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from the it's-electric-woogie-woogie-woogie dept.
The Chevrolet Bolt is one of the most anticipated cars of 2016. GM's first long-range battery electric vehicle is due to hit dealerships before the end of 2016 and beat Tesla's Model 3 to market as the first mass-market long-range BEV. There has been speculation until now as to the Bolt's actual range; on Tuesday morning, Chevrolet confirmed that you can expect an EPA-estimate of 238 miles on a full battery.
We're still not entirely sure how much the Bolt will cost, but Chevrolet says the MSRP will be under $37,500 before any rebates or tax incentives are taken into account. Since its 60kWh battery qualifies the Bolt for the most generous federal tax credit ($7,500), you should be able to pick one up for $30,000—slightly under the average US car price of $33,000.
The race to dominate the mass-market electric vehicle segment is on.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday September 15 2016, @03:05PM
Most people do live with easy access to a power outlet, because they have electricity. My brother-in-law recharges his BMW i3 with an extension cord he runs into the garage. Takes overnight, but it's the same muscle memory as plugging in his smart phone so he doesn't even think about it anymore--loves the convenience of never having to go to the gas station. My brother owns one, too, and charges it in his garage as well, but he did upgrade his wiring for a faster charge because he drives it for more than commuting, he loves it so much.
With apartment complexes and row houses in dense urban cores, you have a point. It would not surprise me much if in the next couple of years we see those apartment complexes install high speed charging points or people on urban blocks provide recharging at a reasonable rate. I know if I owned a building on such a block I certainly would--it's an easy supplemental revenue stream.
It's not unusual to own a small car for commuting and local driving, and rent something else for road trips. We took a road trip around the country this summer and saw lots and lots of people touring in bigger rental cars (Mustang convertibles were really popular) or mini RVs like Jucy [jucyusa.com]. Many of them seemed to be overseas tourists who flew into LA or someplace and wanted to see the US by car, cars they hadn't brought with them, so maybe that's why you haven't heard of it.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Thursday September 15 2016, @08:04PM
Most people in the US do not have easy access to a power outlet near where they keep their car. Dirt is too expensive to give houses their own usable drive way and garage. Assuming that it's even possible. You're brother-in-law with the garage is in a much better place than most people are. It's not just the apartment complexes, even houses around here frequently don't have a place to keep the car next to a building, let alone one that's covered so that you can keep charging in the rain.
What's more, the people who don't live in those kinds of houses have a tendency to live in places that are further out where electric vehicles are even less reasonable as driving anywhere requires a goodly number of miles.
Perhaps in parts of the country that were recently developed, but have plenty of access to amenities that might be true, but that's a relatively small portion of the US.