The upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is going to be a big one for the automotive industry, and one of the bigger players is going to be Chevy dropping its production-ready and fully-electric Bolt crossover-thing, which wants to be the electric car for the masses.
Chevrolet sounded hopeful when it revealed the Volt’s bloated brother at the Detroit Auto Show back in January, calling the “crossover” a “moonshot” and “game-changing,” while also managing to throw a fair amount of shade Tesla’s way.
GM Executive VP Mark Reuss confirmed the CES unveiling of the Bolt at the Los Angeles Auto Show, but there was no word on what the production specification would be. The concept came with the suggestions that the vehicle would hit the market with a 200 mile range and be priced, after incentives, around $30,000, which happens to be the price point Tesla plans to put its upcoming entry-level electric car.
It’s pretty safe to say the success of an all-electric four door “crossover” in America will hinge on keeping those stats (as well as calling the subcompact Bolt a “crossover”). If they pull it off, this is the change in GM Mary Barra has been fighting for.
It was also suggested the car would go on sale in 2016, which makes a CES debut the first week of January timely, but there is no official confirmation of a sales timeline just yet.
To my eyes, the Bolt concept looked good enough to earn money, balancing practicality and that necessary from-the-future look to be appealing to both youths and families alike. I’m still not sure what’s up with every hybrid splitting the rear window in half, though (see: new Prius).
The Bolt will face competition from the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model III (if that gets here on time) in the all-electric market, and much stronger foes in the hybrid category, like the Toyota Prius lineup, Chevy Volt, Honda Civic Hybrid, and a few rumored upcoming models from Nissan and everybody else jumping into the cheap hybrid/electrification game.
Also, am I the only one who thinks Chevy should take a note from Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign and officially rename the Bolt the “Bolt!”? Buy the Bolt! I drive a Bolt! My Bolt! broke down seven goddamn times! My Bolt! is out of juice! No matter what your customers type, they’re excited about the Bolt!!
We’ll be at the Consumer Electronics Show to suggest it to Chevy personally.
Contact the author at justin@jalopnik.com or @WestbrookTweets.