[dannycamps]

I was at the dealership last week picking up my '17 Volt which was in for routine service. I took a walk around the showroom with my wife and we came across a Bolt (first one I have seen). I got in the car and checked out the front/rear seat room and was talking about the features to my wife telling her the benefits of EV ownership.

She asked the question "what happens when you run out of range?". Before I could get the explanation about recharging and DCFC out of my mouth, a salesperson comes up behind us and quips "You walk!" with a smirk and walks off.

If I was a prospective buyer of a Bolt, I think that would be off-putting to me.

Just my two cents.

 

[Steverino]

He was right. It's the obvious answer. What was your wife expecting?

Even so, I would have responded, "That's right, same thing thing happens when that Silverado runs out of gas. You walk!"

My dealer sales rep was very knowledgeable about the Volt and Bolt. Very good experience.

 

[jcanoe]

A better answer would be that you would Uber or call for a Lyft.

 

[quirkySquirt]

That would be off putting. Agree with Steverino that it's obvious, but I think a more tactful way of putting it would be, "What happens when you run out of electricity? Same thing when you run out of fuel in any car: you walk." Some may still interpret it as a condescending quip, but at least you're not putting down EVs in particular. Both EVs and ICEs are treated the same.

 

[O'Dell]

I have to give credit to my Volt dealer. He's getting as many Bolts as he can from wherever he can, and he still has a waiting list for them.

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

I see Teslas every day in the mountains. Must be a wealth issue. The rich presumably start their Porshe or Ferrari or Hummer when the Tesla runs out of electricity.

 

[amg2000]

I sat in the bolt the other day at the dealership and I was surprised at how cramped it felt . I know people have been complaining about the seat and it did feel a tiny bit narrow, but not because the seats so much, rather it was because I could not man spread my legs as much as I could in the volt. The car also sort of looks like a Chevy Spark . I'm convinced that these decisions were made by General Motors on purpose so that people would buy the volt over the bolt.

 

[Jmaj]

Difference is, hubby or AAA doesn't come to the rescue with a can of gas.
The Bolt seat fits me just fine and is comfortable without an adjustable lumbar. If I can find a deal on a 17 I might just put one in the garage. Ideal car about town and it's a fun drive too.

Edit - even obvious questions can be deep. Sort of like Enrico Fermi's famous "so why haven't they landed?" response to the proposition that there could be thousands of technically advanced civilizations in the galaxy.

 

[trm2]

I see Teslas every day in the mountains. Must be a wealth issue. The rich presumably start their Porshe or Ferrari or Hummer when the Tesla runs out of electricity.

Last time I ran out in my Tesla, my servant in the Rolls in front of me that was spreading rose petals (so my Tesla's tires didn't need to actually contact the dirty road) simply gave me a ride.

 

[Barry]

I think the "you walk" comment is just a reflection of that individual's disdain for EVs (or Prius, etc.). It is a pretty common attitude, and being a car salesman does not prevent someone from having it. He is probably a lot more enthusiastic about selling full sized SUVs and trucks. And the sales manager probably likes the heavy metal better, too, because they make the dealership most of its money.

 

[Steverino]

Our Bolt is used for a daily round trip commute of 60-70 miles with side errands. We recharge nightly so every day starts off with a full battery. That way, it can be driven all around the larger Chicago metro area without fear of running out. But if needed, there are plenty of 240V public charging stations, some CCS fast charge stations, or even a relative's house at 120V that we could plug into.

I view the Bolt like the Volt: a great commuter car that has a range extender. In the Bolt's case, the range extender is an extra 150-170 miles of battery.

I have no plans (nor need to) take the car on a greater than 200 mile round trip jaunt where the answer to the "what happens?" question could be a flatbed tow, or an hour stop at a CCS charge station, or a several hour stop at a 240V station.

Of course others may want to use the Bolt that way, but in that situation I'd likely take my Volt instead. Stopping for an hour at a charge station on a holiday trip to Wisconsin seems like a pain. And in the winter, it would likely be a requirement as the battery range will be less due to cabin heating at least.

So the Bolt EV is an awesome commuter car for longer commutes. But the Volt is better for longer trips if you don't want to be stopping for recharges.

Side note: my wife used the Bolt's heating options yesterday. LOVES the heated steering wheel. Used the seat heaters, also tried out the cabin haeter, She set the cabin heat to 72°F on auto and said it was very, very nice. Much nicer than our Cadillac SRX which like most ICE cars took a while to get going. The Bolt delivers almost instant, smooth heat in contrast. But the cabin heater will reduce range. We will need the Bolt's "range extender" in the winter.

 

[DonC]

Obviously in this case I'd agree with you. Then again sales people in car dealerships are, on the whole, not the brightest bulbs in the pack. Many of them likely don't believe in climate change and think there is a war on coal (no idea if this was the case in this salesperson).

However, I'd suggest contacting GM and complaining. Obviously there are better answers than what he gave. The most obvious one is to point out you do the same thing if you ran out of gas, and that this isn't an issue because you charge so as not to run out of battery. That leads into an discussion of DCFC and how far 238 miles is. The GM manager for the dealership no doubt would prefer this response. While the dealership is an independent business it gets graded and it will not want to deal with this type of thing.

 

[Qinsp]

I was at the dealership last week picking up my '17 Volt which was in for routine service. I took a walk around the showroom with my wife and we came across a Bolt (first one I have seen). I got in the car and checked out the front/rear seat room and was talking about the features to my wife telling her the benefits of EV ownership.

She asked the question "what happens when you run out of range?". Before I could get the explanation about recharging and DCFC out of my mouth, a salesperson comes up behind us and quips "You walk!" with a smirk and walks off.

If I was a prospective buyer of a Bolt, I think that would be off-putting to me.

Just my two cents.

The correct answer perhaps for the salesperson would have been:

"The car gives you plenty of warning when you are running out of range. But most people find that unlike gas cars, you tend to always leave home with a 'full tank' which gives you over 200 miles of range before you must recharge, which normally covers your daily trips. Then you wake up and your 'tank' is full again! Something you can't get in a gas car.

 

[Norton]

....Then again sales people in car dealerships are, on the whole, not the brightest bulbs in the pack. ...However, I'd suggest contacting GM and complaining. ... While the dealership is an independent business it gets graded and it will not want to deal with this type of thing.

Too true. These "Sales Professionals" are only concerned about their commission check.
Good Luck educating these guys at the dealership level.

..."The car gives you plenty of warning when you are running out of range. But most people find that unlike gas cars, you tend to always leave home with a 'full tank' which gives you over 200 miles of range before you must recharge, which normally covers your daily trips. Then you wake up and your 'tank' is full again! Something you can't get in a gas car.

A great response!
Yo, GM, are you listening?

"And the DCFC network is getting larger by the day."

And my personal response: "Do you remember the last time you pulled into the Quikky Fill? I don't."

 

[hploeg]

Jmaj, the Fermi quote is: "Where is everybody?". It is called the "Fermi Paradox".

 

[michaellax]

... a salesperson comes up behind us and quips "You walk!" with a smirk and walks off.

If this was really true, I would just "walk" right up to the Sales Manager and tell him I am going to "walk" right off the lot to his nearest competitor and buy/lease a Bolt EV there!

I leased the first Bolt EV off the lot on January 3rd after putting a down payment in July 2016 and believe me, they came to know me by name!