US Order Guide

[michael]

I will use Waze, but my wife absolutely loves the Onstar nav capability. One of our Volts does not have the built in Nav, but you can call Onstar, talk to a person, and turn by turn guidance is downloaded into the car...it's pretty much like Nav except no map.

I'm presuming the Bolt will support this feature as well.

 

[michael]

Seems a shame to need it in an otherwise high-tech car, though.

Seems a shame to have a garage door opener clipped to the visor instead of a built in Homelink

 

[SeanNelson]

Do these phone-based nav options allow you to download the maps ahead of time, when you have a wifi connection?

I can't speak for the iPhone, but Google Maps on Android phones has an "offline areas" option that allows you to do precisely that. I use it often to save data charges and it works very well.

And yeah, I'm disappointed in the lack of NAV as well but my trusty Garmin will keep me out of trouble.

 

[jimmyjon]

I find the complaints n concerns on this post very valid. For the price n hype around the vehicle it seems a shame to have to add a lot of inferior tech to a high tech vehicle

 

[ssspinball]

The onstar nav with no map is rather poor value in my opinion at $37/mo. That's what I pay for my entire mobile phone service (voice+data)!

I'm ok with the Bolt not including nav and expecting you to use Android Auto/CarPlay except for the fact that both of those require connecting and disconnecting your phone every time you get in the car, which is very annoying. I want to leave my key and my phone in my pocket.

The day AA/CarPlay work via wireless cannot come soon enough!

 

[michael]

The charge for Onstar Nav is $12. You can get it "a la carte", don't need to sign up for the entire service.

Very roughly, a $700 increase in vehicle price would add that much to a lease payment...Nav would probably be at least that much if they offered it.

As I mentioned, I'm Ok with Waze, but my wife absolutely loves the Onstar service.

 

[Anonymous]

I find the complaints n concerns on this post very valid. For the price n hype around the vehicle it seems a shame to have to add a lot of inferior tech to a high tech vehicle

If you believe that the Bolt is going to have all of the high tech bells and whistles that are in a current gen Prius, or in a premium spots sedan, I think that your expectations are set incorrectly.

GM worked to meet the "under $30k after incentives" price. This meant that a lot of things had to be left off. I can imagine that there were a lot of battles between the designers/engineers and the Bean Counters within GM.

With the Bolt, you are not getting a $37k vehicle. You are getting a $20k vehicle with $17k worth of batteries and electric motor (and a $7500 subsidy from the citizens of the USA). As far as amenities and technology, this is going to be more in line with a compact hatchback (Ford Focus, Mazda 3, Toyota Carolla) than with a premium sedan (BMW, Lexus, ect.) Something to this affect was said at the Model 3 unveiling. With the Tesla, you will be getting a $35k car. It just happens to be electric. This probably wont be the case with other manufacturers. You also have to remember is that Tesla has shareholders who are willing to put up with the company's massive losses, GM on the other hand, probably not so much. Also, GM has to leave room in that MSRP for the dealers, which Tesla doesn't have to do. GM sells the car to the Dealer at an invoice price below MSRP and then there is usually additional holdback that can vary based on the franchise agreements. I would not be surprised to see that GM has made the gap between Invoice and MSRP a bit larger than typical so that dealers have incentive to sell them and also to help the dealers cover lost revenue from service.

 

[ssspinball]

The charge for Onstar Nav is $12. You can get it "a la carte", don't need to sign up for the entire service.

Odd that they don't list this anywhere. Their website says $34.99 is the only option.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they are not being honest and upfront based on my recent experience with OnStar. The free trial period expired and we were auto-charged for things we have never even used a single time despite very specifically asking and the rep confirming there would not be any such auto-charges during delivery of the car.

The entire experience left such a bad taste in my mouth I'll probably never use OnStar again. :x

 

[WetEV]

With the Bolt, you are not getting a $37k vehicle. You are getting a $20k vehicle with $17k worth of batteries and electric motor (and a $7500 subsidy from the citizens of the USA).

Electric drive train is well less than $17k add on. Battery costs $145 per kWh or about $9k. Electronics and motor are similar in cost to a gasoline engine or less.

http://insideevs.com/gm-chevrolet-bolt-for-2016-145kwh-cell-cost-volt-margin-improves-3500/

Note that there are projections that a city range EV (70 miles or so) might be lower manufacturing cost without any subsidies than an entry level gasoline car in a decade or less.

 

[ssspinball]

If you believe that the Bolt is going to have all of the high tech bells and whistles that are in a current gen Prius, or in a premium spots sedan, I think that your expectations are set incorrectly.

GM worked to meet the "under $30k after incentives" price. This meant that a lot of things had to be left off. I can imagine that there were a lot of battles between the designers/engineers and the Bean Counters within GM.

This doesn't match what I see. The Bolt comes with some standard features that aren't even optional on the Prius. CarPlay, 8" and 10" displays, heated steering wheel, doesn't look absolutely hideous :mrgreen:, etc. Then you get into high tech stuff like the rearview mirror camera, surround view cams, etc.

 

[Breezy]

With the Bolt, you are not getting a $37k vehicle. You are getting a $20k vehicle with $17k worth of batteries and electric motor (and a $7500 subsidy from the citizens of the USA). As far as amenities and technology, this is going to be more in line with a compact hatchback (Ford Focus, Mazda 3, Toyota Carolla) than with a premium sedan (BMW, Lexus, ect.) Something to this affect was said at the Model 3 unveiling. With the Tesla, you will be getting a $35k car. It just happens to be electric.

Such is the power of marketing. I'm happy so many people think this, since it means I should be able to get a better deal on a Bolt.

 

[DucRider]

With the Bolt, you are not getting a $37k vehicle. You are getting a $20k vehicle with $17k worth of batteries and electric motor....

To some the change to electric is worth the additional upfront cost. If you look at TCO over the life of the car, the gap is narrowing rapidly. The more miles/year you drive, the more you benefit from EV's. Transit companies lust after the electric buses hitting the market. The cost savings to operate and maintain an electric fleet is impressive. The problem is the staggering cost of entry. TCO is lower but getting the funding to enter the game is a huge barrier. Over ten years, the electric will be far cheaper for them, but they can't afford the initial ticket in order to save the money. Some of this applies to personal EV's as well. Long term maintenance is significantly lower. My time is worth something, and the time not spent at the gas station to refuel, at the dealership for service, or under the car on a rainy November day to change to oil has value.

You're also ignoring other factors. Fun and performance. By that same logic paying for more than the base (low power) ICE in any vehicle is also a waste. Why get a $35K Mustang 5.0? You're wasting $10K compared to the base version. Electric motors have differnt power characteristics, and most that drive them find at least some value in that.

Environmental - There are some regions where some hybrids have a lower carbon footprint, but that is the exception rather than the rule - and electricity is getting cleaner all the time. Vs that $20K hatchback you're comparing to, the Bolt slaughters it in efficiency. That has value.

As to the subsidies, I'd much rather see $200 million in first year Bolt incentives than the billions of dollars and countless lives ended or ruined we spend to protect the interests of oil companies in the various parts of the world. Reducing reliance on petroleum does make a difference. And has value.

If an EV does not add enough value for the additional cost, people won't buy it. Different buyers will place different values on all of the above, and for some the additional cost is too high - other consider it a bargain. Put me in the latter camp.