And after experiencing 2 separate blow outs at highway speed on the nearly new Firestone 500 radials, I quickly ditched that car. But the Pontiac also had the least prestige/cachet. Although it did not seem as quick as the Gran Torino Elite with the 460 engine. Remember that this is relative to mid 1970s performance standards. It may have been the 'quickest' of these 3. The '78 T-Bird on the other hand was a reliability nightmare. Thinking back some of the 'luxury' touches such as the 'glued on' fake coins and the rotating 'chronometer' set in the dash were 'cheesy'. And 18 months on a new car, however hard I drove it is really not a good way to judge long term reliability. Never had a mechanical or electronic issue with it in the18 months that I drove it. They were released in a 'part season' rather than the then traditional September launch. Arthur Dailey We got one of the very first Cordobas imported into Canada.And the van goes EV once somebody brings one out at a price we can afford. Next couple of years, the 17 will get traded, probably on a used Tesla, although that's going to depend on what's out there in the next two years time. Or a trip to some motorcycle rally, which means the Electra Glide hits the road.Īt present, the van is used seldom enough that it sits under a car cover with a battery tender hooked up 24/7/365, and I'll make a point of pulling the cover once a month and at least starting it up, if not deliberately using it for errands that day, just to run the van.ĮV's definitely work here, and with no adjustment whatsoever to our daily routine. Long distance travel for use usually means one of two things: A reenactment rather far away which means carrying a lot of camping gear and kit, so the van is an absolute necessity, no matter what the propulsion source. Yes, we still have one gas car: Our Kida Sedona beater with 150k on the clock but still running fine. Right now long distance for the cars is the 140 mile round trip commute to Jamestown Settlement (I'm part of the crew), and we'll do one day 300-400 mile trips with one planned recharge at the midway point while we have lunch/dinner. The slow rate of Level 3 charging is their only weak point, and we're not using either of the cars (currently) for 600 mile trips. Adding this to my 17 Premiere, and finally having installed the second charger in the garage (first one is outside), we're set for the foreseeable future. Got $20,000 in trade for the wife's 2020 Nissan Kicks with 17k on it. If you were a 1-car family, it would take some imagination to make an EV work for you, but if you can have 2, an EV (and a dirt cheap one at that) is a great commuter.Īnother real world Bolt owner here, picked the wife up a 2020 Premiere with 11k on it at CarMax for $29,000 this past February. You just get in and go, and when the battery gets below half or so, I plug in at home on a level 2 charger overnight and it's ready to go when I leave the house the next morning for work at 430. Have not paid a cent for maintenance thus far. Using the A/C or the heater, or driving over 72 really saps the range. It is not a road trip car, I would not take it more than 100 miles away if I expected to get back on the same charge. I bought it as a trial balloon into the EV foray, and it has exceeded my expectations. It has been used primarily as my commuter to and from my work at a fire station 40 miles or so from my house. Interior fit and finish has held up extremely well after 2+ years shuttling kids of various ages (3, 3, 6, and 11) around town (obviously never more than 2 at a time, not much room for more than that). I have to say, in defense of the Bolt, it is an excellent car for the money (paid just under 22k OTD after tax credits). Bought a new one in September of 2020 and have put almost 30k miles on it, have yet to take it in for the battery recall swap, but I am on the schedule for later this month.
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