Monthly Archives: February 2017

Chevy Bolt EV Sighted in the Wild!

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Yesterday, as I walked out of the sandwich place where I had just finished my chicken cobb salad, I saw a familiar roofline cruise by. It was a silver Chevrolet Bolt EV, and it turned left into the parking lot. It looked like the car pictured above.

I followed it with eyes and when it parked nearby, I walked up to it. It was an LT model, with the temporary plates from the same dealer where I got my car. I waited a couple of minutes, and when the driver stepped out, I asked, “How do you like your car?”

He was a friendly, white-haired guy named Dan. We chatted about how it was enjoyable to drive, and he mentioned a couple of previous vehicles, included a tired Camry. He volunteered that he wasn’t enamored with the Bolt’s styling (“an angry fish”) so much but liked the way it drove. I showed him a photo of my own Bolt on my phone, because I had walked over and it wasn’t there. We parted after a minute or two.

On the way back to work, I was happy that I’d finally met up with another Bolt EV owner in person, but realized then that I hadn’t asked him the big question:

Why did you get an electric car?

That’s always the big question. The Bolt’s 200+ mile range mitigates most issues, but there’s still a question of cost, and which EV to get. Did the person get the car because of environmental awareness, to save gas, or some other reason? I’ll have to remember that for next time I run into a new Bolt owner. I hope it’s soon.

My Chevy Bolt EV at One Month

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One month ago today, I got a ride down to the Chevrolet dealership and picked up my first new car since my 1991 Saturn. I knew I wanted it as soon as I heard about it–for numerous reasons, including its size, its shape, and especially, it’s long driving range. Today, on the 25th anniversary of the starting of my automotive column, I celebrate a month and 1,641.1 miles of joyous gas-free travel with my Bolt EV.

Fixing My Windshield

Two things happened today. At 9 a.m. I drove to the Safelite Auto Glass in Redwood City, CA to repair a dime-size chip in my windshield that I picked up last Saturday. I was greeted warmly by Tommy, and then Robert, an expert technician, who made the tiny rose on my car’s front window virtually disappear. It’s sad when something new starts to take on the scars and marks of living in the real world, but just as the front rugs aren’t pristine any more, my car has shed its perfection while retaining its goodness.

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Blogging in Plug In America

The second Bolt EV event of this anniversary day was the publication of my one-month wrap-up story in Plug in America as a guest blogger. The post starts like this:

As an auto journalist, I’ve driven nearly 1,200 cars over the last 25 years. I’ve sampled pretty much every electric and hybrid car you can get, from the Mitsubishi i-MiEV to the Nissan Leaf to the Cadillac ELR. I even took a short drive in the ill-fated GM EV1. I liked the smooth, quiet ride and loved the environmental benefits of driving an EV, but none of the cars had enough range to make me feel like I could use them most of the time.

To read the rest, please go to Plug In America’s In the Driver’s Seat blog.

Moving forward, I’ll be looking for highlights in the ongoing story of me and my Bolt EV–and the growing world of electric and hybrid cars.