Chevy Bolt Continues
Chevrolet had told the world that their future was all Ultium and that spelled the end to the Bolt and Bolt EUV at the end of the current model run.
Chevrolet had told the world that their future was all Ultium and that spelled the end to the Bolt and Bolt EUV at the end of the current model run.
Today, Chevy reversed themselves and said a 3rd generation Bolt is on the way. This seems to be reflecting that upcoming Ultium models (Blazer and Equinox) with brand new Ultium platforms and powertrains were going to come in priced higher than existing Bolt buyers are used to.
So, what will a new Bolt be like?
GM is claiming that the new Bolt will be updated with Ultium technology. This likely means battery and motors at least inspired by the work on the new Ultium platform. This may also mean an update to GM’s new Ultifi software platform that will allow over the air updates, will bring more features to the Bolt’s existing SuperCruise autonomous system, and could show significant improvement to the Bolt’s current slow recharging performance.
What will keep the Bolt cost down, versus other upcoming Chevrolet EVs, is reuse of the current Bolt platform. The new Blazer and Equinox EV both are brand new and that means development costs that have to be amortized over the first few years…keeping costs higher than a new Bolt that will have quite a bit of its costs already paid off.
What is unclear is if we will see the current Bolt continue into the 2024 model year while we wait. Will we have a hiatus for the model while the updates are executed and the new Ultium=ified Bolt drops.
Either way, we could see a new Bolt by this time next year…but, if the current car stays in production and gives Chevy some breathing room with a cheap electric in the lineup…we wouldn’t expect a new Bolt until 2025 as a 2026 model year.
E-Ray Isn’t the First All-Wheel Drive Corvette
It’s hard to look at the new E-Ray, all-wheel drive Corvette, and not remember the last time that Chevrolet toyed with the idea of an all-weather, mid-engined Vette. It’s also interesting to see how close this new car is to a concept that, at the time, was considered just too crazy to build.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
It’s hard to look at the new E-Ray, all-wheel drive Corvette, and not remember the last time that Chevrolet toyed with the idea of an all-weather, mid-engined Vette. It’s also interesting to see how close this new car is to a concept that, at the time, was considered just too crazy to build.
In 1990, Chevrolet was looking for a way to compete with some of the ultra exotic sports cars of the day. Notably, they had eyes on the Porsche 959 which combined looks very much like the legendary 911 but was packing a turbo engine and all-wheel drive.
Chevrolet had been flirting with the idea of a mid-engined Corvette since the days of chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov who advocated for a mid-engined Vette all the way back in the late 1950’s.
Copyright Jim Culp
Put this all together and you get the Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle (CERV) III. This was the 3rd in a series that dated back to 1960 (CERV I) and 1964 (CERV II). Similar to the 959, the CERV III packed a turbo engine (a 32-valve 5.7L V-8 in this case) putting out 650hp mounted behind the cabin. Additionally, the car put power to the pavement via a 6-speed automatic transmission (made up of a pair of 3-speed Hydra-Matic) that sent power to all 4 wheels.
During the same time, Chevrolet was working on what would become the C5 Corvette. If you squint at the CERV III, you can see the same greenhouse that the production Vette brought to the party. At that time, as well as from then until the mid-engined C8, Chevrolet has been trying to make the business case work for a move to this engine position. This puts the heavy engine over the drive tires, for enhanced traction. Mid-engined also provides for more agile handling since the bulk of the mass is near the center of rotation.
Copyright bluto2000
C5 was, at the time, just the latest in a series of times when the traditional front-engine/read-drive powertrain just made the most financial sense. In the case of the CERV III, it lost out since production of the car would have resulted in what was expected to be a $300000 car, vs the C5’s ultimate $37500 starting price ($681247 and $85155 in today’s dollars).
But, let’s take a look at what Chevy has been able to pull off in the 2024 E-Ray by comparing it against the CERV III:
| CERV III | Corvette E-Ray | |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Twin Turbo 5.7L 32-valve V-8 | 6.2L 16-Valve V-8 (Rear) and Electric motor (Front) |
| Transmission | 6-speed Hydra-Matic automatic | 8-speed dual-clutch automatic |
| Horsepower | 650 | 655 (total) |
| Torque | 655 lb*ft | 595 lb*ft (total) |
| 0-60mph | 3.9 sec | 2.5 sec |
| Top Speed | 225 mph | Unknown (should be close to base C8's 194 mph) |
| Curb Weight | 3400 lbs | 3774 lbs |
| Price | $300000 ($681247 in 2023 dollars) | $104295 |
So, what we see here is that in the course of 34 years, Chevrolet has been able to match or exceed the performance of the CERV III (except top speed where the electric front motor will not be able to be much help). All of this for less than 1/6th the price.
