The Volt was built in Sterling Heights Michigan. It was discontinued because California changed the rules on ZEV credits to where PHEVs were not competitive anymore. I owned a 2017 and it was a great car and EV driving behavior led me to buy a TM3.
The REAL Tesla effect, TM3 if you want, is that the Bolt exists as a two hundred mile plug EV at all. I seriously doubt Chevrolet would have pushed so hard to rework the Spark EV into the Bolt if not for two reasons. First being the PR win over Tesla and second to score more ZEV credits which after 2017 year (2018+) rewarded EVs more points than other solutions.
I like the exterior of the Bolt but hate the interior, from dash to front seats. It is not a purpose built EV and while the packaging is good it could have been better.
GM's mention that future EVs would be around Cadillac were disappointing and there has been zero hint that they will refresh or tweak the current Bolt which is also disappointing.
Funny. I don't love the exterior of the Bolt, although appearance is essentially a nonfactor for me choosing a car, but prefer the interior strongly over competing EV/PHEVs for display and space. Strongly dislike the console on the Model 3 and the Prius Prime, and Leaf battery was a deal breaker.
I don't think it's that bad. The worst interiors I ever saw were circa-2010 Prius, but then again you get great fuel efficiency and a good shot at 300,000 miles with regular maintenance. Bolt has tradeoffs just like the Model 3 - not just the headrests - but it is a good car. Just happy there are EV choices and it's practical now. I'm grateful for every company that sells one.
It gets a mention quite a bit [1 as one of many examples]. I was kind of shocked at the forward-tilt and there's no way I could tolerate the car long term; likewise my sibling and a few others who tried it out with the intent of going all electric decided the seats were unacceptable. This is the passive version of anti-whiplash changes.
The Bolt is not derived from the Spark EV. The Spark is based on the Daewoo Matiz and is made in Korea. The Spark EV is quick hack on the gas Spark. I'm on my second Spark EV, they are great cars for what they are. A purpose built design could be so much better.
The Bolt is based on the Sonic I think. Built in the US. It's a bit bigger than a Honda Fit, and much bigger than the Spark EV which is more the size of the Toyota Yaris hatchback.
The REAL Tesla effect, TM3 if you want, is that the Bolt exists as a two hundred mile plug EV at all. I seriously doubt Chevrolet would have pushed so hard to rework the Spark EV into the Bolt if not for two reasons. First being the PR win over Tesla and second to score more ZEV credits which after 2017 year (2018+) rewarded EVs more points than other solutions.
I like the exterior of the Bolt but hate the interior, from dash to front seats. It is not a purpose built EV and while the packaging is good it could have been better.
GM's mention that future EVs would be around Cadillac were disappointing and there has been zero hint that they will refresh or tweak the current Bolt which is also disappointing.