Who belongs on this forum?

[ScooterCT]

A question on another thread led me to start this thread, which I think is important. I can paraphrase the question, which was very politely asked and should not reflect negatively on the poster, as "Hey Scooter, you're always dumping on the Bolt. Why do you continue to post on this forum?". It is a great question, but I didn't want to hijack the original flow of that thread. So here we are.

What is an online forum? It's an exchange of opinions and ideas, often from people who slightly or greatly disagree about things. Most online forums, including this one, have moderators who watch to make sure the discussion doesn't get offensive or bullying. They tend to do a great job, and they have a high threshold before they intervene. I'll take a moment to thank the moderators on this forum for helping us all stay civil.

So who does belong on this forum? Is the Bolt forum only for people who like the Bolt? How about someone like me who likes the Bolt, but has a lot of negative observations to make about it? At what point does somebody get out of bounds?

I hope to hear other voices, but here's my answer. I think everyone belongs here. Tesla fanboys. Bolt fanboys. Bolt owners. Bolt wannabes. Everyone. As long as you're not bullying others or offensive, every voice belongs. Dialectic is the free exchange of possibly conflicting ideas and opinions with the goal of eventually arriving at a point closer to the truth.

Share your thoughts, please...

 

[michael]

No, you belong here. It's boring if everyone's a fanboy.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The only people who don't belong on forums like this are people who come just to troll for arguments. That isn't the same as disagreeing respectfully with others. I came at first because I planned to lease a Bolt. Now that I'll most likely lease a Leaf 2 next Fall, I come mainly to offer experience-based advice, and to keep up with what's happening with the Bolt rollout.

 

[sgt1372]

It's a FREE and open public forum. Anyone is entitled to join.

Some people are more obnoxious than others but that's the same on all forums. You can either block or just not listen or respond to people you don't care to listen to or engage with.

FWIW, I'm still involved in the M3 forum even though I canceled my M3 reservation because I'm still interested in the car and what the Tesla fans there are saying about it.

It's as interesting to me to be involved on that Tesla forum as a Bolt lessee, as I imagine this forum is possibly interesting to some current Tesla owners or M3 reservation holders and/or potential Bolt buyers/leasees who have no particular brand affiliation.

 

[EldRick]

I was just curious- I hang out on forums for cars (and other stuff) that I own, but once I've sold the whatever, I'm pretty much gone from that forum and on to the next thing.
Personally, I wouldn't find a Miata (for example) forum any more interesting than any other car that I don't own or plan to, and I've got a lot of other things to do with my time.

 

[SeanNelson]

The only people who don't belong on forums like this are people who come just to troll for arguments. That isn't the same as disagreeing respectfully with others.

Yep, can't say it any better than this.

 

[cyaopec]

It gets out of bounds when you don't realize that it's "pencils down" for the Bolt and all your complaining will not result in tens of millions of dollars in engineering changes being implemented by Chevy. In Detroit cars seem more or less "set" for five years before major changes are implemented. Maybe some small things can be fixed in the 2.5 year mid-cycle refresh. But as for now, what you see is what you get.

 

[WetEV]

But as for now, what you see is what you get.

I really hope several things change:

1) The seat. I'm on the list that can't deal with the two I've sat in so far. Seems to be partly a function of car as well as driver. I'm going to try again.

2) Driver and owner software changes. Battery pack temperatures, current capacity in "rated miles", kWh or even capacity bars. Current kWh remaining.

3) Faster L2 charging, not for home but for on the go in places with high power L2 stations. Like say this:

14kW station at 1005 3 St, Castlegar, BC V1N 2A2, Canada

(not my Leaf)

 

[oilerlord]

No, you belong here. It's boring if everyone's a fanboy.

I'm DEFINITELY not a fanboy...I pick the car apart too, and have no issue identifying and discussing it's shortcomings while still recognizing that the Bolt is an important, and milestone achievement car.

I love driving my EV and come here for advice and to share my experiences. Early on in my EV ownership, another member told me that it was "bad form" to list my diesel vehicle in my signature on an EV forum. Funny that guys on a TDI forum I frequent don't seem to have a problem with the EV in my signature.

Nothing wrong with telling it like it is, or your interpretation as such. You belong.

 

[gbobman]

I like the discord with the discourse. That's why I come here, to really put my own ideas to the test.

Although going off topic too much just creates a mud pit no one can drive out of.