$104k is certainly nothing to sneeze at…but it is pretty clear that GM waited the right amount of time to finally bring a mid-engined and all-wheel drive car to market. The Corvette’s reputation as a bargain exotic certainly also seems to be intact as well.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
…fast forward to January 17, 2023 - and Chevrolet shows off a completely new flavor of their sports car at Rockefeller Center on the famous ice rink. Announcing this version 70 years, to the day, later means that this latest Vette is something the company wants us all to notice.
The date was January 17, 1953. The location was the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Chevrolet was there to showoff a new sports car at GM’s Motorama event. They named this sports car after a fast warship…you might know it as the Corvette.
Fast forward to January 17, 2023 - and Chevrolet shows off a completely new flavor of their sports car at Rockefeller Center on the famous ice rink. Announcing this version 70 years, to the day, later means that this latest Vette is something the company wants us all to notice.
So, let’s take a look at what they’re up to this time.
What makes this latest model special? Chevrolet just released the Z06 with the most powerful normally aspirated engine the Vette has ever had (indeed the most powerful normally aspirated engine in production). That Corvette is a track monster that takes Chevy’s sports car to places no production Corvette has seen.
So, what makes this new Corvette stand apart?
Well, how about the fastest 0-60 time a Corvette has ever achieved…even faster than that legendary Z06? Well, 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds is on offer (a 10th faster than that Z06). How about making a Corvette that can conquer roads when they get slippery or even snowy? That would be a new feature for a Corvette and the new car has that handled as well.
How did Chevrolet pull this off? They equipped the new Corvette with the model’s first ever all-wheel drive system.
Let that sink in for a moment. For 70 years the Corvette has only put power to pavement using it’s rear tires. For nearly 70 of those years the power for those tires came from a front engine. Now we are looking at a mid-engined sports car with available all-wheel drive. That’s quite the switch for America’s sports car.
But, this isn’t a traditional all-wheel drive system like you might see in other mid-engined exotics like Lamborghini. In this particular case, Chevrolet leveraged the company’s electrification expertise to add a 160hp electric motor to the front axle that is powered by a 1.9kWH battery located down the center of the car (to maintain proper weight distribution.) That electric powertrain combines with the C8’s 495hp 6.2L V-8 to create an all-weather Corvette packing a total of 655hp in a package with new tricks no Vette has ever possessed..
They’ve christened this variation the E-Ray. This fits in with the other electrified models Chevrolet has shown recently where they never skip an opportunity to highlight an ‘E’ in the name. In this case, they had to add an E to the model designation to get there.
The E-Ray does get a unique front end that is less aggressive than other models. Likely this is to improve aerodynamics. Offsetting this is the fact Chevrolet gave the E-Ray the wide and aggressive rear fenders , and air intakes that debuted on the Z06. It’s a good look on the C8, no matter the powertrain.
Adding an electric motor has allowed Chevrolet to add another couplel features. For one, the electric propulsion is used to extend the range of conditions where the Vette’s can keep the big V-8 running on 4-cylinders. That should allow the E-Ray to sport some impressive economy numbers when Chevrolet announces them.
Another trick up the E-Ray’s sleeve is something Chevrolet is calling ‘Stealth Mode.’ When this is activated, the E-Ray can drive in electric-only mode at up to 45mph. The small batter capacity likely means this won’t mean a long range in this mode, but certainly enough to quietly get underway when a rumbly V-8 might wake the neighbors.
The E-Ray will go on sale later this year. Starting price $104295 for the coupe, $111295 for the convertible.
Once we know more, we’ll let you know how this changes the Corvette’s personality and if it would be worth such high prices.
And Then There Were Three - Ram 1500 Revolution EV
…the folks in Auburn Hills were the remaining part of the classic ‘big-three’ that had not thrown their hat into the electric full-size truck ring.
That ended at this month’s CES where Ram showed off their long anticipated Revolution electric truck.
