[BoltinAround]

It's a little annoying since moving from fast looking sports cars to the Bolt that everyone who sees me thinks I'm some slow minivan or Prius. It's great when they try to speed up and pass only to get smoked and see their facial expression! Anyone have a similar story and see the face of the person that thought they'd easily pass your 'Prius'?

 

[redpoint5]

To me it's much more annoying to be overestimated than to be underestimated. As you point out, it's amusing to surprise people. That said, why prevent someone who wants to travel faster than you to pass? It can be unsafe, and isn't proper driving etiquette.

Reminds me of the time a guy ahead of me was doing 10 under the speed limit for miles, so I attempted to pass in my Prius, and he sped up just to express his lack of character. He did it multiple times. Would have been great to have a Bolt in that moment for sure!

 

[Dave Spicer]

I'm with redpoint5 on this. Back in '74-'75 I had a guy in a big Olds keep me from passing him in my Mazda RX-3 when he had been doing 25 in a 45. He got a big kick out of leaving me hanging on the wrong side of a 2-lane road. Of course I could've just realized what jerk he was, dropped back, and let it go instead of prolonging the drama...

 

[shocker]

Nothing personal, but I would say that's unsafe and even jerk-like behavior.

Basic hydrodynamics - traffic, like a fluid, flows faster if you don't create turbulence....

 

[Cehjun]

So far just two stoplight-turning-green situations I couldn’t resist: 1.) lowered noisy Honda with big chrome pipe and boom box shaking the surrounding atmosphere, 2.) Tiburon in orange peel with every conceivable external aftermarket accessory w/ leering driver, cap on backwards who’d obviously spent entire paychecks on it.

After minimizing wheelspin on roll-off, Bolt takes about another 5 seconds to 60, leaving those other headlights way way back there. Got a thumbs up later from the Honda. Luckily no black & whites in the area. I promised myself not to do these things again.

 

[Bolt Action]

Cehjun: Being held captive next to an audio-trespassing boom box is a mitigating circumstance, though.

 

[LaBrother]

Well, once we reach 93, then we get smoked :-(

-LaBrother

Edit : this only happen to me once, bmw driver of course

 

[Packard V8]

I'd say it's the opposite. No ICE drivers around here even notice the Bolt is EV; to the great unwashed, it's just another econobox. And there are enough very quick turbocharged performance versions of the econobox; Honda, VW, Ford, not many still think small is always slow.

It's just most have no clue the Bolt is a new paradigm; the typical giant SUV/van/truck is so slow to respond, so awkward to drive, they assume everyone else is likewise and thus only look in their mirrors every five minutes. If there's no high-RPM ICE noise from the little box, the big guys don't pay much attention. With the Bolt's instantaneous and silent response, we can move so quickly to take advantage of an opening, the driver in the next lane doesn't realize the situation has changed since he last looked and starts to come over. Fortunately, the quiet Bolt has a loud horn.

Oncoming left turns are the same. The typical giant SUV/van/truck is so slow to respond, so awkward to drive, they assume everyone else is likewise. When a driver is turning left and his light goes red, he's learned after the oncoming lane is green, he still has time to get through before the oncoming ICE moves foot from brake to accelerator pedal, spools up torque converter, spools up turbo and finally gets that lump moving toward him. With the one-pedal Bolt and instantaneous EV torque, our light goes green, we're looking into the panicked face of the left-turn-on-dead-red-cheater.

(And yes, someone will say, "I drive my Bolt the same way as an ICE. It's just more economical." Certainly, his choice; as some are proud of using a smart phone only to make person-to-person calls. That works; others just enjoy using more of the capabilities.)

jack vines

 

[LittleRock]

I haven’t raced anyone, but I have read a few articles about people autocrossing in their Bolt. Sounds like they are a blast to take around the course.

However some people have been turned away because Bolt's height to width ratio disqualifies it from competing.

