Chevrolet BOLT resurgence

[michaelluscher]

I loved my work issued '23, it changed my bias on GM vehicles
I might have to test drive one in the fall
Normal brake lights

With how disappointing (still in the shop) my Mach E has been, I'm tempted to wait for first year kinks and look at a MY27

 

[JeffKeryk]

I loved my work issued '23, it changed my bias on GM vehicles
I might have to test drive one in the fall
Normal brake lights

Owners around here flat-out love their Bolts. There's a reason for it. The gal across the street works for the Police Dept; she charges her Bolt in the PD parking lot for free. "I never charge at home."

My next-door neighbors are on their 2nd Bolt and 3rd EV overall. The had one of the early RAV4 Teslas when Toyota was helping Tesla early on. Kinda like this as I recall, not sure. Without Toyota's early investment, there might be no Tesla today.

 

[Torrid]

Owners around here flat-out love their Bolts. There's a reason for it. The gal across the street works for the Police Dept; she charges her Bolt in the PD parking lot for free. "I never charge at home."

My next-door neighbors are on their 2nd Bolt and 3rd EV overall. The had one of the early RAV4 Teslas when Toyota was helping Tesla early on. Kinda like this as I recall, not sure. Without Toyota's early investment, there might be no Tesla today.
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There's one of these early EV RAV4s in town here. I always love seeing it knowing what it is. I've never talked to the owner, but it's so immaculate I'm sure he knows exactly what the vehicle means for the history of EVs.

 

[JeffKeryk]

There's one of these early EV RAV4s in town here. I always love seeing it knowing what it is. I've never talked to the owner, but it's so immaculate I'm sure he knows exactly what the vehicle means for the history of EVs.

My understanding was, you could only lease and had to turn it in afterwards. Sounds like I was mistaken. My heighbor's was the only one I've ever seen, as far as I can remember.

 

[y_p_w]

My understanding was, you could only lease and had to turn it in afterwards. Sounds like I was mistaken. My heighbor's was the only one I've ever seen, as far as I can remember.

I'm reading that the original terms were lease only for "fleets", but that some lessees asked to purchase at the end of their leases. But in 2002 Toyota started selling them outright. And they apparently went through great lengths to fill every last order.

https://www.electricvehiclesnews.com/Footer/History/Companies/Toyota_RAV4_EV.html​

RAV4 EVs were only available for three-year fleet lease, not for sale and not for lease to the public, at a few dealerships beginning in 1997. In 2001, leases were made available to small "fleets of one" purportedly run by small businesses.​

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In March 2002, due to a shift in corporate policy, the Toyota RAV4-EV was made available for sale to the general public, but only 328 of them sold. No one knows for certain what prompted Toyota to change their position on the RAV4-EV, since they had long since fulfilled their obligations under the MOA with the California Air Resources Board's zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate via its fleet lease program.​

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As it turned out, there were more RAV4-EVs sold than there were cars available. It is noteworthy that Toyota did, in fact, play fair and filled every last order despite the fact that the last few dozen vehicles had to be painstakingly assembled from spare parts due to a shortfall of production components. This unexpected development caused deliveries to trickle on into September 2003. It also caused variations in the vehicles such as heated seats, retractable antennae, mats, etc.​

 

[Torrid]

My understanding was, you could only lease and had to turn it in afterwards. Sounds like I was mistaken. My heighbor's was the only one I've ever seen, as far as I can remember.

I'm not sure the back story on the one here in town. Somehow it got out. That does make sense though since I've never seen another. Kyle Connor of Out of Spec got his hands on one too.

 

[michaelluscher]

I'm not sure the back story on the one here in town. Somehow it got out. That does make sense though since I've never seen another. Kyle Connor of Out of Spec got his hands on one too.

He got it going, hats off to him


When I was a mere youth, one still could rent moves from Blockbuster
One of the first I ever rented was "Who Killed the Electric Car" narrated by Martin Sheen
I never thought of GM the same since
Ironic considering the EV-1 came into this world around the same time I did
Yet I adored the Bolt I drove

Most of those early (what we now dub "compliance cars") were leased only, or simply lost to time
Nissan Altra EV were all repoed and destroyed
Honda's EV Plus were all repoed and destroyed
GM made darn sure that no EV-1 went unaccounted for

Ford let the Ranger EVs go out into the public, some private people still drive them
Gerry still makes NGS cards for them, because that's the only way you can fix them
Ford Th!nk EVs were lease only, but the 2nd gen (~2010) got some private buyers
Chevy's S10 EVs also fell into some private hands

YouTube is chuck full of early road tests, promotional videos, and home movies from the late 1900s, they aren't complete lost media
Not all of it was meant for public viewing
I find the old Southern California Edison and US DOE road tests fascinating

All hail the Magnacharge paddle