vader1

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3279062-gm-extends-shutdown-chevy-bolt-plant-amid-rising-inventories

Headline GM extends shutdown of Bolt Plant as inventories swell. What is so mind numbingly dubious about the rollout of this car was that they f'ed it up so badly. It was hailed as car of the year and had lots of buzz. The key to selling these things was to get them out fast, beat the Tesla Model 3 to market and grab sales. GM planned a phased nationwide rollout.

I actually really like the car. It is over priced, even with the federal tax credit but some people will pay a little extra for them. There was a time when I was seriously considering one and would have jumped at one. I know a lot of people don't like the looks, I think it is cool even if the interior is a little chinzy.

But what did GM do? This nationwide rollout still has MANY states with no cars. A few months ago there were articles of dealers in California giving $5k off sticker and fat inventories having pushed a bunch out the door at the outset but sales in Cali were still slowing. They phased in a few states and fattened up inventories in these few states well beyond demand but still at least a third of the country has no cars. Minnesota was scheduled to get its first cars under the plan by September/October but now GM hope to have every state get cars by August. All the luster of "Car of the year" will have long since been worn and the Model 3's will start to roll out at a lower base price and then the car will whither on the vine.

GM's $7500 tax credits will run out sometime early to mid 2018 and they will have to slash the price $10k to move them. They could have had them running around in every state with happy owners and people asking them how they like the car and people actually seeing it out on the road. Instead they are extending the shutdown of the factory while some states still have NO cars for sale.

Even if the things sell slowly, there are eco-nuts in every state that would have plunked down cash to get one but instead they pushed cars into inventory full states like California even after sales slowed to a crawl. There is one car for sale in my state. The dealer bought it from another dealer in Cali and wants a markup on sticker.

However you look at it, they really messed up estimating demand and should have tried to push them out nationwide while the accolades were flying and get the cars in the hands of owners to show them off. I hope to find one coming off lease in a couple years as a third car, hopefully around $15k. But I would have paid around sticker to get one a couple months ago during the hype train. Oh well.

Saki GT

Low oil prices aren't helping, but why GM limited sales to only a few states I never could figure out, and GM overpriced it compared to more 'sexy' options imo.

Lines are out the door for the Tesla 3, and the Leaf of all things is the best selling EV, while Chevy can't find customers...

JonBoy

Honestly, I'd buy a Bolt before a Tesla 3. Why? I believe it's going to be a better-engineered, longer-lasting vehicle. Tesla is still a boutique brand that can't get their processes and quality to the point where it makes sense to buy them as a long-term vehicle. Ramping up their production as quickly as stated is going to cause quality issues. Sure, the Tesla looks way better but Tesla lost half their good car design engineers before they even shipped a Tesla S and it showed in the final product. They're learning as they go and the basics of car design - the quality and longevity of the vehicle - are not being handled like a big OEM. Add in the stress of being under very tight timelines with a CEO over-promising (and micro-managing) and it stands to reason that the end product will not be best in class....

Tesla will be fine with that, ultimately - they want to sell batteries, not cars (less hassle, more profit margin, better focus, etc).

vader1

I only know a couple Tesla owners and we have not talked cars much, I think mostly because Tesla owners are not car people so much as they are cool techie gadget people, but have heard no complaints. Although their cars are only a couple years old but I think I agree with your main point that GM has way more experience at it.

My brother is on the list for the Model 3 and is super excited but I think he is in for a bit of a rude awakening. He is in LOVE with the idea of this save the world car for $35k. He is not high enough up on the list to get the $7,500 tax credit and he wants AWD and all kinds of stuff on it which makes me thing it is going to be nowhere near $35k. But one thing that he said that was kind of cool is that if you don't buy the autonomous or other feature (outside of AWD) that most are just software updates and you can add them to the car at any time. No money for insane mode when you buy? Add it later if you want.

JonBoy

That is a neat feature, for sure! Electric powertrains certainly offer some huge advantages over ICE for that kind of modification.

Broadly speaking, there's no reason you can't do that with an ICE (software upgrade to ECU via wireless signal) - that'd be a neat little option, considering how common a 4G connection is in many vehicles today...

vader1

Well I'd rather have a Bolt than a leaf just because of a full three second difference to sixty, but here in Minnesota, Leafs are going for $10k off sticker and still get the $7500 incentive. That puts the Leaf at around $20k for one with lots of options versus high thirties for similar Bolt. But you get more range and more speed.

LUV2REV

Isn't there an all new and vastly improved Leaf forthcoming for 2018 or 19 ?

darcyw

our illustrious Ontario government gives buyers $14,000 as an incentive on electric type vehicles- that's lots of dollars. Its priced at $43,000 less the $14,000 and its just under $30,000. How long the incentives last is anyone's guess. That being said, if you have a whole neighbourhood has bolts, will the grid be able to accommodate?

I like the car and have talked to happy owners of the Bolt and the Volt.

darcy

TheDonEffect

Yup. Take a look at collision repair costs and length, it's ridiculous. But why do these oems insist on making electric cars ugly, look at bmw with the i3. Once a major own makes a good looking affordable electric car, tesla will be in trouble. Mercedes already announced they're making an electric cuv that will be priced like a model 3.

TommyDeVito

Yes, testing photos are out there, google fu 2018 Nissan Leaf. It's coming in December to a stealer near you.