Bro1999 wrote an article on autocrossing his Bolt.
http://www.chevybolt.org/forum/9-20...discussion-forum/12306-autocrossing-bolt.html

Motor Trend did a good article about what it’s like to put sticky summer tires on a Bolt.
http://www.motortrend.com/news/chevrolet-bolt-ev-summer-tires-review-electricity-meets-grip/

 

[BlackBolt]

I'm with redpoint5 on this. Back in '74-'75 I had a guy in a big Olds keep me from passing him in my Mazda RX-3 when he had been doing 25 in a 45. He got a big kick out of leaving me hanging on the wrong side of a 2-lane road. Of course I could've just realized what jerk he was, dropped back, and let it go instead of prolonging the drama...

I jut want to point out that when someone does this, they've put themselves in a perfect scenario for a PIT maneuver, if you're so inclined.

>

 

[quirkySquirt]

I have fallen for the guilty pleasure of denying a driver from passing me on the left. It's always when the same driver, for some reason, is tailgating me for a few minutes while the left lane is completely open for passing. It's like the tailgater is trying to force me to go faster. When they finally give up and actually pass me, I speed up suddenly to match them.

Bad behavior, I know. I gotta keep cool.

Another variation on the above, I'm doing a little above the speed limit, another tailgater on my behind. They finally pass me then SLOW DOWN to exactly the speed limit. Left lane is still wide open so I pass them so I can set my cruise to a little above speed limit again. They deny me from passing now but I have fairly good acceleration and just floor it so I can complete my pass quickly. Dumb move on my part because now the tailgater is on my tail again. I get the idea that since they're so close to my rear, I press a button to light-up my mirror dashcam's display hoping the tailgater sees the display and knows what a dashcam is. Luckily, they did and they backed off and stayed that way until we caught up with traffic. At that point tailgater passes me in the left lane while I stay in the right, slower traffic lane to distance myself from the tailgater. Finally an adult move on my part.

Oddly enough, I haven't "smoked" anyone in my Bolt. Circumstances came close to race a Model S across an intersection (not light-to-light, just a quick "who can launch across this clear, lighted intersection faster?" challenge), but either the Model S or I had to turn off onto another road. When I had the Gen 2 Volt, I smoked more people (mostly by accident, still getting used to the EV torque and power at 0rpm) than in my Bolt.

 

[Sean Nelson]

...the same driver, for some reason, is tailgating me for a few minutes while the left lane is completely open for passing. It's like the tailgater is trying to force me to go faster. When they finally give up and actually pass me, I speed up suddenly to match them.

I don't get this. When people tailgate me with the left lane open I just very gradually slow down until they get annoyed enough to pass me. Why would you want to make it harder for him to get out of your hair?

 

[XJ12]

I don't get this. When people tailgate me with the left lane open I just very gradually slow down until they get annoyed enough to pass me. Why would you want to make it harder for him to get out of your hair?

Really like using the mirror display as I found that I don't notice people following as closely as I used to with the standard mirror. Lowers my stress while driving.

 

[redpoint5]

I don't much care if someone tailgates me. They are behind me, so not my responsibility. The exception to this is when I'm on the motorcycle, then I get very angry that they would endanger my life. The only time people tailgate me when I'm on the motorcycle is in heavy traffic (otherwise I would have been long gone).

I always make an effort to accommodate passing when people want to go faster than me. If they pass, get in front, and then slow down, I don't give any more chances for passing. I'll get back in front, set my cruise, and let them deal with it. Cruise is the way to disconnect emotion from driving.

 

[quirkySquirt]

I don't get this. When people tailgate me with the left lane open I just very gradually slow down until they get annoyed enough to pass me. Why would you want to make it harder for him to get out of your hair?

Exactly. I was thinking with my pride and not my head. I kept to slightly above speed limit and yet the person didn't want to pass me. Clearly I was already too slow and they didn't want to pass me. Others whom I can see coming up from a distance behind me, they maintain their speed and change lanes to pass me at said speed. I just keep cruising at my set speed with nothing to do on my part. Occasionally I get drivers who feel the need to tailgate me instead of just pass me. Most of the time, if there's a good song or NPR segment on the radio, I could care less how long they're tailgating me and eventually they realize I'm not going to go faster and finally pass me. Usually with a loud rev of their engine as if that would affect me--I turned up the volume on this segment about stolen gold at gymnastics, I'm not hearing your rev, fellow commuter!

