SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
CNet:
On the eve of the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, Cadillac has surprised the media with a first look at an upcoming electric crossover SUV, perhaps the first of many electric vehicles to come for the marque.
After recently learning that the Cadillac luxury brand would become General Motors' "lead electric vehicle brand," we all expected to see an EV unveiled soon, just not this soon. That said, we've only so far seen renderings of the electric crossover with few details regarding specs.
The EV's name and specific details regarding its powertrain and range will be revealed closer to an also yet-unspecified launch window. So far, what we do know is that it will be based on GM's upcoming future "BEV3" electric vehicle platform. The electric Caddy crossover will be just the first in a range of vehicles to make use of the platform, which has been designed to accommodate front-, rear- or all-wheel drive configurations. Expect to see BEV3 underpinning a wide range of GM vehicles globally over the next few years.
Has "Electric Vehicle" been cemented in automobile circles as a mark of luxury?
(Score: 2) by bobthecimmerian on Tuesday January 15 2019, @02:02PM (5 children)
Of course the Leaf is cheaper than the Bolt, and the Bolt is cheaper than the Model 3. Those are important details.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday January 15 2019, @04:12PM (4 children)
Hmm, thought the Tesla Model 3 was cheaper, but it seems the price took a jump this year? Wasn't the Model 3 around $30k while the Bolt was about $40k?
Checking, now it seems they've swapped price points. I see a starting price of $36,620 for the Bolt, with a cross and some fine print that says after a tax credit that could be as high as $7500, the Bolt is as low as $29,995. Range is 235 miles, recharge rate is 25 mph with what's called the "level 2" AC recharge, at 240V AC. So... about 8 hours to recharge, 9 if you manage to run the battery almost out? Not good enough for a 1000 mile road trip. For an additional $750 on the price, there's a DC fast charging option that gains 90 miles in 30 minutes (180 mph), which makes a long road trip feasible. Some problems with that are there aren't that many DC fast charging stations, and there are several different, mutually incompatible standards. There's CHAdeMO, CCS (aka CCS/SAE or SAE Combo) with two different types of plugs-- Combo 1 and Combo 2, and a 3rd version in the works, the proprietary Tesla Supercharger, and finally China is backing their own, this GB/T. Interestingly, Tesla provides a simple adapter plug so that their cars can plug into the J1772 (level 1 AC and level 2 AC) chargers, but to go the other direction, plug your Bolt or Leaf or whatever into a Tesla charging station, you're on your own.
The Tesla Model 3 starts at $35,950, but with an asterisk, and when you read the fine print, the Model 3 is actually $44,000 and they're taking off $3750 in incentives and $4300 in supposed savings in gas to arrive at their final figure. Ouch, thought Tesla was above such cheap marketing shots. I can see factoring in the incentive, but when they factor in the savings in gas, that's no longer a price, that's more a Total Cost of Ownership amount. Seems only fair to apply the exact same amount to the Bolt's price (while adding the DC fast charging option to the Bolt) to make it $26,445. Anyway, I hear the Tesla reaches 80% charge in 30 minutes? If I have that right (and not sure I do) then with the "mid range" model that has 264 miles of range when fully charged, that's 212 miles gained in 30 minutes (well, probably somewhat less since you will rarely manage to coordinate the trip so that you arrive at the charging station on your last mile of charge), making for a recharge rate of 424 mph, quite a bit better than the Bolt.
To sum up, yeah, the Tesla is still better than the Bolt. The Bolt is perhaps closer to the Tesla than I thought, and I could live with its somewhat slower DC fast charging on a long trip, especially if I'm paying $10k less up front to buy a new car. Stay tuned for the 2020 models, maybe the Bolt or its successor will catch up with the Tesla, and who can say where the prices will go?
(Score: 2) by bobthecimmerian on Wednesday January 16 2019, @07:38PM (3 children)
I drive more than 100 miles at a shot maybe twice a year, so if I bought either car I would just get a combustion engine or hybrid rental for the long trips and leave the Bolt or Model 3 at home. If I did a lot of moderate to long distance driving that would influence my decision a lot.
I don't think the Tesla Model 3 was ever going to be priced like the Bolt. If I remember right, their pricing in the mid $30s range had a lot of fine print right from the beginning. That said, I'm not thrilled at the idea of giving GM money. They've had crazy profits for most of the past seven years and then they kill 15,000 jobs and cancel the Volt. I dislike Elon Musk for being Rocket Jesus to half the population but maybe he's the lesser evil here.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday January 16 2019, @11:36PM (2 children)
The key thing with an electric is ability to do a routine round trip without undue hassle. I must admit the Bolt does cover that and then some. So, maybe Tesla is not quite the traditional automobile manufacturer killer I was imagining it to be.
Your plan to rent the gas burner when you need the range is a good one. One other use case is the long day, like a taxi cab or delivery truck might have, and for that, 250 miles could be a little on the short side. But not many people do that.
If you have, for instance, a 40 mile one way commute, best to have a minimum range of 90 miles-- want a little reserve of course. A bit more range than that is better, for longevity so that after a few years, the loss in battery capacity won't be enough to bring your range below the round trip distance. So, yeah, the Bolt has that covered. It can be done with a 60 mile range car, if there is a handy place to recharge while you are busy. The biggest problem with the latter is you really need an enormous network of charging stations, or you may be forced to use one that's, like, a mile and a half away, and it simply takes a while to cover that distance on foot. You're going to be spending half an hour or more walking or running. Takes me about 20 minutes to walk a mile. Unlike a gas station halfway along the route, a charging station halfway along is really not useful, thanks to long recharge times. Has to be close to your destination.
(Score: 2) by bobthecimmerian on Friday January 18 2019, @01:20PM (1 child)
That all makes sense to me. I know a guy with a Tesla Model S and the battery range drops significantly in hot weather (or maybe it's cold? I can't remember which). The range decrease is on the order of 10-15%. So in addition to dealing with battery deterioration, it would make sense to factor that into your decision.
I've been working from home for five years. Before that my commute was 60 miles each way. If I can avoid it, I'll never do that again. I'd rather live in a rat trap near work than spend three hours a day sitting in a vehicle between work and a mansion.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Friday January 18 2019, @03:36PM
60 mile commute? Ouch. Sounds like a Los Angeles area commute.
I recently bought a used Leaf, in some haste thanks to my previous car failing. (Started leaking antifreeze past the head gasket, a known problem with those particular Chevy engines. Also known that it's not an easy fix, can't just replace the head gasket, best to replace the engine. Or junk the car.) So I felt a lot better about buying an all electric from the shady used car dealership than a gas burner. Figured that way I'd avoid nasty surprises down the road with whatever major engine and transmission troubles the slimy salespeople covered up.
One other thing about the all electric. If you desperately need a little more range, drive slower. Others have said even the difference between going 40 mph and 30 mph is pretty big, with the slower speed giving you 20% to 30% more range. I can confirm they are correct. Partly that's because the Leaf has terrible aerodynamics, around 0.3 cd. Of course going 30 mph all the way turns a 40 mile, 45 minute drive on the freeway into a 90 minute drive on streets, but that's still faster than having to sit for an hour at a charging station along the way.