Body and exterior
We already received confirmation in September that the Bolt’s exterior would be largely aluminum, and Ligouri repeated and expanded on some of these details in an email Dec. 29, 2016.
“The hood, front fenders, doors, and liftgate outer are made of aluminum,” Ligouri wrote. “The roof and rear quarter panel are steel. Body structure is a mixture of mild, high-strength and advanced high-strength steel.”
Various grades of steel, including press-hardened ultra-high-strength steel (dark grey) were visible on the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt body-in-white displayed at the SEMA Spanesi booth. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)
Various grades of steel, including press-hardened ultra-high-strength steel (dark grey) were visible on the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt body-in-white displayed at the SEMA Spanesi booth. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)
Various grades of steel, including press-hardened ultra-high-strength steel (dark grey) were visible on the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt body-in-white displayed at the SEMA Spanesi booth. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)
Various grades of steel, including press-hardened ultra-high-strength steel (dark grey) were visible on the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt body-in-white displayed at the SEMA Spanesi booth. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)
Various grades of steel, including press-hardened ultra-high-strength steel (dark grey) were visible on the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt body-in-white displayed at the SEMA Spanesi booth. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)
Various grades of steel, including press-hardened ultra-high-strength steel (dark grey) were visible on the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt body-in-white displayed at the SEMA Spanesi booth. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)
Various grades of steel, including press-hardened ultra-high-strength steel (dark grey) were visible on the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt body-in-white displayed at the SEMA Spanesi booth. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)
Various grades of steel, including press-hardened ultra-high-strength steel (dark grey) were visible on the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt body-in-white displayed at the SEMA Spanesi booth. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)
Various grades of steel, including press-hardened ultra-high-strength steel (dark grey) were visible on the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt body-in-white displayed at the SEMA Spanesi booth. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)
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Steels visible on the Spanesi booth’s Bolt body-in-white ran from the low-carbon mild steel all the way up to ultra-high-strength press-hardened steel. (The latter reaches at least 1,300 megapascals, based on McGee’s presentation). As shops start working their way up the steel food chain to the lighter, stronger stuff, GM imposes more and more restrictions on how the car should be repaired.
McGee also warned that shops must know which steel is which to properly repair the vehicle, and described laser welds that allowed dissimilar steels to be welded together. He also highlighted other advanced joining on the Bolt by pointing out a single part with silicon bronze and laser welding as well as structural adhesive.
GM’s been beating up on Ford for using aluminum, and it doesn’t seem to have drawn as much attention to the light, strong metal on the Bolt. But the presence of aluminum on much of the Bolt’s exterior will affect everything from paintless dent repair to corrosion and dust considerations for body technicians and the paint department.
That means you’ll want to check repair procedures and with GM. Dedicated tools and extra care might be necessary for the Bolt, just as with the F-150, even if the Bolt doesn’t spread its aluminum throughout the safety cage the way the Ford does.
Ligouri offered few details in response to our inquiry about what equipment might be necessary for aluminum repair on the Bolt. He pointed out that repairers might have already had experience with aluminum panels on vehicles like the electric Volt.
“Special tools are required to be a certified Bolt EV sales and service dealer,” he wrote. “We’ve had aluminum body panels in previous Chevrolet vehicles before (namely the Chevrolet Volt has an aluminum hood and liftgate).”
We also asked about the potential for a certified auto body network like the one GM set up for the much more advanced aluminum-and-steel body of the Cadillac CT6. However, Ligouri only mentioned the certified Bolt dealership network, which seems from other GM statements to owners to be primarily dedicated to Bolt mechanical repair and service, not bodywork.
