Bolt M-1 electric moped gets going on Indiegogo - VIDEO

We quite like Bolt M-1 electric moped we were telling you about a while back, and judging from the initial response to the bike's debut on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo, we aren't the only ones. In it's first day, Bolt Motorbikes more than passed the halfway mark of its campaign, raising $133,000 and taking orders for 26 of its shagalicious machines. (We imagine, though, some of these are from its original pre-order list.)

For its initial production run, the outfit plans to build 100 copies of the M-1 at its new home in Brisbane, just south of San Francisco, CA. Prices begin at $5,495 (+shipping) – the 25 early-bird bikes at $4,995 have sold out – with a delivery window that stretches from March to October of 2016. If you'd like one earlier, you can pay the $6,495 premium price and take delivery in a much more expedient January-to-March time frame.

As a reminder, for their money, buyers get a moped-sized bike that stays within 20-miles-per-hour electric bicycle legal limits with a range of up to 50 miles (30-35 miles city). In (sport) off-road mode, it can hit 40 mph. Designed to be removed and brought inside for charging, if desired, the battery charges up in five hours. The M-1 connects to your phone with bluetooth, its app giving you all the info you might desire, as well as enabling over-the-air software updates.

You can see the bike in action in the pitch video above, and get more details from the official press release below. If you want to order one up for yourself, or maybe just get the t-shirt, the Indiegogo page is here.

Bolt Motorbikes, the electric motorbike that has been rapidly gaining momentum in both the media and with bike enthusiasts for revolutionizing urban transportation, launched a campaign today for a limited run of 100 M-1 motorbikes via an IndieGogo campaign.

With this highly-anticipated production run, Bolt aims to bring to market a simple to operate, fully electric motorbike that brings the vintage feel of a 1970s moped to the sleek, smartphone-connected world of today. The inaugural model, the M-1, combines the thrill of a motorcycle, the practicality of a scooter, and the approachability of a bicycle in a way that is accessible to all.

Bolt Motorbikes is the brainchild of Dr. Nathan Jauvtis, a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and holder of 13 patents, who also happens to be a longtime enthusiast of all two-wheeled modes of transport. Recalling his days in the San Francisco moped "gang" dubbed "Creatures of the 'Loin," Jauvtis longed to bring that exhilarating feeling of freedom to a wider audience. Motivated by his girlfriend, who was fearful of motorcycles and had never ridden anything with a throttle, Jauvtis wanted to enable her and others to share in his passion through an unintimidating ride.

The M-1 is designed to meet electric bicycle regulations in Economy Mode. Riders do not need a special driver's license, registration, or insurance, but can share all of the same parking and traffic benefits as bicycles. With the push of a button or swipe of a finger on a smartphone, the adventurous can enjoy Sport Mode, which unlocks the highest performance of any electric bicycle in production today.

Jauvtis and his team have spent three years designing and perfecting the Bolt M-1 from concept to reality. Spurred on by the overwhelmingly positive reaction from the community, they turned to IndieGogo for an initial $200,000 campaign to assist with the high up-front costs associated with bringing an electric vehicle to market. In less than 24 hours, the campaign had already surpassed over half of its goal. Says Jauvtis, "This funding will help ramp up and scale the production to meet the demand, and will also help develop next-generation tooling and fixtures for ease of manufacturing and assembly."

Bolt's aim is simple: go faster and farther than any bicycle and get to places motorcycles can't, all while doing so in a way Mother Nature would approve. According to Jauvtis, "My vision is to get people outside exploring their city, unencumbered by traffic, parking difficulties, or expensive and polluting gas. Let's just ride!"

Chevrolet Bolt On Track For Q4 2016 Production

Chevrolet Bolt PPD Car Testing

According to Automotive News, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt remains on track for production to begin in Q4 of 2016:

“Bolt: GM recently moved up its production target for the EV, to the fourth quarter of 2016. GM has said the 2017 Bolt will go 200 miles on a single charge and be priced at around $30,000 after federal tax credits.”

This is in line with previous reports, which indicate the Bolt could enter production as early as October 2016.

