Or make them past tense

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You’re not familiar with the concept of an outdoor target range, are you?

September 30, 2025

Not that I think it’s unimportant, but I wish we’d keep things current here.

I don’t need to celebrate too much, but taking the day off work and going out for dinner somewhere nice is something I like to do.

I really like it. It’s zippy af. Not burning gas or having to go to a gas station is really nice. I just plug in when I get home and unplug when I leave.

I will say, though, it has a couple drawbacks. The “budget” nature really shows when you have to go more than like 300 miles (or 200 in the deep cold).

I had a buddy ask about it a while back so I’ll try to copy paste what I wrote.

Q: Hey, I had a quick question for you mr Chevy Bolt. I rented one of those cars while I was in cold state and I really liked it. Have you have to do any major repairs or fixes for that car, or do you have any gripes with the car since you’ve been driving with it for so long now as a daily driver?

A: The only real work I’ve done is winter tires in the winter and summer tires in the summer. I’m looking at getting a second set of rims so I can do it myself next time instead of having to get a shop swap the tires. Other than that, basically just wiper blades. I sometimes get false positives on the driver’s side blind spot detection which is annoying, but not a big deal. Some people online have said that it’s due to a shielding coming off the sensor causing the car to detect itself, basically, and if you get some adhesive foil you can fix it, but I haven’t been bothered enough by it to get into that yet.

A minor gripe I have is that the stock tires are what the EPA rated range is based on, but they’re also very hard rubber so when it gets cold they get even harder and that’s bad for grip. I talk about the acceleration later, but if you try to use that in the super cold, you end up burning out.

The only major issue I have is the fast charging speed, especially in cold weather. It’s not very fast to begin with compared to the competition, and there’s no mechanism offered up to have it condition the battery for charging while driving. What you end up with is a charging speed that’s slow compared to the competition at its best and is then slowed down further by being cold. It’ll work on warming up the battery as soon as it starts charging, but by the time it warms up enough to get up to full speed (if it ever does) it’s up to >50% charge, at which point the speed starts going down again. Under ideal circumstances, it’s okay, but once you get past the ideal it’s annoying.

Consider ideal/EPA rated conditions and a 300 mile trip. We’ll say the average driving speed of 60 mph, so you’re starting at 5 hours of driving. Highway EPA rating for a 2017 Bolt EV is 110 MPGe or 3.26 mi/kWh. If you’re going 300 miles, that’s 92 kWh of power. It has a 60 kWh battery, so that’s the whole battery and 32 kWh more. Say that the charging stops are spaced out so that you’re always charging when you’re under 50% and it’s a perfect 70°F so you’re always charging at 50 kW. That means you’re doing 32 KWh of charging at 50 kW, or 38 minutes of charging. So for your 300 mile trip @ 60 mph, you’re adding 13% to your time under ideal conditions. Now, if that can be spread out nicely and it’s an 8 minute stop every hour, it’s not so bad. But once you start getting into deep cold like 0°F and lower, it’s easily 2-3x that.

With all that, it’s still not so bad because even when it’s really cold and my range is down to 130 mi or whatever, it’s still enough that I can go everywhere I need in a day and plug in when I get home and be fine. It’s only the few times a year when I’m visiting my family in bordering state or whatever that it’s annoying. Even if I’m going to city 45 minutes away, it’s still plenty as long as I’m charged up.

Technologically, it’s the best car I’ve ever had. I love the rearview camera/mirror for it’s wide FOV compared to a traditional mirror. I love my auto high beams, my remote start (haven’t had that until this car), my heated seats/mirror/wheel. I love the 360 cams - it’s enabled me to back out of spots I would’ve never gotten out of before. The lane keep assist, even without the 3rd party enhancements I added, has already saved my ass when I fell asleep at the wheel once. I got a dongle that makes the android auto wireless, and later models have it built in. It’s so nice to have.

It’s a lot of fun to drive, too. 0-60 in ~7 seconds, and 0-30 in like 1 second. Zippy as fuck, small enough to maneuver in tight spaces while not feeling like you’re sitting on the ground.

So yeah, I really like it, and I wouldn’t change my decision to buy it. I just wish that faster charging EVs were cheap enough that I could justify upgrading. At this point, though, I don’t have to DCFC often enough for the prices to be even close to justifiable for it.

Some updates since I wrote that (December 2024). Prices have come down on used EVs, but I still have such a great rate on my current car loan that it’s not worth giving up. I have since done what I talked about and got a second set of wheels so swapping tires is easier. The blind spot thing is still annoying but it’s so infrequent I haven’t bothered. It might also have something to do with snow/ice buildup in the wheel well. Overall, still no regrets.

added that user activity on the site will not be tracked.

I like it because I get all the same apps with all the same info I get on my phone, just on the car screen with voice controls

Yeah, it doesn’t. I have mine set to auto so they’re on even if I forget but I agree.

Hmmm… Having physical buttons for car controls is good, but you’re not taking away my creature comforts. Adjusting the temperature and fan speed 20 times in a drive? Nah, give me a thermostat. Cold butt? I think not. Gloves? Nah, heat my steering wheel. And once you get off of car controls, touch screen is fine and I really like Android Auto.

I actually really like how my Bolt EV does it. The only thing that’s on screen that shouldn’t be is the seat heater controls.

It kinda feels like whoever is doing this is trying to innovate on ways to emphasize the boobs. It certainly is… innovative. Whether it’s in a good way or not is a matter of taste, I suppose.

“just to be the man who walked one kilomile and fall down at your door” doesn’t have the same ring

I’ve had stuff spoil early, or last long past the date. Having a visual chemical indicator would be great.

I wish they’d at least release the controller. I know they probably want to do it all at once but that shouldn’t be delayed with the rest of it if that’s all I want.

I don’t have to. I can continue to down vote, report, and bitch in the comments

Yeah honestly how dare. They did a good job and are a good hunter.

3D printing is just a type of CNC. It’s just addictive instead of subtractive

Are you talking about America or Italy? Because in America bussing is generally provided by the school and run by the school or a contractor.

America doesn’t get a lot right, but paying for the bus to get home from school? That’s ridiculous.

They’re talking about the spiking

He’s terrified at the state of his child’s development. How’s that unclear? I swear the reading comprehension on this site rivals Tumblr sometimes.