Chevrolet unveiled the production version of its 2017 Bolt EV at the recent 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas; the new electric car also is on the Chevy stage at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
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(engine starting with a rumble) GM appears to be making good on a promise to build a 200 mile electric car for the masses.
Witness the all-new Chevrolet Bolt, a car with a mighty attractive price tag and by far the most driving range this side of a Tesla. (car show crowd chattering in background) Now, The Bolt looks similar in profile to The Bolt Concept that proceeded it about a year ago. The headlights and the taillights are certainly larger looking though, and upfront, there's now a more definitive grill cutout. In back, if you were a real fan of kind of the way The Bolt Concept looked, you might be a little bit disappointed. The rear window seems a little curvier, not as squared out as The Bolt Concept was. Now, you might think the way that rear window is shaped would hurt visibility, but not to worry. There's a standard camera overlay here with the center rearview mirror. It shows you what's behind your car without head restraint pillars blocking the way. Otherwise, packaging pretty spacious here. The battery goes underneath the floor, and Chevy says it gets you more than 200 miles of all electric range on a single charge. How good is that? Most affordable electrics get 70, 80, 90 miles of range. Even the beefed up Nissan Leaf, that's at 107 miles, so clearly a big win here for Chevy. And GM says The Bolt will start around $30,000 after a maximum $7,500 federal tax credit. With gas at two bucks a gallon right now, it's hard to see that many people nationally paying attention, but once gas gets expensive again, sales for this Bolt should be electric. (trunk thuds shut)