Automotive News assembled this nifty graphic showing General Motors’ future product plans:

Future Product Timeline

200-Mile, $30,000 Electric Chevrolet Bolt To Debut Monday At 2015 NAIAS

Chevrolet Volt EV Concept Debuts

GM Sits On The “Bolt” Name In Recent Filing

Back in August 2014, General Motors filed a trademark for the name “Chevrolet Bolt.”

UPDATE:  The Chevrolet Bolt EV Concept has indeed been revealed – all the details can be found here

Now we’re learning that the Chevy Bolt might well be the 200-mile pure electric car that General Motors officially confirmed 3 months ago.  If true, then we won’t see a 200-mile Chevy Sonic, but rather something similar to it in size, but pure electric and called the Bolt.

*Note: If you seek more details on this 200-mile electric Chevy, then you’ll want to check out the comments on this article (or perhaps below in the comments on this article) titled “REPORT: GM Working With Focus Groups On 200 Mile EV Rollout?” We deleted most of the contents of the article itself upon request, but the comments section contains exclusive information on the 200-mile Chevy EV.

Additionally, the Wall Street Journal and other sources are now reporting that the Chevy Bolt will be unveiled on Monday January 12 at the 2015 NAIAS.

This 200-mile electric car has been in the making for sometime now at General Motors.  In fact, former CEO Dan Akerson confirmed GM’s 200-mile electric car some 2 years ago.

So, it’s a given that this car exists and that it’s been in development for quite awhile, but now it appears that it will finally debut in Detroit on Monday at the 2015 NAIAS?

Here’s what the Wall Street Journal says:

“General Motors Co. plans to launch a $30,000 electric vehicle called the Chevrolet Bolt that would be capable of driving 200 miles on a charge by 2017, according to people familiar with the strategy, a move to gain ground on Tesla Motors Inc.”

“GM will show off a concept version of the Bolt on Monday at the Detroit auto show, eight years after the auto giant disclosed it would re-enter the electric car market with the Chevrolet Volt.”

“The Chevy Bolt, carrying a more capable battery manufactured by South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. , will be aimed squarely at Tesla’s forthcoming Model 3, a $35,000 electric car also slated to debut in 2017. The concept version of the electric car will be a hatchback designed to look more like a so-called crossover vehicle, according to people familiar with the design.”

Original CrossVolt Trademark Filing. This Filing Was Recently Extended By GM.

Hmm…a hatchback designed to look more like a so-called crossover vehicle? Might that be the CrossVolt then.  It too has been rumored to be ready for debut at the 2015 NAIAS.

It’s believed that General Motors CEO Mary Barra will be the one unveiling the Bolt (CrossVolt?) at the 2015 NAIAS.  The Wall Street Journal states:

“The Bolt represents the biggest risk taken by Chief Executive Mary Barra since taking GM’s helm a year ago. Its development was approved when she was product chief under former CEO Dan Akerson . But U.S. gasoline prices have fallen below $2 a gallon this year, hurting demand for electric cars.”

“For Ms. Barra and other GM engineers, the Bolt’s proposed 200-mile range is critical because it is seen as addressing concerns about range long associated with electric cars, one person involved in the car’s development said. “Two hundred miles is seen as some sort of barrier where the notion of range anxiety goes away,” this person said.”

Update: Here it is – Chevrolet Bolt EV Concept

In terms of sales volume, we expect General Motors to shoot for the moon with its 200-mile electric car and so to does the Wall Street Journal:

“By placing the Bolt in the high-volume Chevrolet line and giving it a name similar to the Volt, executives hope to polish Chevy’s image as a full-line vehicle manufacturer prepared to meet demand, regardless of prices at the pump, according to people familiar with the strategy. GM expects the Bolt to compete globally, including in markets such as China. It is unclear if a car similar to the Bolt would be inserted in the Opel, Cadillac or Buick brands down the road.”

As for competing with the Tesla Model 3, it seems GM is ready to take on Tesla with this 200-mile electric car.  Range is spot on in regards to what we expect of the Model 3 and pricing will easily undercut the Model 3 if the $30,000 rumor is correct.

Update from “sources”:  $30,000 price tag is now considered to be the number after the $7,500 credit is applied

LG Chem is believed to be the battery supplier for the 200-mile electric Chevy:

“LG Chems’s battery improvements to make it possible to for GM to create the low-cost EV include better durability and electrical controls. Also, LG will use more of the available storage capacity in the cell than it does on the Volt.”

