The Curious Case of the Chevy Bolt | The AutoGuide Show Ep. 112

This week we’re diving into the curious case of the Chevy Bolt. Once hailed as a game-changer, GM killed it off, brought it back and now it’s the most affordable EV you can buy. How long will it last this time around? Host Greg Migliore catches up with Mike Schlee, who is just back from the Bolt’s launch, and we break it all down.

Then Mike explains his latest gear test, a set of Sailun IceBlazer winter tires.

In the AutoGuide Garage, Mike puts the Dodge Charger to the test in the snow, while Greg reviews the Lincoln Aviator Black Label.

We close things out with the mailbag, where we discuss the demise of the Hyundai Ioniq 6.

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SHOW NOTES

• 00:08 - Introduction: The host welcomes viewers to the show and previews the main topics, including the Chevy Bolt, Sailun Ice Blazer tires, the Lincoln Aviator, the Dodge Charger, and the mailbag.
• 01:28 - Chevy Bolt Deep Review: A detailed discussion on the new generation of the Chevy Bolt, covering its design updates, new 400V electrical architecture, charging capabilities, and its position as an affordable EV.
• 19:25 - Gear Test: Sailun Ice Blazer Tires: Mike provides a review of the Ice Blazer WST2 LT winter tires, discussing their performance in snow and slush on a Subaru Ascent.
• 26:00 - AutoGuide Garage: Lincoln Aviator Black Label: The host reviews his experience with the Lincoln Aviator, highlighting its Whisper Blue metallic exterior, 3L twin-turbo V6 engine, and premium interior details.
• 30:31 - AutoGuide Garage: Dodge Charger R/T: Mike discusses driving the new Dodge Charger in Stow, Vermont, detailing its 3L inline-6 Hurricane engine and its all-wheel-drive performance in snowy conditions.
• 39:11 - The Mailbag: The show concludes with a discussion about the discontinuation of the standard Hyundai Ioniq 6 and the future of the Ioniq 6 N.

TRANSCRIPTION

00:08 - Welcome and Introduction: "Welcome back to the Auto Guide Show presented by eBay Motors. I'm Greg Migliore and today we're diving into the curious case of the Chevy Bolt. Once hailed as a game changer, GM killed it off, brought it back, and now it's the most affordable EV you can buy. But will it have staying power this time around? Mike Schllay is back from the launch and we break it all down. Then Mike tells me about his latest gear test, the Sailun Ice Blazers. Those sound fun. In the AutoGuide garage, Mike puts the Dodge Charger to the test in the snow while I review the Lincoln Aviator Black Label. We close things out with the mailbag. But first, a word from eBay."

00:52 - eBay Motors Sponsor Message: "eBay has reinvented vehicle buying. From click to curb, everything's covered. With their new secure purchase, eBay isn't just where you find your car, it's where you buy it, start to finish. Title, financing, registration, delivery, it's all built in. And eligible vehicle purchases are backed up by up to $100,000 in protection. This is what modern car buying looks like. Get your next ride on eBay. eBay, things people love. Secure Purchase is powered by Caramel Dealer Services LLC, an eBay subsidiary."

01:28 - Chevy Bolt Deep Dive: "Okay, Mike joins me now to talk all things Chevy Bolt. If you are listening to this on Monday morning, you are among the first to hear drive impressions of this new generation of Bolt. The embargo just lifted. That's sort of a journalism term, but we can now we're free to tell you all about it. Mike is back and give me a little overview here of the new Bolt. It was gone for a while, but hey, now it's back."

01:54 - Design and Features: "Yeah, it left about four years ago and it's back and it's only back for probably a year. So the whole situation seems a little odd and it's easy to think they just brought the Bolt back and that's that. But they haven't. There's over 50% new parts, at least new to the bolts. Some of them came from other vehicles, but the headlights and taillights are different... they got a look that's more like the current GM Chevy EV... inside, new dashboard, 11in screens... it's all the rage now, you know, digital driver information center, digital regular, and it's really cool."

03:03 - Practicality and Value: "I say it's the IKEA of EVs. It may not be the most luxurious thing, but it's going to last and it's going to be useful and that's what you want. And then the biggest news by far for this car is it's got a new electrical architecture. It's a 400V now. So, which means it can charge at speeds up to 150 kilowatt, which is two and a half times faster... It's got an NACS port and you can go to the Tesla Superchargers network, plug it in, and we got to do that when we were there."

