Boltage: Day Two

Happy New Year, Bolt fans!

Last night we checked into what was the happening thing long ago, in a galaxy far away. Fun movie. With my current state of mind, walking back to my Bolt waiting in the parking lot, my first thought was: this car really is from the future.

Not just a movie future, but the real one, where we are actually going to live. No kidding. I am hooked.

What really got me was driving around to the other side of the shopping center to the Whole Foods Market for some dinner and a few grocery items. I'd been dimly aware of the EV charging station right outside the door. It never meant much to me—until now.

I prowled by. The EV parking space was unoccupied! I am with the Force, and the Force is with me! The charge was hardly necessary (still about 200 miles of range left), but come on, this was my first opportunity to mooch some juice, in public, with everybody watching.

Well, nobody was actually watching, but it was just as cool for all that. The evidence is below. Sorry for the lousy photo, I really did feel a little silly taking it.

Waiting for our dinner inside, I set up the MyChevrolet app on my iPhone. Within seconds it reported my charging status. I could also now eat dinner secure in the knowledge that my tire pressure was adequate. (I don't know about you, but this question often occurs to me while eating.)

When we returned to the car I realized I might have used the app to remotely fire up the climate control while we were still tooling around the aisles of Whole Foods. Darn. We could have opened the door to a toasty car with warm seats. I am going to remember that next time.

This leads me to another quirk, possibly. Since returning the Bolt to my garage last night, MyChevrolet doesn't report any updates to my car status. I suppose this because it depends on the OnStar system, which is unable penetrate the roof of the garage.

I don't know enough about OnStar to be sure if this is the case. If it is, that will be a little disappointing. I have a lot more use for the car's current status at home than at Whole Foods. If anyone understands how this system works in the real world, please let me know in the comments.

My assignment for today in crawling up this learning curve is to set up CarPlay. This, I really want to see.

Also, later today, in a home not far away, we will be attending a New Year's Day party. This will be my first chance to show off my car from the future to our friends. That's one thing about the future: ready or not, here it comes!