A class action lawsuit is being brought before a Quebec court alleging that the battery performance of the Chevrolet Bolt – 2017’s “Green Car of the Year” – isn’t as advertised.
As reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, General Motors boasted that the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt was able to drive up to 383 kilometers before needing to be charged. However, plaintiffs in the lawsuit are alleging that the vehicle’s range during winter before requiring a charge is a lot lower than advertised.
“The range of the Bolt electric vehicle does not even reach 300 kilometres,” they claim.
They also say that colder weather drastically increases the battery’s charging time and that General Motors was “(a)ware of this situation as early as 2017 but knowingly omitted to mention it to the plaintiff and other members of the class.”
They deserve to have the suit thrown out. Anyone who would pay $38K for a vehicle with an advertised three hours of highway range is an idiot.
Sounds like just the thing for the Canadian prairies.
Chemical reactions in batteries slow down in lower temperatures?
What is this strange wizardry?
Except for early Nissan Leafs all EV and Hybrids that I know of have both heating and cooling of the battery and so cold slower reactions is not an issue (except on start up at -30) … wasting electricity to heat the battery vs drive the car is an issue since range is reduced.
Call it what it is the Chevy Obama.
Quite useless and not as advertised.
Or the Chevy Justin, for the same reasons.
Hmmm… Toss up for me. Kaybeckers lose, because Kaybeckers? Or the Great Mistake Company loses, because woke?
Like Hydrogen filled flying fire bomb Zeppelins, battery cars (that’s what they should be really called, not “Electric car”) will eventually go the way of the dodo bird or at best will be relegated to serve big city areas only (taxi, food and other small, local delivery) and this in more tempered areas like California where it’s not too hot or cold.
Battery car Pros:
-Does not emit carbon monoxide (poisonous gas)
Battery car cons:
-Does not emit carbon dioxide (plant food)
-battery does not like too hot or cold weather
-limited/unreliable travel distance due to many factors including exterior temp, load including towing capacity, air conditioning usage and especially heaters on cold days.
– Long distance travel time dramatically increased because of long battery charge times.
-Much higher probability of fire hazard than a gas car and that includes the old Ford Pintos!
-Not enough rare minerals on earth to replace current vehicles…at best 35% of total.
You call yourself the “Metal Guru” yet you make the silly claim that there are “not enough rare minerals on earth to replace current vehicles”. Total BS statement. Lithium (one of the most common elements on planet Earth). Nickel (megatonnes of the stuff). Cobalt (ok, mined by kids for now, but lots of cobalt too).
I would stick with the fact that Tesla (and other EVs) were largely developed in California and have not been properly tested in cold climates.
Lithium and cobalt are not what is meant by rare earth metals,
the ones that are really rare and necessary for electric cars are for example neodymium and dysprosium, but there are many more.
and yes those are really rare, and China controls about 90% of the market for them.
Technically there might be enough minerals but:
– it has not all been geographically “discovered” yet let alone extracted
– the demand will soon outpace production capacity
– The environmental impact will be severe and might be actually worse than the perceived benefits of moving away from fuel, batteries are one thing, the service stations/recharge location infrastructure needs to be built…which energy source will be used to achieve that we all know will be fossil…that’s stupid! Unless you truly believe in the man induced climate change myth. Remember the liars say we only have a few years left before we burn up or something. Can’t transition fast enough to stop the end of the world LOL.
– just the fact that current battery life for ev’s is 160,000kms for a personal vehicle and about 100,000kms for commercial vehicles will raise the demand tremendously in the next few years thus further impact time for full transition. Batteries are finite.
– contrary to belief, old ev batteries can be reused BUT not in a vehicle…you can use it to store some DC power only. It’s performance is too depleted to continue using in an ev.
Considering that the planet has oil and especially natural gas for thousands of years left, this whole exercise is futile and actually ridiculous.
DC battery technology: Go back to your drawing board, currently your packs are too big and heavy, they cost too much to produce and they deplete in efficiency too quickly (160K km for a modern carbon car is nothing, a good electronically assisted gas engine can last past 300K km now)
Steve, you seem to think the only issue left is cold climate impact on the technology…LOL! Me thinks you own an EV (BV) and justifying your misguided purchase.
Maybe you will do like many others and come back to your senses:
Remember this article does not consider the many other factors I enumerated above, just the inconvenience of charge stations
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ev-owners-switch-gas-power-study/
There may be lots of EV metals on the planet, but environmentalists and the Biden administration won’t let you actually mine them.
Yes, you are an idiot if you want a battery car for highway driving.
Like mileage ratings, battery life is best case scenario (exaggerated) by the manufacturers. Ignorance of this fact also proves idiocy.
Not knowing that winter negatively affects batteries means you’re not only an idiot, but a French idiot.
so they are alleging they didn’t read the fine print on the advertisement that suckered them in?
Or the fine print was not present.
Or the fine print didn’t include the basic scientific facts of temperature and electricity.
I would not be surprised if General Motors tried to pull a fast one, or was too stupid to properly inform its customers.
You bought a battery car. Other than burning to death in a horrific fire, you get what you deserve.
The very first vehicle in the late 1800s was battery powered. Though the technology has improved, battery driven cars generally are still a losing idea.
That’s three hours in Summer, with a full charge and no air conditioning.
