't science at all.

[Donut417]

25 minutes ago, IPD said:

Electric will NEVER be as versatile as liquid fuel.  Ethanol is still the way to go.  But there's too many armchair QB's who think they know better--and disagree based off "Science" that isn't science at all.

It has to deal with green house gases and pollution. Everyone thinks that electric will save the planet. However we are just pushing the problem to other places, such as power plants that run on fossil fuels. There are limitations on what solar and wind can provide. 

 

Personally I think hybrids are the solution. Liquid fuel for longer trips and use battery power when doing shorter ones. It would help reduce greenhouse gases while being easier for people to transition in to.