Bolt EV Academy Aims to Educate
Videos illustrate how to incorporate an electric vehicle into your lifestyle- June 1, 2020
- Vehicles
- Posted by RundeAdmin
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While electric vehicles are the future, many drivers don’t know what it’s like to own and drive one. Chevrolet wants to change that with its new Bolt EV Academy.
The 15-video series aims to educate current and future Bolt EV owners on the advantages of living electric and how to get the most out of their electric vehicle. They hope to illustrate how fun, easy, and convenient it is to incorporate an electric vehicle into your lifestyle.
The videos are hosted by engineers and experts who created the Bolt EV. They can be accessed on Chevrolet’s YouTube channel, Chevrolet.com, the MyChevy app, and in the Chevrolet Owner Center.
Topics include:
This video covers how to improve cost-effectiveness as well as customize your preferred charging settings.
Location Based Charging allows you to set a time that your vehicle will automatically begin charging when parked at a certain location, like your home. But if you are in a different location, it will begin charging immediately.
“As a society, we have this gas station mindset of I have to find a gas station,” says Jeremy Short, Bolt EV Chief Engineer in the Home Charging Basics video. “I charge this vehicle at home, just like my laptop or phone. I plug this thing in when I go to bed and in the morning it’s fully charged and ready to go.”
Drivers are able to check their vehicle’s current charge level in the MyChevy app.
This video covers how to intelligently plan your route, locate charging stations, and optimize your range.
The 2020 Bolt EV gets an EPA-estimated 259 miles on full charge.
There are over 2,800 locations where you can fast charge in a public space, and the MyChevy mobile app will help you choose stations based on the quickest route, fewest minutes to charge, and real-time availability information.
One Pedal Driving and Regen on Demand
This video covers how to optimize your Bolt’s efficiency and lessen the wear-and-tear on your brakes.
The Bolt EV has a regen-on-demand paddle next to the steering wheel. Instead of using a hydraulic brake, you grab the paddle. As it slows the vehicle, the motor is being used as a generator to capture the energy and put it back in the battery.
When in Low Mode, you can drive your Bolt with just one pedal.
“In that mode you’ll be able to control the vehicle to a full stop using just the accelerator pedal,” Short says in the video. “As you speed up, you press the pedal. As you find a speed you are comfortable with, you hold the pedal steady. As you pull back on the pedal, you turn the motor into a generator and create energy that is stored back in the (battery) pack.”
“It’s one of those features you just can’t live without it once you’ve had it,” Rob Mantinan, GM Program Engineering Manager says in the video.
The Bolt’s Driver Information Center displays information like range estimates based on current driving and conditions, and following distance in seconds.
It offers three ways to customize how you want the data shown – including classic, modern, or enhanced visual modes.
Personalizing Safety Technology Features
The Bolt EV allows drivers to personalize active safety features based on how you drive.
Using the Driver Information Center, you can modify default alerts and manage settings to fit your needs.
“We have an active thermal management system that allows us to either cool or heat the battery pack by flowing fluid into the pack, so in extreme winter conditions we’re able to heat the battery whether that be in your garage on the charger or while you drive down the road,” Short says in the video.
They recommend remote starting the vehicle while it is still plugged in so that it is using power from the grid rather than depleting the battery while it warms up.
View all of the Bolt EV Academy videos here.
Interested in a 2020 Chevy Bolt EV? Shop Runde Auto Group’s inventory here.