Trucks are one of the hottest segments on the move to electrification. While startups are working hard to break into this market (for instance, Rivian with their R1T, Lordstown with the Endurance, and Canoo with their…’pickup truck’) the companies that we know can be trusted both to build hundreds of thousands of examples every year and to exist a decade from now are the classic ‘big three’ automakers from Detroit.
Chevrolet and GMC, using GM’s new Ultium platform, brought us electric trucks. First under the Hummer name, Then with variants under the Chevrolet and GMC brands.
After that first Hummer electric truck, Ford brought us the Lightning. Ford’s truck is an electrified version of their popular F-150. Their truck was both the least ambitious (essentially adding batteries and electric motors to the regular F-150) while also being most likely to change the world since Ford could rapidly scale up this truck to meet demand, as it uses mostly off-the-shelf components.
This has left the folks in Auburn Hills as the remaining member of the ‘big-three’ that had not thrown their hat into the electric full-size truck ring.
The wait ended at this month’s CES where Ram showed off their long anticipated 1500 Revolution electric truck.
Built on Stelantis’ STLA Frame platform, the Ram 1500 Revolution concept previews a production truck that is expected to be shown later this year. This short wait before the production reveal means that most details are likely locked in, but not enough to badge this truck as more than a concept.
However, there are plenty of juicy details in the concept that suggest some very truck-y and versatile features will be heading our way.
Powertrain
Packed between the concept’s frame rails is a low mounted battery pack that mirrors all the other electric trucks we have seen so far. This keeps the extra mass down low and out of the way of the cabin and cargo areas of the truck. It is the smart play as it leads to sporty handling, especially for a truck.
Putting power to the pavement are an electric drive unit (motor) at each axle. This likely previews the all-wheel drive and high-power variants of the production truck. It is likely that Ram will offer a rear-drive option as well at a lower price point.
Otherwise Ram has been mum on power, range, and performance. We’ll have to wait for the production truck announcement to learn more.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t other news in the powertrain announcements. Confirmed by Ram management, is a range extender (as gas powered engine that drives an electric generator) will be part of the powertrain offerings. So you’ll be able to get your Ram electric truck with the ability to continue its journey even if you can’t immediately find a charging station. We don't know yet the details of how, exactly, Ram will implement a range extender. This could be a significant differentiator for Ram in the market when their truck goes on sale.
Carg-whoa
Beyond that powertrain hedge…there are several cargo and interior features that show that the minivan and truck crew at Ram/Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler haven’t lost their touch.
We thought that GM held a patent on the mid-gate idea. Apparently not. Where GM is planning to offer the Silverado and Sierra EVs with a 60/40 mid-gate separating the cabin from the bed…Ram is planning to offer a 50/50 split. This will allow, along with the folding rear and front passenger seats, the ability to extend the cargo bed into the cab.
But, that’s far from the only trick.
The Revolution includes a split tailgate that opens, dutch-door style. To extend the back of the bed further, the bed floor slides rearward to extend to fill the space between these dutch doors and then the inner skins of the tailgate halves pivot out to make a new rear bulkhead to contain even longer loads.
But, what if you have something really long to carry?
The Revolution has a front trunk where a classic engine would live…but Ram went a step further. They have designed in a passthrough to the cabin in the center of the trunk as well. This means that, when taking advantage of all the extra cargo carrying tricks…that you could carry 18’ long lumber with it extending from the front of the trunk…through the center of the cab (under the center console)…through the mid-gate…and ending with the extended bed floor and dutch doors open and the barrier deployed for the longest bed config available. That is a mind-bending level of flexibility all without ever having to worry about attaching a red flag to the end of your boards as you drive home from the hardware store.
Comforts
Room for your cargo isn’t the only place where the Revolution shines.
The interior also has what the brand calls ‘Ram Rails’ that are used in the bed and trunk for cargo management…but, inside the cab, they are used as mounting points for the seats. This allows the 2nd row seats to slide fore and aft just like the front row. Note, that is ‘2nd row’ not ‘rear’…because this cab, which is the longest of any Ram truck that has come before, also has a pair of jump-seats mounted to the mid-gate. So, this is the first full-sized truck with 3 rows of seating.
These jump seats mean that you can have extra passengers in a pinch, though we wouldn’t expect you’d ever want anyone you really care about to sit back there for long.