04:04 - Performance: "Negatives, it's bouncy. A lot of us found that it's got a choppy ride... the electric motor has a little more horsepower but less torque in this whole revision, but they've given it a different final drive ratio. And Chevy says it'll do 0 to 60 in under seven seconds and it's fractionally faster than the old one... I was spinning my tires out of every corner going up Mulholland. So yeah, it's not 500E levels of fun, but it's not far off and it's a way more practical EV and oh, it just happens to be less money. It's the cheapest priced EV in America."

10:34 - eBay Motors Sponsor Message: "eBay has reinvented vehicle buying. From click to curb, everything's covered. It's all thanks to their new secure purchase... Sellers and titles are verified. Paperwork is handled by experts. And payments are traceable and digital... thinking about selling your ride? Secure Purchase makes that simple, too. Because you know your buyer and their funds are verified... and with secure purchase, you get paid fast. This is what modern car buying looks like."

13:30 - Chevy Bolt: Driving and Infotainment: "So, we're talking all things Chevy Bolt with Mike who just got back from California... Talk a little more about how it drove. You know, how's the steering? How's the braking?"

13:42 - Driving Impressions: "The tires on the Bolt made by Michelin were specifically made for this new Bolt... their goal was to improve braking and rolling resistance... once you get used to the slight nuances of driving it, it felt like it's driving just a subcompact car. Like, you forget almost it's electric because it's so smooth if you keep off the one-pedal driving... the braking was good."

15:05 - Infotainment and Design: "I think also like they have things like the infotainment system looks actually solid... How did that work for you? Were you able to like pair your phone if you wanted?"

15:26 - Connectivity: "Yeah. So there's no Apple CarPlay because it's a GM EV, which I still think is to this day is a massive miss... but the system is basically the one out of the Equinox EV and it's easy enough to use otherwise. They had pre-programmed routes for us. So, you just turned on the nav and off you went."

19:25 - Gear Test: Sailun Ice Blazer Tires: "All right, staying with me this week, Mike is going to talk about some Ice Blazer winter tires. What a spectacular name for winter tires... what have you been doing with them?"

19:42 - Tire Performance: "So this was... the Ice Blazer WST2 LT... I had these on a Subaru Ascent a couple years ago... in the snow, the slush, the ice, they performed very well. They performed as well as tires costing much more, almost double the price. Trade-offs: a little noisy, a little vibrating compared to say the higher-end tires."

26:00 - AutoGuide Garage: Lincoln Aviator Black Label: "All right, so welcome inside the AutoGuide Garage... I recently tested the Lincoln Aviator Black Label, which I think is just an absolutely beautiful crossover... Mine was actually Whisper Blue metallic clear coat... mine also had the 3 L twin-turbo V6 10-speed automatic. Inside was what they call tan Savannah leather... it's quiet as you would expect for a Lincoln... the 3 liter V6 is I think actually pretty potent... it'll you know for a vehicle that size has some giddy up."

30:31 - AutoGuide Garage: Dodge Charger R/T: "Let's segue over to the Charger, which you drove that in snowy Vermont... why were you doing that?"

30:52 - Engine and Performance: "I went for the... Charger six-pack R/T... the R/T is the entry point in the six-pack. So, it has the 3 L inline-6 turbo Hurricane engine, makes 420 horsepower... Dodge pointed out multiple times... the most powerful standard horsepower in a muscle car... the point of it was to drive the new car on the road, but then also to drive the all-wheel drive Scat Pack R/T."

31:31 - Snowy Driving Conditions: "And it was a ton of fun... drifting around in circles... it snowed the night before... the morning we drove, it was all ice and slush, and we were on all-season tires... the all-wheel drive system and it's really flawless... the only time you remembered all-seasons was when you were braking or turning."

39:11 - The Mailbag: Hyundai Ioniq 6: "All right, so this week's question is a timely one. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is going away. What do you think of the demise of the Hyundai Ioniq 6? If you missed it, the regular, so to speak, six is going away and just the Ioniq 6 N will carry on... it seems like the body style of the Ioniq 6 never quite resonated with consumers."

40:59 - Future Outlook: "I like the N as well... people are really going into SUVs and I think the cars that are going to be successful or are being successful are at the lower end... it allows them to have another halo performance car... hopefully I'm wrong and it does stay for a couple years, but... clearly it wasn't succeeding."