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It’s Official: The Chevy Bolt Name Will Stay

(Credit: Chevrolet )

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It’s Official: The Chevy Bolt Name Will Stay

2016 Chevrolet Bolt EV

2016 Chevrolet Bolt EV (Credit: Chevrolet )

When Chevrolet revealed the Bolt concept car, it was immediately made fun of by all kinds of people, kind of like kids on the school playground gaining up on the boy named Percival. After being pelted with questions about if it was planning to change the name to something better, GM said it was considering the option. Now it’s official, the next electric car to wear a Chevy bowtie will be called the Bolt EV.

An official announcement about the Bolt’s name was made through The Detroit News.

The name “Bolt” isn’t all that bad by itself. One big problem is that it sounds too much like “Volt” and so could easily confuse consumers, especially those who are already mystified by electric powertrains. On top of that, in Spanish the “V” and “B” are pronounced the same, which could hurt sales of the Bolt in Latin America and even in the U.S. and Canada. On top of that, even in English many times the two letters sound incredibly similar.

On the flip side, the Bolt fits right into the electricity-themed names Chevrolet already has going for it: Volt and Spark.

So what’s with the EV part of the new car’s name? It’s a valid question since there won’t be a non-electric version of the car. The all-electric version of the Spark is called the Spark EV, but there’s an internal combustion-powered Spark, making the distinction necessary. At the same time, maybe GM thinks slapping EV on some cars will help smooth over the whole EV1 controversy that some people are still holding a grudge about.

When the Bolt launches, it’s supposed to have a 200-mile driving range and a starting price of $37,500 before any incentives, so federal credits will chop the price down to $30,000. The car shares some of its platform with the next-generation Sonic and will be built in the same manufacturing plant. Also, the Chevy Bolt will go on sale in all 50 states, just like the Volt.

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