The Revolution concept also shows thoughts on the ever expanding center screens of modern vehicles. In this case, a pair of screens make up either a single large center display or one can be hidden away or re-purposed. The release video showed this second screen being mounted above a shelf on the dash to act as a pseudo laptop. This seems like one of the most concept-y ideas of this concept and likely won’t see production.
So, with Ram’s new Revolution concept, we see where the Auburn Hills brain-trust are thinking of taking their full-size truck in the world of electrification. Given their public statements that a production truck could bow in a number of months…and that Ram historically shows new trucks at the February Chicago Auto Show…we don’t think we have long to wait to see what of this truck will make it to market. Even then, we wouldn’t expect a truck you can buy until possibly 2025 as a 2026 model.
2020 Corvette Unveiled...the Good...and the Disappointing
On July 18, Chevrolet took to the stage to unveil the new C8 Corvette.
If you haven't already heard:
Mid-mounted 6.2l small-block V-8
490hp (495 with performance exhaust)
0-60 in under 3 seconds
Larger interior than the C7
Starting price under $60k (though that is almost certainly something like $59999 before destination)…
On July 18, Chevrolet took to the stage to unveil the new C8 Corvette.
If you haven't already heard:
Mid-mounted 6.2l small-block V-8
490hp (495 with performance exhaust)
0-60 in under 3 seconds
Larger interior than the C7
Starting price under $60k (though that is almost certainly something like $59999 before destination) Convertible to be shown later
However, only one thing leaves us thinking the new Corvette is anything other than perfect.
Primarily of concern is the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. That is all that was announced. And, while a dual-clutch with paddle shifters is no-doubt the fastest way around a track, can it truly be a Corvette with no available manual transmission?
It appears that there is room in the new center console for a shift lever to reside, but the designers have decided to put the infotainment jog-wheel in front of that area...meaning a manual transmission would have to lose that part of the interior - which does not feel like a decision they intend to make at this moment. We may have to wait until a mid-cycle interior redesign if enough potential buyers balk at the lack of 3 pedals and the engagement of self-shifting.
So, what do you think? Is the Corvette a non-starter without a proper manual? Should Chevrolet reconsider this decision as soon as they can for that part of the enthusiast community?
2012 Chevrolet Volt - Is it a Real Car? Conclusions
We are left with one last thing to answer - is it a 'real car' when all is taken into account?
There are many ways to tear the Volt apart, to call it a weird science experiment of a car that has no place in the modern automotive landscape. How do you rationalize the weirdness of a compact sedan that costs twice its most comparable sibling in the GM lineup? How do you justify an electric car with a sub-40 mile range and a full gas-fueled power train to cart around as well? How can you excuse a $40k compact Chevrolet that seats just 4?
Well, that is just it.
A shifter falls readily to hand and behaves exactly as decades of automotive practice have lead them to expect. Pedals and controls exactly where we've all come to expect them. Quiet operation. Readily available power greater than they'd expect. Fancy displays that suggest high-technology, even if they didn't know what they were suggesting or trying to communicate. They might noice braking that seems a touch off if they were sophisticated enough to notice a slight blip, the barest inconsistency as regenerative braking transitions into pads against disks. But, for all intents and purposes, a 'car'.
Certainly, from a financial standpoint, the Volt is hard to justify at $40k or more unless you can get the federal tax credit. Bonus if happen to live in a state that has a credit of its own that brings the overall purchase down into normal compact sedan territory. GM has also partnered with their old GMAC financing arm (now called Ally Financial) to offer screaming good lease offers as well. Taken into account, the Volt doesn't cost like its MSRP suggests.
Then there is the angle of utility. Only you know if seating for 4 in compact proportions is reasonable, but this is comparable to most compact offerings on the market with any other form of propulsion.
But, beyond the few changes to routine - the Volt is built like and drives like a very well turned out compact sedan. A 'Real Car.'
That it just happens to preview where our modern world's march to reward fuel efficiency is very likely taking us is simply another reason to respect how well GM has done with this car. It certainly has me wondering what is coming next (and dreading 'eco' cars just that much less than I did before.)
2012 Chevrolet Volt - Is it a Real Car? Technology Part 2
So, let's go even deeper still...
Aerodynamics
It is one thing to make an electric car efficient in storing, turning power into motion, and reclaiming it as well. But, any electric car has to keep an eye on any energy lost that isn't helping keep the car moving. First and foremost, we have energy lost to the air the car moves through. This is why the Volt has the shape it does, but a few tricks are interesting to call out.