“We have progressed far enough that it gives us a high level of confidence that in the 2017 kind of a time frame, there are no show stoppers or gotchas that we don’t know how to get over,” Prabhakar Patil, the chief executive of LG Chem Power Inc., the U.S.-based battery arm of the Korean electronics giant, said in an interview.”

The 2015 NAIAS is shaping up to to a big event for fans of plug-in electric vehicles.  We’ll be on the scene to catch all of the reveals.  Press days start on Monday, so check this space often in the coming days to see how the show develops and to catch the unveilings as they happen.

Editor’s Note:  Don’t forget that we will have all the next generation of Chevrolet Volt news, info and specs you can handle late Sunday/early Monday night from the NAIAS  (look for that at 12:01 AM Jan 12th)

Source: Wall Street Journal

Why 'Bolt' Is A Really Terrible Name For Chevy's Electric Car

2014 Chevrolet Spark EV - First Drive, Portland, July 2013

Monday morning, General Motors CEO Mary Barra is expected to unveil a new battery-electric concept car at the Detroit Auto Show.

It's the first look at a future production vehicle with a projected 200 miles of electric range, at a price said to be around $30,000.

Assuming the leaked stories are correct, the concept is called the Chevrolet Bolt.

And that's just an incredibly bad name for Chevy to use.

We can understand why GM's marketers would want to allude to the Volt in naming a new, all-electric model.

The Volt has the highest customer satisfaction of any vehicle GM has ever sold, and a sterling reputation for advanced technology and battery durability.

But "Bolt" is still a really, really bad name for the production car that we'll likely see during 2017.

Bolt

Why? Those of us who have surnames starting with "V"--including this editor--are deeply familiar with the inability of many people to distinguish between "V" sounds and "B" sounds.

To say that there will be a great deal of confusion at dealerships between the Chevy Bolt and the Chevy Volt would be a gross understatement.

And that's not even starting to address the issue of, ummmmm, bolt jokes.

Discussions among startled and incredulous members of the auto industry circulated through Detroit and the media diaspora all of yesterday.

Social media overflowed with one-liners about the rumored new model name.

Poster for 'Bolt' movie starring John Travolta and Miley Cyrus (2008)

Here are just a few. The names of the authors have been redacted, and obscenities removed, to protect any reputations they may have left.

• "Has no one at GM ever heard the phrase 'bucket of bolts'?"
• "At least they're giving it the worst car name in history. I guess Jolt was taken."
• "If it flops, we can call it the Dolt."
• "That's just Usain."
• "I actually thought of Bolt the Dog." (This is a 2008 movie starring John Travolta and Miley Cyrus; don't ask.)
• "We wanted to re-imagine the Volt. But we didn't want to use the same nameplate, so just think of the Bolt as re-Volting."
• "I can hear it now: 'Only a nut drives a Bolt.' "
• "When a Bolt gets stolen, will it be stripped?"
• "I can see it now: 'Police recovered a stripped Bolt today.' "
• "I think the base model Bolt will be called the Stripped trim. The high level will be called Lightning. I'd be SHOCKED if they didn't have some sort of Black & Decker Edition."
• "That's so ratchet."
• "GM is ready to tap into the Bolt market; when they drive it, [it will] be to die for."
• "Was [a GM employee named Holt] with Dodge when they did the Colt?"
• "I think it would make more sense to roll out a CrossVolt on Monday than the Bolt."
• "Here I was hoping that the Bolt would be the two-door sports coupe version of the Volt."
• "So can we look forward to the Bolt Dance?"

You get the idea.

Thankfully, there's plenty of time for GM's marketing mavens to reconsider the Bolt model name.

If the rumors of a tall five-door hatchback shape with crossover styling turn out to be true, we rather like the CrossVolt name--but we understand why Chevy would want to keep "Volt" for range-extended electric vehicles.

Prevalent rumors say Chevy has trademarked the Amp; how about that one?

There's also Electra, although Buick marketers may fight Chevy's team to hang onto that one for some future plug-in electric Buick model down the road.

But, hey, marketers get paid to solve tough branding problems.

Back to the drawing board, folks.

Source: Green Car Reports