And in 7 or 8 years, when the battery dies, the repair bill for a new battery, which will be almost as much as the car was new, with labor, if you can find one, would make a person feel the same as replacing the motor in a 1971 Ford Pinto.
I have it on good authority that the next Chevy EV will be called the “Chevy Dolt”. For obvious reasons.
Stupid can be terminal, too bad it isn’t terminal more often.
Can they all lose?
Quebec….who cares?
L – 383 km range, for the electronic vehicle in question, is the maximum and that under their
ideal testing conditions. For battery powered vehicles, the minimum range is zero.
Truth in Advertising would include that battery capacity is reduced over time, and temperature.
An Internal Combustion Vehicle engine range is based on fuel capacity for that engine/weight/
transmission/wind tunnel… A couple of jerry cans of fuel makes a big difference. But no one
is going to carry a spare Chey Volt/Tesla battery pack in their trunk.
By their nature, electronic vehicles are most suited for warmer climates and urban driving.
Oh, and virtue signaling, which like blue/yellow decals, B.L.M., All Children Matter, and vegetarianism is most fashionable. This is especially so, for those too disoriented to seek true virtue or meaning in their lives. The kind that entails and justifies suffering, as in sacrificing one or more of their vices.
I wonder how Clayton made out with his Leaf problem?
driving.ca/auto-news/news/b-c-leaf-owners-plight-highlights-difficulty-in-replacing-ev-batteries
“Anyone who would pay $38K for a vehicle with an advertised three hours of highway range is an idiot.”
1) Lots of people in urban areas drive less than 100K daily.
2) Most of the country lives is those urban areas.
3) Electricity in Quebec is relatively cheap and generated from Hydro.
4) Batteries will get cheaper and more efficient.
5) The Liberal government is going to try to put the oil industry out of business. They don’t care who dies (Lac Megantic) or what it costs.
6) Most of the comments here make you sound like ignorant red-necks.
Nobody is suggesting that an electric car is suitable for the praries or rural areas.
“Stupid can be terminal, too bad it isn’t terminal more often.” Really? Is that what you wish for anyone that buys an electric car?
“Quebec….who cares?” Just because some people live in Quebec doesn’t mean they don’t share some of your ideas.
I live in Quebec. I do not own an electric car, nor do I plan on owning one in the future…
The article was about the Bolt not living up to the advertised range. Why can’t you stay on topic?
EVERYBODY is suggesting EVs are suitable for rural areas and the prairies.
EVERY progressive and EVERY progressive politician.
In fact, by government fiat, these are the only type of vehicles Canadians will be allowed to purchase by 2030.
“Hoping” or “expecting” battery technology to get better by then is not a winning strategy.
“Hoping” or “expecting” the North American electricity grid to be able to charge all these millions of coming vehicles is suicidal.
// Anyone who would pay $38K for a vehicle with an advertised three hours of highway range is an idiot. //
In some parts of the country, you can get somewhere in three hours.
That’s great, but in most households, at least a once year, someone needs to drive further than the distance between your condo and the closest dildo exchange.
Calm down there Earl…mighty frustration coming from a guy who doesn’t own and has no plans in owning a BV don’t y’a thinks?
I don’t think anybody said all Québécois are naïve.
In a nutshell, your #4 line item “Batteries will get cheaper and more efficient” sums up what you are complaining about what we rednecks are trying to explain:
Go back to the drawing board, your technology is still inferior to the one you want to replace, hence “will get better”…sure…maybe… but for now, not there yet. Not even close. Right now, like you suggest, BV,s can serve a limited market in urban setting but for 38k (bare minimum price for one) it is not a very good investment because of its limitations.
Capich?
Funny how few people know,the battery driven car,lost the competition with steam cars,which in their turn lost out to the Internal combustion engined.
The Battery Mobile has been a loser for over 200 years.
Certain Niches have kept the technology alive,underground mining,golf course and retirement communities..But the battery has been the limiting factor and is still the limiting factor..
Show me a battery with similar power to weight ratio to a gallon tank of gasoline..And you will be rich and famous..
In the near future I foresee a market,mobile genset trailers to allow you to use you government mandated electric mobile to go anywhere.
Say a 10 to 15kW diesel genset.
Turbo,twin straight pipes and heavy advertising.
You could wind up “Bigger than Uhaul”
For if Electric vehicles are forced upon the consumer,these kind of “fixes” will happen
I well remember Grandma McDuck drove an electric. Cool car. Me, I always wanted a Stanley Steamer.
I bought a Model S a couple years ago. I already have 100,000 km on it and have lost maybe 5% of battery capacity.
My energy costs are a fraction of what I used to pay for my Ford. Maintenance has been zero. Yes 0$. Not including tire changes of course.
I expected to have problems in winter and was only going to use it in summer but it has been pretty good and I use it year round. Winter battery loss is negligible as the battery heats up fast. Car warms up as fast maybe faster than before because of seat warmer and steering wheel.
Drove to Vancouver and back maybe 5 times and never paid a dime because I used free chargers.
What I got as a whim and to tease my friends has become the best car I have ever owned. I’m on the waiting list for the cyber truck and hope to take delivery of the model y for my wife for her birthday in December.
This is my first hand experience with it anyway. Maybe others have had horrible experiences.