Chevy Bolt is North American Car of the Year
Long-range electric auto continues to grab honors
General Motors picked up the crown jewel in the trifecta of trophies Monday for its new long-range electric car, the Chevrolet Bolt.
The Bolt was named North American Car of the Year, beating two conventionally powered luxury sedans, the Genesis G90 and the Volvo S90, in an announcement delivered at the North American International Auto Show.
Several dozen auto journalists who regularly test-drive vehicles vote on the annual awards.
The Chrysler Pacifica minivan was named North American Utility of the Year, the first time the award has been distributed. The Pacifica has been hailed for shedding the traditionally stodgy image of minivans by embracing technology, sleek design and an alternative powertrain.
The Honda Ridgeline pickup was named North American Truck of the Year.
Bolt is the first U.S.-made, mass-market, fully electric car, beating Tesla Motors’ Model 3 to production. The vehicle has a range-per-charge of 238 miles, double most electric cars on the market except those from luxury automaker Tesla. Yet the Bolt, in many cases, is about half the price of Tesla’s Model S or X. It just went on sale with a starting price of $37,495 before federal tax credits kick in.
The Bolt was previously named Motor Trend Car of the Year and at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Green Car of the Year. It is not to be confused with the Chevrolet Volt, a pioneering plug-in car with a backup gas engine. Bolt is a pure electric and has no gas engine.
Chevy has been unabashed about trying to get out the message that it’s first with a mainstream-priced fully electric long range car.
“There’s been a lot of talk about building an affordable electric car with a 200mile range that brings electric vehicles to the mainstream, but only one manufacturer has done that, and it’s us,” Chevrolet marketing manager Steve Majoros said when Bolt won the Green Car award, given for environmentally friendly cars, in No-
vember.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra emphasized Monday that the automaker will continue “to build where we sell” a week after President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose a stiff tariff on the Chevrolet Cruzes that GM imports to the U.S. from Mexico.
“We have more than 40 manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and over the last two years alone, we have investment more than $11 billion creating thousands of new jobs in the U.S., as well as recruiting technical talent,” Barra said Monday morning after Chevrolet unveiled the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse at the Detroit auto show.
Asked what she would tell the President-elect in order to protect free trade, Barra said, “Our general principle is to build where we sell, and that is primarily what we do both in China and the United States. We’re going to work to make the business stronger and make America stronger, and also recognize that we are a global company.”