2018 Bolt Availability and Realistic Options/Changes

Other than maybe other color options, I don't see any changes for 2018. Optimistically, I would like to see adaptive cruise control and updated front seats. That would satisfy the majority of complaints.

 

I certainly hope they change the front seats for the 2018 model. I find it surprising that GM would drop the ball so badly on something fairly basic. I also think it's questionable they didn't make the DCFC charge option standard equipment, but I've seen reports that most Bolt EVs are made with that installed, so perhaps it's not that much of an issue.

 

They might have software update. Maybe heat pump and adaptive cruise in 2019? Unlikely for 2018...

I would definitly assume 2017 is good enough, unless you are ready to wait 24 months, and in that case, you might be looking at another EV make and model

 

Light dash can cause glare both day and night so they may axe that option...I could see making DCFC standard, but think it would be a mistake to increase the MSRP...Beyond new color options or wheels, no major updates...Could it be the ZEV/CARB credits?

 

No option for Homelink on the Bolt!?! I am dumbfounded both that it wasn’t included (Volt does right?) but that I also didn’t know that.

Is there any other GM vehicle sold in the US without Homelink option?

 

GM doesn't license "homelink" anymore, what is now offered is "Universal Home Remote" and is now seemingly always located in a overhead console instead of mirror...Perhaps that's because homelink has some sort of patent or it has something to do with the OnStar mirror; if anyone knows please post...GM has four brands, with Caddy it appears to be 100% standard on all model including base trims (pure base ATS offers it standard)...Buick offers it on the higher trims for all models except for their convertible, the Cascada...GMC the same as Buick, offered on higher trims for all vehicles except the Canyon...The Canyon's twin the Colorado, also doesn't offer it, yet the surprising thing is that the premium trim "Denali" doesn't offer it...Chevy omits it from all of their smaller vehicles for some reason, Spark/Sonic/Cruze/Volt/Bolt/Colorado...

It really is a glaring omission especially when they're offering "teen driver technology", carplay, wifi, etc...

 

I think ACC or Supercruise is a likely upcoming option. Either on the 2018 or 2019 model. Rumors are that the 2018 model year will be a short MY similar to the 2016 Volt. The 2016 Volt had no Adaptive Cruise... but the 2017 did.

If there were no interesting updates coming, why would they wait this long to announce the model year? My guess is they have a feature they want for the 2018 MY but waited to see if it would be ready in time. If not, it will be pushed to the 2019 model.

I would at least wait until December to see what is announced. If the features that are announced are worth waiting for, just put off buying until next year.

If the new features don't interest you but are important to others, you might be able to pick up a 2017 for cheaper.

 

Thanks for that awesome summary of the situation. Homelink always seems to be on the upper packages, so I just assumed it was expensive to license for the OEMs. So it sounds like GM has their own Universal Home Remote that has the same functionality. That is fine with me.

But you are saying the UHR isn’t offered on Bolt or Volt? That would be terrible. I rented a 2017 Volt on vacation earlier this year, but didn’t even notice since I was away from home. Apple CarPlay was nice though.

 

Has anybody seen that commercial for the Lincoln showing the seat and all of its adjustments and movements? That's the seat I want to install in my Bolt!

 

Correct, and with the Volt, they've had three model years to fix the problem and haven't...The big issue for me, I live in coastal California where a lot of younger folks live in complexes with gated under parking...My friends do not mind letting me store their garage door openers signals into my homelink/UHR but they're not going to let me hold onto their physical device...There was a conspiracy theory that GM was being "courageous" with omitting it and apps or something would eventually be available but that would make zero sense since GM deploys it's innovative features on the Cadillac first...

If you read the Bolt forums, there are people claiming you can sit in two different Bolts with the same MSRP and have two different experiences when sitting in the seats...Some seem to pinch more than others...Furthermore, it's reported that this suspension seat design was first deployed years ago the Buick Encore...

Most people believe it costs GM near nothing to add DCFC so they're expecting the MSRP to not increase...If you care about resale value one should not get a Volt or a Bolt...

 

Yes, it's amazing to read reports from people who say they sit in one seat and it's fine, but they sit in another and it pinches. I can only guess that GM used two different sources for the (presumably) foam rubber padding in the seat, and one of the suppliers didn't supply foam that's sufficiently firm.

It's not all about us Americans having fat arses.

 

re: Bolt seats. I believe Adient (formerly Johnson Controls automotive seat division) makes the Bolt's seats - they have a special line called "Comfort-thin" that GM probably specified for the Bolt. This was a decision to maximize internal width and leg-room with minimal vehicle width and length. GM and a lot of other manufacturers use Adient for their seats. Adient claims to make the seats for 25 million new cars each year.

http://www.adient.com/products/complete-seats

 

I understand that in the recent past, auto makers have moved toward using single suppliers for parts, rather than multiple suppliers as was more common in the past. So that's certainly less common than it used to be. But still I think it's an exaggeration to say it's "very rare" for GM to use multiple suppliers for a given part, especially for common parts such as foam rubber padding.

But hey, if you can come up with a more likely scenario to explain why we've seen multiple reports that a given person finds the front seats in one Bolt EV to be comfortable, but uncomfortable in another Bolt EV, despite having the same seats, then go for it!

 

Jeremy, you're getting pretty close to me needing to invoke the following rule:

“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” -- Mark Twain

There are advantages and disadvantages to both single-sourcing and multiple sourcing of auto parts. Among the advantages of multiple sourcing is competitive bidding from suppliers, and flexibility. For example, Volkswagen has had problems with single sourcing when that single source was a factory which had a worker strike, shutting down production.

If you're actually interested in the subject -- rather than just stubbornly refusing to admit you're wrong on this point -- then you can educate yourself by looking at the following links:

http://europe.autonews.com/article/20160830/ANE/160839999/vw-reviews-its-procurement-strategy

http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/12-03-07-2.php?cid=5576

http://waset.org/publications/1714/single-and-multiple-sourcing-in-the-auto-manufacturing-industry

* * * * *

However, to return to the actual debate: There is an alternative scenario to explain why one seat would be comfortable while the next apparently identical seat was not, to the same person sitting in them. The alternative scenario: Perhaps there is only a single supplier for the seat padding, but perhaps that one supplier ran low on one density of foam rubber, and substituted another which was not firm enough for the application.