I've been watching these videos, I'm honestly shocked about the complete 180 gm is pulling...
In the past, they would have wanted the motors disabled and the batteries incapacitated (if they weren't already, because half of them were trash), if they couldn't legally scare you into letting them scrap the car.
I kindof feel like there's some ulterior motive, like they want another museum piece for themselves, or sales are really hurting and they want to drum up some good will. Call me skeptical if you must, but they _really_ didn't want these on the road.
xp84 47 minutes ago [-]
I don’t think it was all that mysterious, or even sinister. The car was a compliance car, it was mandated by the state to exist, and was not at the time a profitable model. All of them were leased. When the mandate expired or whatever, selling the cars instead of taking them back would have meant supporting this very different car for a long time with parts and repair service. This would have been a huge headache, and not worth it by any measure. Yes, they could have attempted to make BEVs happen for the mass market in general, but every carmaker was free to do so and they all seemed to agree that it wasn’t a good risk until Tesla came years later and made that bet with the S and the 3. But that was 15 years of advancement later.
And GM could have crushed all of them, but apparently was proud enough of it and not afraid people would ‘discover its secrets’ and build a new EV, since they decided to just park a half dozen or whatever at schools for students to poke and prod at. I get that the optics of crushing them made them look like a villain from the “Captain Planet” cartoon, but it would have been foolish for them to do anything else.
bluGill 51 minutes ago [-]
This is common for all cars of all makes. You want people to buy new ones so there is an areg where old cars are a liability. People buying new cars trade them in after three years, so you want some value left so they can afford that, but you want them to wear out in about 12 so that people have reason to keep buying more instead of keeping the old. Then after about 25 years it is a collectors car and you can be proud of the few left - they are not impacting new sales much (if any) and give people reason to dream about cars.
rdtsc 1 hours ago [-]
> As GM’s team put it: “EV1 set in motion everything we’re doing in electric right now”
Sounds line GM is taking credit for EV industry’s success after they recalled and sent to the crusher the very car model these people are trying to restore.
ezfe 57 minutes ago [-]
They’re taking credit for their own success? I don’t know how you can construe that to be the industry overall.
conception 51 minutes ago [-]
You mean Toyota and Tesla’s success? Let’s be real - the Prius and then Model S kickstarted the EV revolution.
mlhpdx 48 minutes ago [-]
If you read the history you’ll see the appropriate word is “restarted” the EV revolution. It was on and off again in a slow march to the point that allowed Tesla to exist. I’m not diminishing the role Tesla played, but it has to be taken in context. They stood on shoulders.
therealpygon 16 minutes ago [-]
An over 125 year, often abandoned, stuttering march filled with stories of invisible battles by the entrenched to keep the status quo.
therealpygon 20 minutes ago [-]
Do you suggest we ignore or include in this history the original contributions of the first electric cars from all the way back in the single digits of the 1900s?
bluGill 47 minutes ago [-]
Those were important too, but the ev1 started that modern ev.
rdtsc 50 minutes ago [-]
Right before that in the paragraph:
> The EV1 introduced technologies that remain foundational to modern EVs
creantum 20 minutes ago [-]
Tesla: Tarpening and Eberhard along with Musk’s cash changed the world. GM was a half hearted effort to please some politicians, as evidenced by leasing a few, and in the end destroying them all.
mikkupikku 35 minutes ago [-]
It's a trap, they've got a car crusher at the ready for sure.
kotaKat 2 hours ago [-]
In a way it feels like a sick and twisted joke that GM is willing to help with this, especially how they've been treating their current EV lineup.
BrightDrop's dead, the Bolt was loved and killed and brought back and killed again, they keep making questionable decisions with their infotainment and subscription models (no CarPlay, mandatory consumer Google Account and OnStar subscriptions), the best thing they even apparently sell right now has a Honda (re)badge on it...
sidewndr46 1 hours ago [-]
Given GM's history with this vehicle, I'd assume any contact with them is an attempt to lay claim to ownership of the vehicle. There's no way I'd even communicate with them
twobitshifter 40 minutes ago [-]
I hadn’t heard that they killed the Bolt again! At least there is the 2027 model, which us starting to show up at dealers. With the Iran war, I expect much more interest in EVs right now, so this version of the Bolt may sell out fast.
kccqzy 1 hours ago [-]
GM’s Cadillac is doing alright with EVs: the Optiq, the Lyriq, the Vistiq are all selling well.
fullstop 55 minutes ago [-]
Equinox EV is also doing well.
mediumdave 44 minutes ago [-]
The Bolt will be back in 2027.
I'm a huge fan of the Bolt, and I love my 2019. It's a very practical car, and has surprisingly decent range.
