{"id":30859,"date":"2023-05-10T16:15:08","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T20:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=30859"},"modified":"2023-05-10T16:15:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T20:15:08","slug":"payne-as-the-bolt-ev-exits-the-trax-ice-steps-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/payne-as-the-bolt-ev-exits-the-trax-ice-steps-up","title":{"rendered":"Payne: As the Bolt EV exits, the Trax ICE steps up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Asheville, North Carolina<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 The internal combustion engine is dead, long live the internal combustion engine.<\/p>\n

As Chevrolet was nixing its first-generation electric Bolt EV hatchback last month, the brand was introducing media here to its updated, second-generation, gas-powered Trax SUV. Both front-wheel-drive vehicles were subcompact segment busters when they debuted last decade. But the fact that the internal-combustion-engine Trax has outlasted the much-ballyhooed Bolt \u2014 once touted as a game-changing, Tesla Model 3 slayer \u2014 underlines the difficulty of selling affordable EVs to U.S. customers even as General Motors Co. goes all-electric over the next 10 years.<\/p>\n

Despite less publicity compared to Bolt, Trax has outsold the its EV sibling by 4-1 while providing superior range and utility. The all-new, bigger, more capable Trax is a big commitment by GM to customers that their preferred gas models are not going away \u2014 not yet, anyway.<\/p>\n

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The Bolt was launched with much fanfare in 2017, beating the Model 3 to market as the first sub-$40,000 EV. GM CEO Mary Barra hailed it as an \u201cEV for everyone\u201d and the wee hatch filled its trophy case with media baubles, including North American Car of the Year and Motor Trend Car of the Year. Reviews, including by this columnist, applauded its peppy, 200-horsepower acceleration and (first to market) 200-mile-plus range.<\/p>\n