steveyfrac

I did like my 2013 Electric Drive. I may buy another smart electric used someday, just as a run-about. My Bolt has been phenomenal though. 200 HP allows you rapid acceleration whenever, and wherever you care to, it can charge quickly, it can do long trips, and I can take my whole family in it. The net result is that our Bolt has changed from being the commuter car to being the family car, and we've put 33k on it in the last 13 months. The software has had a few glitches, but these have been updated over-the-air, so it's not too big of a deal. --Steve

You might be right on the battery heater. I've had it once where it wouldn't let me shift out of park, but after running for about a minute it let me run the car with reduced power bars. If there was no battery heater working, you wouldn't be able to recover from this situation. On the flip side, my Bolt EV doesn't seem to limit power much at all in the cold. Not sure if that's the result of different chemistry, or bigger battery warmers, but I've yet to come across a temperature where it doesn't charge quite well.

Easy to do in my Bolt. I cycle it between 60% and 80% mostly....

The Bolt has such a huge range, that I don't see my self needing to replace it for a decade or two. There will also be a new shiny, and continually leasing the latest toy isn't cost effective.

The rebate for my Bolt is still in limbo. I applied June 15th. They're currently processing applications from April, so it'll likely be another few months before I get it.

That's a great reason to have a properly grounded backup generator. I have one such.

An even simpler idea: Don't get stranded. I've been driving for 20 years, comprising hundreds of thousands of km's of trips, and I've never been stranded because I ran out of fuel. That includes 3.5 years of driving electric. I definitely don't want to cart a smelly generator around with me at all times just in case, when this situation appears to arise less then once every 20 years. Cheaper too.

The J1772 standard is designed so that you could safely plug your car in underwater. It might not charge, bit you won't get a shock. What you are suggesting is a way to bypass part of the safety protocols. That is an idea that I find immoral rather than ingenious. If you really need to use as backup generator, it'll likely be at your home, so why not properly ground your generator, and have it validly pass the test?

You should only be throwing the switch on the Generac is you've properly grounded it first. Check the manual. Adapters that connect ground and neutral aren't standards compliant, so you'll be making them yourself. Generators are supposed to be floating ground, unless correctly grounded. Please consult an electrician before you go playing with these things. You could easily damage your car, or hurt yourself.

My missive was not misinformation. The J1772 specification requires a grounding test that a standalone, ungrounded generator cannot pass. I have not yet looked at your video, as I'm out and about today, but either the Tesla is not standards compliant, some other action has been taken to bypass this safety mechanism. Try plugging your Smart ForTwo into a generator directly. It won't work. My Bolt won't either. They both fail with an improper ground error.

I had to give my leased 451 ED back, and now need to get rid of my winter tires and rims. Rims are grey steelies and are starting to show a few rust spots, but the winter tires are basically new Continentals, only used one year. Can post pictures of there is any interest. Worth $1200 new, no reasonable offer refused. Contact me at sgrinwis@gmail.com.

I'm averaging close to 400 km per charge.

I'm here! Took possession of the Bolt last week. While it doesn't have the go cart feeling the Smart provides, it is much more powerful. All the extra safety features are neat. The EV range is incredible. -Steve

Indeed. My Smart ED is still running beautifully, albeit, with very bald tires...

My Bolt EV has arrived at the dealership, and I should take possession early next week.