The anti CarPlay stance is a real deal killer for me. I put an aftermarket radio in my Chevy Express to get CarPlay, and have a long history of Chevy, GMC, and Buick ownership, but this one blocks me from buying a new GM car.
bluGill 49 minutes ago [-]
I have a blazer ev without it and I agree it is the biggest negative. If I drove 8 hours a day their onstar is better, but if you use a car a reasonable amount it isn't worth a subscription (or setting everything up that is already in the phone)
wlesieutre 1 hours ago [-]
Honda Prologue is an option if you really like the Ultium SUVs, sadly only a Blazer sized rebadge and no Equinox.
I do wonder what the outlook for that is now, they were supposed to be a shorter term bridge until Honda had their own EVs but Honda recently killed a bunch of EV plans so maybe the GM partnership sticks around a while?
fullstop 51 minutes ago [-]
I've been satisfied with Android Automotive on my Equinox EV. I did see that there are USB dongles which can allegedly add Android Auto to the car.
bluGill 48 minutes ago [-]
My blazer doesn't have android auto either... where are these usb things, I might be interested. I really want my phone to respond to 'ok google' not the car saying 'this needs a subscription'
fullstop 20 minutes ago [-]
These cars are sold with data plans which last quite a few years. What model year is your Blazer? I think that my Equinox has app access for 3 years and maps / google assistant for 8 years. I've tested tethering with my phone and it works with that, so I have a path forward once the built-in subscription lapses.
It's kind of expensive, and there's a non-zero chance that GM does something to block it.
stetrain 15 minutes ago [-]
Annoyingly "Android Auto" and "Android Automotive" are completely different things.
Android Auto is where you can connect your phone to the car and your phone projects onto the car's display with apps and navigation.
Android Automotive is when the car itself is running Android Automotive for its infotainment OS, meaning it has access to a limited Android App Store to install apps natively into the car's infotainment system and you can sign in with your Google account.
Some cars with Android Automotive also support CarPlay and Android Auto on top of it, but GM has decided to disable those features, meaning you have to use the built-in Android Automotive system to manage your media streaming apps and pay GM for the data access plan.
sanex 2 hours ago [-]
You've got it reversed. Honda is rebadging the equinox ev. GM.
wlesieutre 1 hours ago [-]
Actually a Blazer, not an Equinox
kotaKat 2 hours ago [-]
Yeah, and it's still the best thing GM can even build right now. It's an Equinox without GM's bullshit and even includes CarPlay in the package.
fullstop 53 minutes ago [-]
It's based on the Blazer, and is larger than an Equinox EV.
Rendered at 14:12:24 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
In the past, they would have wanted the motors disabled and the batteries incapacitated (if they weren't already, because half of them were trash), if they couldn't legally scare you into letting them scrap the car.
I kindof feel like there's some ulterior motive, like they want another museum piece for themselves, or sales are really hurting and they want to drum up some good will. Call me skeptical if you must, but they _really_ didn't want these on the road.
And GM could have crushed all of them, but apparently was proud enough of it and not afraid people would ‘discover its secrets’ and build a new EV, since they decided to just park a half dozen or whatever at schools for students to poke and prod at. I get that the optics of crushing them made them look like a villain from the “Captain Planet” cartoon, but it would have been foolish for them to do anything else.
Sounds line GM is taking credit for EV industry’s success after they recalled and sent to the crusher the very car model these people are trying to restore.
> The EV1 introduced technologies that remain foundational to modern EVs
BrightDrop's dead, the Bolt was loved and killed and brought back and killed again, they keep making questionable decisions with their infotainment and subscription models (no CarPlay, mandatory consumer Google Account and OnStar subscriptions), the best thing they even apparently sell right now has a Honda (re)badge on it...
I'm a huge fan of the Bolt, and I love my 2019. It's a very practical car, and has surprisingly decent range.
https://insideevs.com/news/785214/2027-chevrolet-bolt-limite...
I do wonder what the outlook for that is now, they were supposed to be a shorter term bridge until Honda had their own EVs but Honda recently killed a bunch of EV plans so maybe the GM partnership sticks around a while?
This is the one that I saw: https://evplay.io/shop/ev-play-lite-gm
It's kind of expensive, and there's a non-zero chance that GM does something to block it.
Android Auto is where you can connect your phone to the car and your phone projects onto the car's display with apps and navigation.
Android Automotive is when the car itself is running Android Automotive for its infotainment OS, meaning it has access to a limited Android App Store to install apps natively into the car's infotainment system and you can sign in with your Google account.
Some cars with Android Automotive also support CarPlay and Android Auto on top of it, but GM has decided to disable those features, meaning you have to use the built-in Android Automotive system to manage your media streaming apps and pay GM for the data access plan.