 

[redpoint5]

It gets out of bounds when you don't realize that it's "pencils down" for the Bolt and all your complaining will not result in tens of millions of dollars in engineering changes being implemented by Chevy. In Detroit cars seem more or less "set" for five years before major changes are implemented. Maybe some small things can be fixed in the 2.5 year mid-cycle refresh. But as for now, what you see is what you get.

I doubt that most people expect engineering changes when they point out product deficiencies. It's important for customers to have access to deficiencies to make informed purchasing decisions. That's mostly why I'm on this forum.

I was on Priuschat 2 years before I bought my used (reconstructed title) Plug-in Prius. People would question why I contributed despite not owning a Prius, and I can only say that I thoroughly research the opinions I give. Expertise doesn't only come by way of ownership.

 

[cyaopec]

It gets out of bounds when you don't realize that it's "pencils down" for the Bolt and all your complaining will not result in tens of millions of dollars in engineering changes being implemented by Chevy. In Detroit cars seem more or less "set" for five years before major changes are implemented. Maybe some small things can be fixed in the 2.5 year mid-cycle refresh. But as for now, what you see is what you get.

I doubt that most people expect engineering changes when they point out product deficiencies. It's important for customers to have access to deficiencies to make informed purchasing decisions. That's mostly why I'm on this forum.

I was on Priuschat 2 years before I bought my used (reconstructed title) Plug-in Prius. People would question why I contributed despite not owning a Prius, and I can only say that I thoroughly research the opinions I give. Expertise doesn't only come by way of ownership.

Most so called product deficiencies are simply legitimate design and engineering choices made by the company that the consumer disagrees with based on their personal preference. When someone makes up an entire "list" of grievances and then wants to repeat them over and over again for years on a forum, that's when the person should do something else with their time.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Most so called product deficiencies are simply legitimate design and engineering choices made by the company that the consumer disagrees with based on their personal preference. When someone makes up an entire "list" of grievances and then wants to repeat them over and over again for years on a forum, that's when the person should do something else with their time.

Yes, people should be encouraged to share their opinions here. No, they will not affect changes to the next month's production, but they can still be useful to GM for future changes or even future vehicles. The Bolt itself came out of lots of consumer studies of what people want and don't want.

And when it gets to the point where someone is reiterating the same opinions, I agree; they should do something else with their time. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed in an internet forum. We, as readers, need to learn to apply our own filters to these forums as well.

 

[SeanNelson]

...It's important for customers to have access to deficiencies to make informed purchasing decisions. That's mostly why I'm on this forum.

I was on Priuschat 2 years before I bought my used (reconstructed title) Plug-in Prius. People would question why I contributed despite not owning a Prius, and I can only say that I thoroughly research the opinions I give. Expertise doesn't only come by way of ownership.

I'm right there with ya. There's no better way to find out about what a car is like in the real world than by listening to what actual owners have to say. You have to be careful to put things in context and filter out the squeaky wheels, but IMHO the information is invaluable.

 

[redpoint5]

Reiteration is valuable because new people are always seeing the forum. There will always be repeat questions, repeat answers, and repeat opinions. Heck, I don't even know what grievances the OP had. Perhaps they didn't post them recent enough for me to notice them. If it was about seat comfort, I automatically skip those thread titles because comfort is in the rear of the sitter (subjective is what I'm saying), and I would evaluate it in person before making a decision anyhow.

 

[cab]

Honestly, I look for the "critiques" as much as anything on car forums (that and the DIY fixes). It is especially helpful to hear them from current owners since they tend to have a much better understanding of annoyances that often don't surface on test drives (even if you are lucky enough to get a long or even multi-day test drive). Indeed, owner complaints can give you a good idea of what to pay attention to on a test drive. As a comparison, when we test drove a BMW i3 I suspected the ride quality was going to be an issue...but it was the three day test drive of the i3 that cemented that it was DEFINITELY an issue and the darty freeway handling didn't help either. I actually wish more manufacturers would offer multi-day test drives - of course, it's not really practical to have that many cars out for multi-day "loan".

Besides, who the heck wants a forum like: "I love my Bolt. Yes, I love my Bolt too! Aren't Bolts wonderful?! Yes, Bolts are the best! I'm so glad we own a Bolt. I wouldn't own anything but a Bolt. You are so smart for buying a Bolt. No, YOU are so smart for buying a Bolt! Man, we are all so smart for buying Bolts!"