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Some early Chevy Bolts suffer from battery issues
We're sure people who were waiting for the Chevy Bolt EV were thrilled when General Motors started selling them much earlier than planned. Unfortunately, some of them might now have electric cars that could leave them stranded in the middle of nowhere. GM has admitted to Autoblog that a number of it earliest Bolts have battery issues that could lead to "unexpected loss of propulsion." The good news is that only around one percent of the 10,000-or-so Bolts -- so, approximately 100 -- on the road are affected. Further, the automaker will fix it for customers at no cost.
GM is beta testing a ride-hailing app for autonomous EVs
General Motors acquired Cruise Automation last year to boost its self-driving car efforts. Cruise made kits that turned Audi S4 or A4 vehicles into autonomous vehicles, and the company's know-how helped GM's plans to place more than 300 driverless cars with Lyft, a company GM has invested heavily with. Now GM is testing a beta app that lets employees in San Francisco hail an autonomous Chevy Bolt EV to anywhere in the city. According to TechCrunch, the car company claims that the new service, "Cruise Anywhere," has become the primary way some of its employees get around.
Chevy Bolt outlasts Tesla's Model S in Consumer Reports range test
Consumer Reports just published the results of its range test of the Chevrolet Bolt electric car and came up with some surprising results. While the Bolt is rated for 238 miles of driving by the EPA, the car exceeded that in the Consumer Reports test, squeezing out 12 more miles for a total of 250. That means the Bolt officially beats Tesla's Model S, at least in this particular test. When CR tested the Model S 75D, it got 235 miles, compared to the EPA estimate of 259.
The rise of electric cars will kill the gas station
Gas stations are a lifeline. They not only fuel our cars but us, too -- whether it's with lukewarm coffee during the morning commute or the salty-sweet buffet during road trips. They're a glowing oasis when the gas tank is empty and our bladders are full. It's going to be a long while before the handy service station goes away, but its days are numbered -- because electric cars are going to change everything.
GM and Lyft could deliver a self-driving fleet next year
GM and Lyft announced their self-driving joint venture over a year ago, and now Reuters is hearing 2018 could be a big year for the effort. While a clear set of nationwide rules on autonomous cars could probably help solidify any plans, the outlet claims their test fleet could include "thousands" of Chevy Bolt EVs, making it the largest group by far. Last May, a WSJ rumor indicated that the test could launch within a year in one city. In response, GM said officially that "We do not provide specific details on potential future products or technology rollout plans. We have said that our AV technology will appear in an on-demand ride sharing network application sooner than you might think."
GM's car sharing service offers more EVs by teaming with cities
The city of Los Angeles is no stranger to embracing EVs and now its teaming up with GM's car-sharing service to make those vehicles more readily available. Maven announced today that it's partnering with cities to expand sustainable driving options and the initiative is kicking off in LA. Once the project fully up to speed, over 100 Chevy Bolt EVs will be available in the city.
Chevy stops making the Spark EV following the Bolt's arrival
It's hard not to take a look at the Chevy Bolt and ask: why on Earth would anyone buy the Spark EV over this? And GM feels the same way, apparently. The automaker has confirmed to Detroit News that it quietly ended production of the Spark EV in summer 2016, about 3 years after it hit the scene. The company hasn't explained why besides saying that it will "build on the great experience of our electrification program," but it's not hard to see why -- the Spark just wasn't as compelling as the Bolt and other modern electric cars.
The Chevy Bolt makes green driving fun
I've driven the Chevy Bolt a few times. At CES, briefly in San Francisco, and after a tour of the GM plant where the electric car will be assembled. But all those tests were in preproduction vehicles. Sure, they were working cars, but they weren't quite ready for consumers. The company still needed to tweak and refine the EV leading up to its official launch at a dealership in Fremont, California, in December. Finally , GM put me behind the wheel of a consumer-ready Bolt, and I wasn't disappointed.
Volkswagen's modern Microbus remake, and more in the week that was
The Volkswagen microbus is one of the most iconic vehicles of all time, and now the automaker is set to revive the classic for the modern era. Meet the I.D. Buzz: VW's all-electric, self-driving microbus of the future. In other auto news, Nissan debuted a stylish Vmotion 2.0 sedan packed with self-driving technology, and the Chevrolet Bolt was named the 2017 North American Car of the Year. IKEA is known for its flat-pack furniture, but it's branching out into urban mobility by launching its very first bike. The Sladda is a chainless aluminum cycle that can be kitted out with front and rear racks, panniers and even a towable cart.
