Thanks Joe! My Electric Vehicle Journey

So, for all you out their on the fence about getting an electric vehicle.  I was once like you.  That’s our new trusty steed, Bolty McBoltface in the photo above.  We bought her last summer.  A joy to drive and making a huge difference to our family’s carbon footprint.  We downsized from two gasoline-powered cars to just one clean EV.  We also took advantage of the current tax credits (30% of total costs) to put solar panels on our roof.  The Chevy Bolt is a great car, from top to bottom.  I recommend it to everyone I meet.

I’m a retired engineer, so I’m the type to analyze everything to the nth degree before I make a big decision.  Trying to figure out which electric vehicle to purchase was no exception.  I kept getting hung up on wanting to wait for the technology to mature, spending hours on line watching YouTube videos about battery technology, adding new key performance indicators to my spreadsheet.  I agonized over range, number of electric motors, regenerative breaking, dependability, number of years on the market, turning radius, hip room, head room, blah blah blah … my spreadsheet had it all.

Still, I didn’t want analysis paralysis and the perfect be the enemy of the planet and the good.  I wanted to take the leap.  I wanted to get off carbon and start making a difference.

But which vehicle? 

Only electric vehicles built in the USA qualify for the Federal Tax credit, so that knocked Audi, BMW, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, Fiat, Fisker, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Nissan, Polestar, Toyota, and Volkswagen off my list.  That left Cadillac, Chevy, Ford and Tesla.

Tesla had better range than the others, but I’d be I’d be darned if I’d give a penny to the vile Musk creature.  No Nazi adjacency for me.  Besides, the range of the others was still plenty for us.  Hey, if we want to take a long trip we can just rent a car on a fraction of our gasoline savings.

The Cadillac Lyriq was way too expensive and made in a red state.  Sorry.  I didn’t want a truck, so the Ford 150 Lightning got dropped too.  I was looking for a smallish SUV

But you know what?!  The 2023 Chevy Bolt EV was way up the list, and with an MSRP around $27,500 it was by far the least expensive (with the Federal Tax Credit that drops to $20,000!!!).  It was at the top of the list for the most number of years in production, front seat leg room and turning radius and competitive on all my other metrics too.  It has wonderful blend of button controls and touch screen functionality … yep, you still have buttons and switches for climate control whereas most of the others make you click through screen after screen to get anything done.  It’s super roomy on the inside … kind of a clown car really … seats four large adults with noooo problems.  It has phenomenal driver visibility and the backup camera is bright and even shows a view from overhead, making my wife super happy.  Hey, and Chevrolet gives you free plugs for both 110 and 220 volts and pays to get your garage ready for a Level 2 charger (the 220 volts).

And the best part … made in America … in a BLUE state by UNION workers in Orion Township, Michigan. 

And we’ll never again 

• burn fossil carbon to get around town or to power our home,
• stand around at a gas pump sniffing fumes and feeling cranky about inflation
• pay a single penny for gasoline
• pay more than an $8/month fee for our electricity bill
• pay for an oil change, spark plugs, timing belt, radiator fluid, transmission work, new muffler, emissions test, etc.,
• have to worry about any damn MAGA Republicans trying to take away the incentives before I take advantage of them.

I had almost lost hope in any sort of governmental support for green technology, but the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill really delivered for America and my family.

Thanks Joe.  

P.S.  I have no affiliation with Chevrolet, nor have I been compensated in any way for this post.  I just like my car and thought other Kossacks might appreciate the advice.

P.P.S.  I just learned that the Chevy Bolt EV production is in hiatus while they move to an assembly line in Kansas, so Bolta won’t be coming back until 2026.  I’m disappointed that GM is treating their Michigan workers that way.  I’m not sure if Kansas will be a union shop or not.  On the bright side, the batteries will come from new America plants brought to us via Joe’s Bipartisan Infrastructure bill.