Really like using the mirror display as I found that I don't notice people following as closely as I used to with the standard mirror. Lowers my stress while driving.

I actually miss the OEM mirror cause I can't flip my mirror dash cam to reduce glare from cars tailgating me. Even with the higher Bolt, there are some SUVs/trucks that still blind me but I can't tilt the mirror without affecting my dashcam recording angle. The mirror dashcam is dimmed, however, and I've resorted to wearing night-time driving glasses to help further reduce the glare (not sure they help much, but they're tinted just enough I can still see fine at night but don't find headlights behind me as glaring).

I don't much care if someone tailgates me. They are behind me, so not my responsibility. The exception to this is when I'm on the motorcycle, then I get very angry that they would endanger my life. The only time people tailgate me when I'm on the motorcycle is in heavy traffic (otherwise I would have been long gone).

I always make an effort to accommodate passing when people want to go faster than me. If they pass, get in front, and then slow down, I don't give any more chances for passing. I'll get back in front, set my cruise, and let them deal with it. Cruise is the way to disconnect emotion from driving.

Pretty much describes my behavior as well. Though, I've encountered quite a bit of road rage so (hence the dashcams) so I figure I need to figure out what about my driving is annoying people or just learn to turn the other cheek more often as getting from A to B is more important than a pissing contest. Still learning to turn the other cheek unfortunately.

 

[Jax]

To me it's much more annoying to be overestimated than to be underestimated. As you point out, it's amusing to surprise people. That said, why prevent someone who wants to travel faster than you to pass? It can be unsafe, and isn't proper driving etiquette.

Reminds me of the time a guy ahead of me was doing 10 under the speed limit for miles, so I attempted to pass in my Prius, and he sped up just to express his lack of character. He did it multiple times. Would have been great to have a Bolt in that moment for sure!

When I see a lifted turbo diesel or a vape filled Honda Civic darting lane to lane, I try to catch em side by side at a red light.
It's fun to see their expression in the mirror as they fade away. I back off when I reach my cruise speed and know exactly what they are thinking when they catch up 😳 "WTF"!

 

[eflyersteve]

Never had anyone ask to race so I have no idea. Have I accelerated hard and pulled out ahead? Yes. We're we racing? Doubt the other person knew it was a race.

 

[Cajun swamper]

It's a little annoying since moving from fast looking sports cars to the Bolt that everyone who sees me thinks I'm some slow minivan or Prius. It's great when they try to speed up and pass only to get smoked and see their facial expression! Anyone have a similar story and see the face of the person that thought they'd easily pass your 'Prius'?

I was sitting at a red light in the right lane
A carload of high school kids were commenting about my bolt
When the light turned green I smoked them bigtime!! Lol

 

[Jerry Duke]

Very appropriate thread.
I just had an episode with a diesel Ford. He was next to me in the left lane about half a car length in front of me. When the light turned he "rolled coal".
At the next light his passenger rolled his window down and pointed at my car and was very dramatically laughing. This time we were side by side so I easily was half a block in front of him before he knew what happened.
At the next traffic light he slowed his speed so he could time the light, but he jumped the traffic light.
Yep, a cop was at the intersection and quickly turned his lights on and pulled him over.
Of course I tapped my horn as I quietly passed them both well below the posted speed.

 

[p7wang]

Very appropriate thread.
I just had an episode with a diesel Ford. He was next to me in the left lane about half a car length in front of me. When the light turned he "rolled coal".
At the next light his passenger rolled his window down and pointed at my car and was very dramatically laughing. This time we were side by side so I easily was half a block in front of him before he knew what happened.
At the next traffic light he slowed his speed so he could time the light, but he jumped the traffic light.
Yep, a cop was at the intersection and quickly turned his lights on and pulled him over.
Of course I tapped my horn as I quietly passed them both well below the posted speed.

LOL, we should have this queued up for this type of situation.

BTW, watch Unhinged on Amazon Prime!

Watch Unhinged | Prime Video

Academy Award©️ winner, Russell Crowe, stars in Unhinged, an edge-of-your-seat thriller about something we have all experienced – road rage.

www.amazon.com