Spark starts at $10k, not sure what the eSpark was, but I think they were in the high teens. The Bolt starts at $37k. I don't doubt the Bolt is a superior EV in every way except its hideous looks, but the price tag places it in the area of unobtainium for a lot of people. But they couldn't sell the eSpark which WAS affordable to a greater crowd.
Not sure what to say about this, other than it just shows another data point that EVs are either not really high on a lot of consumer's considerations and they are very expensive.
I almost bought a used Spark EV. Had 1800 miles on it, all the options including DCFC. $12,000. TDI guys love torque, and I'm one of them. The Spark EV had 400 lb-ft of it. Car & Driver rated it very highly, I do too.
For us, it's too small. It's the
only reason I didn't buy it. You're right that the Spark EV was an EV affordable to a greater crowd. But it being cheap wasn't enough to overcome it's 80 mile range and micro size. For that matter, I don't see a lot of gasoline Sparks on the road either. Electric or not, the rest of the car still matters. There's a point where I think most people aren't willing to give up comfort & features - just to drive electric, even if it doesn't cost much. The Spark EV and Fiat 500e are great examples of that.
As for the Bolt EV being superior to the Spark EV - I don't see it that way. Sure, the Bolt has 238 miles of range, and is a little larger, but it's still a weird looking small car with terrible front seats (the Spark's were WAY better). There's just as much low-rent hard plastic inside a $37,000 Bolt as where was in that $12,000 Spark EV I was looking at. But hey, a lot of owners are able to squeeze 300 miles on a charge. Is that enough to get Joe Public to buy these in droves? So far, not so much.
