By Bob Sorokanich, senior editor, GM News
By Bob Sorokanich, senior editor, GM News
For Chris Boman, the Chevy Bolt isn’t just a work project – it’s his passion, whether he’s on the job or off the clock. Boman, a product marketing manager with Chevrolet, began working on the Bolt program in 2019. Soon, he bought a Bolt of his own.
“It’s an affordable, long-range EV, and it’s fun to drive,” Boman told GM News. “Those were really the three key points for me.”
I could sense Boman’s enthusiasm from the moment we met over video chat. His background image was a photo of the three Chevy EVs his family drives: A Blazer EV SS, an Equinox EV, and right up front, his bright blue Bolt, with “CHEVROLET” written across the top of the windshield in boldface letters, the “EV” highlighted in blue.
Boman is proud to be a part of Chevrolet’s Bolt team. He describes the pride among the crew that launched the Bolt in 2017, eager to prove that GM could compete in this brand-new automotive space.
“At that time, Bolt was the only electric vehicle produced by GM,” he said. “That Bolt was actually the very first mass-produced long-range EV. We felt like the pioneers of this new technology.”
Almost immediately, the Bolt attracted an enthusiastic following. Owners loved the Bolt’s combination of zippy driving, tidy dimensions, and spacious interior, with all the plusses of an all-electric vehicle. When Chevrolet introduced updates to the Bolt for model-year 2022, Boman says, they made sure to listen to the Bolt superfans.
“Throughout the history of the vehicle, the Bolt team has been very customer-focused,” he said. “The [2022] mid-cycle enhancement addressed a lot of things customers were looking for.”
As part of the team bringing back Bolt for 2027, Boman is proud to say that this tradition continues. “This vehicle just takes that to another level,” he says. “When you read about Bolt on the online forums or Facebook groups, and customers list the things they would like to see improved, we’re hitting on many of those things in this new 2027 car.”
When Boman isn’t thinking about the next generation of GM EVs, he’s racking up miles on the highway. “One of my hobbies is taking long road trips in EVs,” he tells me. “I've made over a dozen trips over 1,500 miles long in GM EVs, from a Bolt to a Cadillac ESCALADE IQ and everything in between.”
These trips are part research, part myth-busting exercise.
“One of the major hurdles for customers buying an EV is, everyone worries about road trips,” he said. “So, I wanted to have that experience in all of our EVs, to be able to have intelligent conversations with people about what's a myth, what's reality, and understand what that experience is for customers.”
Starting from his home in southeastern Michigan, Boman has driven his blue Bolt as far as Albany, New York and Atlanta, Georgia visiting family. “Over the last two to three years, I’ve really noticed the charging infrastructure is getting better,” he said. “It’s much easier to find chargers over those and other others routes now than it used to be. There's a lot more options along the way.”
Boman knows all of the improvements coming to the Bolt for 2027. While he wouldn’t spill any secrets to me, he hinted that, between charging improvements and new in-dash technology, road trips will be even better in the 2027 Bolt.
For Boman, whose auto-industry career spans nearly 30 years, today’s EVs feel like a paradigm shift. “Anytime I get back into a gas vehicle, what jumps out to me is how noisy the engine is,” he said. “It's feeling that transmission shift. If I want to go fast, the engine makes a whole lot of noise. It’s the smoothness and quietness of an EV that really attracts me.”
“Love My Chevy Bolt” is a GM News series highlighting General Motors employees and their connection to Chevrolet’s iconic EV. As we get closer to the unveiling of the 2027 Chevy Bolt, we’ll be featuring employee stories from people who have a personal Bolt story to tell.
Bob Sorokanich is a former automotive journalist whose work has appeared in Road & Track, Car and Driver, Wired, Robb Report, and many other publications. He is senior editor at GM News. Reach him at news@gm.com
For Chris Boman, the Chevy Bolt isn’t just a work project – it’s his passion, whether he’s on the job or off the clock. Boman, a product marketing manager with Chevrolet, began working on the Bolt program in 2019. Soon, he bought a Bolt of his own.
“It’s an affordable, long-range EV, and it’s fun to drive,” Boman told GM News. “Those were really the three key points for me.”
I could sense Boman’s enthusiasm from the moment we met over video chat. His background image was a photo of the three Chevy EVs his family drives: A Blazer EV SS, an Equinox EV, and right up front, his bright blue Bolt, with “CHEVROLET” written across the top of the windshield in boldface letters, the “EV” highlighted in blue.
Boman is proud to be a part of Chevrolet’s Bolt team. He describes the pride among the crew that launched the Bolt in 2017, eager to prove that GM could compete in this brand-new automotive space.
“At that time, Bolt was the only electric vehicle produced by GM,” he said. “That Bolt was actually the very first mass-produced long-range EV. We felt like the pioneers of this new technology.”
Almost immediately, the Bolt attracted an enthusiastic following. Owners loved the Bolt’s combination of zippy driving, tidy dimensions, and spacious interior, with all the plusses of an all-electric vehicle. When Chevrolet introduced updates to the Bolt for model-year 2022, Boman says, they made sure to listen to the Bolt superfans.
“Throughout the history of the vehicle, the Bolt team has been very customer-focused,” he said. “The [2022] mid-cycle enhancement addressed a lot of things customers were looking for.”
As part of the team bringing back Bolt for 2027, Boman is proud to say that this tradition continues. “This vehicle just takes that to another level,” he says. “When you read about Bolt on the online forums or Facebook groups, and customers list the things they would like to see improved, we’re hitting on many of those things in this new 2027 car.”
When Boman isn’t thinking about the next generation of GM EVs, he’s racking up miles on the highway. “One of my hobbies is taking long road trips in EVs,” he tells me. “I've made over a dozen trips over 1,500 miles long in GM EVs, from a Bolt to a Cadillac ESCALADE IQ and everything in between.”
These trips are part research, part myth-busting exercise.
“One of the major hurdles for customers buying an EV is, everyone worries about road trips,” he said. “So, I wanted to have that experience in all of our EVs, to be able to have intelligent conversations with people about what's a myth, what's reality, and understand what that experience is for customers.”
Starting from his home in southeastern Michigan, Boman has driven his blue Bolt as far as Albany, New York and Atlanta, Georgia visiting family. “Over the last two to three years, I’ve really noticed the charging infrastructure is getting better,” he said. “It’s much easier to find chargers over those and other routes now than it used to be. There's a lot more options along the way.”
Boman knows all of the improvements coming to the Bolt for 2027. While he wouldn’t spill any secrets to me, he hinted that, between charging improvements and new in-dash technology, road trips will be even better in the 2027 Bolt.
For Boman, whose auto-industry career spans nearly 30 years, today’s EVs feel like a paradigm shift. “Anytime I get back into a gas vehicle, what jumps out to me is how noisy the engine is,” he said. “It's feeling that transmission shift. If I want to go fast, the engine makes a whole lot of noise. It’s the smoothness and quietness of an EV that really attracts me.”
“Love My Chevy Bolt” is a GM News series highlighting General Motors employees and their connection to Chevrolet’s iconic EV. As we get closer to the unveiling of the 2027 Chevy Bolt, we’ll be featuring employee stories from people who have a personal Bolt story to tell.
Bob Sorokanich is a former automotive journalist whose work has appeared in Road & Track, Car and Driver, Wired, Robb Report, and many other publications. He is senior editor at GM News. Reach him at news@gm.com