Apple's new solar-powered campus, and more in the week that was
As the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk is a proponent of clean technology and renewable energy. That's why it's so surprising that Donald Trump has selected Musk to serve as a strategic advisor -- here's hoping Musk can convince the President-elect to take climate change seriously. In other news, Chevrolet just delivered its first batch of Bolt EVs to customers in the San Francisco Bay Area, beating Tesla's Model 3 to the punch. Steven Hawking is working with NASA to launch a self-healing starship that will search for habitable planets in Alpha Centauri. And Japan Airlines has developed a way to transform old clothing into jet fuel.
GM starts testing self-driving Bolts on Michigan roads
GM isn't wasting much time now that Michigan has cleared some of the legal hurdles to testing self-driving cars in the state. Effective "immediately," the car giant will start testing autonomous rides on Michigan's public roads -- that includes modified Chevy Bolts, of course. The initial focus is on testing around GM's Technical Center offices in Warren, but test drives will reach the metro Detroit area within the "next few months."
Chevy delivers its first Bolt EVs in Tesla's backyard
The high-range, reasonably priced Bolt EV is finally here. Introduced at CES 2016, the car's delivery to a dealership in Fremont, California is the completion of an aggressive roadmap for the automobile set forth by GM CEO Mary Barra when the vehicle was unveiled. And it's probably not a coincidence that the cars will be transferred to their new owners approximately three miles from the Tesla assembly plant.
Inside the factory building GM's game-changing Bolt EV
At CES earlier this year, GM CEO Mary Barra announced, to much fanfare, that the Bolt EV would have a range of over 200 miles, cost less than $30,000 (after tax credits) and ship by the end of the year. So far, two of those three proclamations have come true. Fortunately for would-be owners, though, the automaker insists it'll deliver on that last one too, promising that the car will begin shipping by the end of the month. Getting the Bolt out on the street isn't just important for Chevy, but also for the future of motoring, and it's all coming together in Detroit.
TiVo appears to be testing cloud DVR recording
While a few companies have tried on network/cloud DVR features, TiVo has always been associated with storage that's sitting right in your living room. Previous leaks pointed to a new TiVo box, codenamed Mantis, that might do network recording of OTA channels, but now Dave Zatz posted this picture, showing that there may be similar features in the works for the existing Bolt DVR.
Chevy beats Tesla to a sub $30,000 long-range EV
Oregon and California residents can now buy an electric car with an EPA range of 238 miles for under $30,000. Chevy's pricing configurator for its Bolt EV is now online, and as expected, the base LT model with a 10.2-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay (or Android Auto) and a rear vision camera costs $37,495, or exactly $29,995 after the $7,500 federal tax credit. If you get the premier model with all the options (including driver assist features) it'll cost $44,950, or $37,450 after US tax credits. As Chevy warned earlier, the DC fast charge option is $750 extra on all models.
The world's fastest electric car, and more in the week that was
Tesla finally sealed the deal on its acquisition of SolarCity this week, and the merger is already producing incredible results. The two companies just completed a project to power an entire island on solar power. In other energy news, researchers in Israel developed found a way to make solar panels 70 percent more efficient. Two Chinese companies are building a massive solar plant in the exclusion zone near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. And Sweden announced plans to cut its tax on solar energy by 98 percent.
HTC's high-end Bolt is a fast, fascinating Sprint exclusive
No one would fault you if you thought HTC was done making high-end smartphones for the year. It wasn't perfect, but the HTC 10 was a highly respectable piece of kit. And HTC's design and production fingerprints can be found all over both of Google's new Pixel phones. That's a decent string of smartphones for 2016, but HTC had to go and partner up with Sprint on the curious new Bolt, a device meant to highlight Sprint's high-speed 3x20MHz carrier aggregation. Fair enough, but what makes the $599 Bolt so interesting is how it takes the 10's formula and improves on it.
Chevy starts manufacturing the Bolt
A new wave of affordable yet practical electric cars is finally reaching production lines. GM has started manufacturing the Chevy Bolt at a plant in Orion Township, Michigan, putting it on track to sell the $30,000 (after tax credits) EV in California and Oregon by the end of the year. It's not certain just who'll get first crack at the Bolt besides Lyft drivers (there are no reservations, as the AP notes), but it's safe to say that Chevy is beating Tesla to the punch -- the Model 3 doesn't enter production until mid-2017.
The all-electric Chevy Bolt costs $30,000
Chevy has hemmed and hawed over the ins and outs of its Bolt electric vehicle's pricing, but now we have some specifics. Driving one off the lot with the "well equipped" LT trim package comes with a rear camera, 10.2-inch touch screen and a Regen-on-Demand paddle will set you back $37,495 according to the automaker.
Behind the wheel of GM's 238-mile range electric car
Chevy's new Bolt shows up in San Francisco's SOMA district at the height of rush hour. It comes around the corner evading cars, buses and wandering Giants fans on their way to the game a few blocks away. It's urban chaos and it's the exact environment the long-range EV will encounter when new customers drive it out of showrooms sometime before the end of the year.