The Volt takes advantage of the latter with a deep chin spoiler. Made of flexible rubber and missing the ground by just a couple inches - the Volt directs air around rather than under the body. The down-side is that the spoiler does drag on even slight imperfections and contours. Intersections that dip down then back up - you hear it rub. Pulling into driveways or parking lots that slant up from the road - drag again. It will either drive you crazy or you can think of it as a way you have something in common with an exotic sports car.
GM does offer a spoiler with more clearance as an accessory - but you'll have to accept a mileage penalty for letting more air get under the car.
2. Mirrors. They stick out on any car like ears. Catching air that is accelerated by being pushed up by the hood and away by the windshield. They are encountering air moving faster than the car and turbulent to boot. You might notice the Volts aren't smaller but they are held away on wings. This gets them out of the most turbulent air for enhanced aero efficiency. GM reports that they are good for an extra 0.5 miles of range with this design.
Rolling Resistance
Tires not only hold up your car, they provide all the traction needed for accelerating, braking, and cornering. The negative is that they take energy away just to roll. Wizards at the tire companies have worked for years to make 'low rolling resistance' tires that attempt to have all the right amounts of traction with a minimum amount of drag. The Volt is equipped with Goodyear Assurance tires for that reason.Battery technology
2012 Chevrolet Volt - Is it a Real Car? The Big Drive
The Big Drive:
After spending a few days using the Volt to commute and needing only a small amount of gasoline per day to complete my drives, this left me wondering how things get when you have an even longer drive. How would the Volt behave when leaning heavily on the range-extending gas engine?
In keeping with Volts MO, the first 61.0 miles were on battery capacity (um, what was that about a rated 35 miles in electric again?) and the remainder on gas (182.2). Apparently the missing 0.1 is lost in 'GM Math-land'
While higher speeds on the gas engine were a bit drone-y (due to the higher RPM the engine needs to run at to provide adequate electricity to maintain speed) otherwise the car simply behaves as expected with no obvious downside to running in this mode (though there were no situations where I needed emergency passing power or to climb severe grades beyond the 6-mile/1500 foot elevation gain drive at the end of my daily drives - situations where I might expect to feel that I only had 74hp at my disposal).
I also got a chance to use the Volt's Mountain Mode feature. On a completely flat battery and 15 or so minutes before heading up the last climb to home, I switched to that mode by pressing the 'Driving Mode' button three times. The Mountain Mode attempts to achieve or maintain 40% charge in the battery. If you are already at or above that charge level - the engine does not turn on. If you are below that level, the engine will start and attempt to put charge into the battery as well as propelling the car to get you back up to 40%.
In this case, the engine, which was running most of the time anyway turned on, at high rpm, and stayed on (see my prior observation about drone). In this mode, the battery never showed a charge during this time, leaving you largely in the dark as to what it is doing. However, once I turned Mountain Mode off right as the climb started, the engine switched off and it never turned on during the entire climb.
In other words, if you are willing to plan climbs, even on high-mile/range-extended days, you will appreciate the work this mode does to prepare the Volt for the more strenuous loads.
So, after what is significantly more than the battery-only range, what do the numbers look like?
Gas in the tank was still worth $3.699 a gallon
Electricity was still $1.04, total, for the 12kWh (amount estimated to recharge).
I burned 4.39 gallons today, for 41.45 mpg during the actual miles driven under gasoline power (the 55.3 mpg listed above is because the Volt calculates based on total miles vs the gasoline burned).
$16.24 in fuel and $1.04 in electricity for a total of $17.28 to do today's driving.
Compared again to ye olde mid-size sedan I normally spend seat time in...
It gets 25 mpg in my driving. 9.732 gallons would have been burned. $36.00 in gas.
So, I saved $18.72 in energy expenses.
You start to see what we might have expected...savings are not linear with miles traveled since your biggest wins are when you stick to the cheapest energy per mile - the kWh living in the battery pack.
However, there is another way to look at this (one that GM hopes consumers will think about)... if I were in a Nissan Leaf (a car that would handle the day-to-day commuting just fine) for this drive, I'd have been sleeping in it that night waiting for the battery to charge somewhere less than half the way through the day's driving. This is the usage case for which the Volt seems designed.
Next up, more talk about the Volt's underlying technology and how it compares against competitors.