For the second time since applying for the name, General Motors has seen its trademark application suspended for the Chevrolet Bolt.
The application for the Bolt nameplate was originally suspended by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office when it was learned Yamaha already held the trademark for its motorcycles and related parts, AutoGuide reports. GM and Yamaha came to terms to allow the former to use the name for its EV, only for the second suspension to occur soon after.
The cause behind the recent snag comes from Bolt Custom Trucks in Fort Wayne, Ind. The custom sleeper cab builder applied to protect the name before GM, with owner Brian Callan not being aware his company’s application was now in the way of the automaker being able to call its EV “Bolt.”
Whatever name it does end up wearing, the low-cost EV is set to hit showrooms 16 months from now barring delays. Even with said potential delays, the Bolt is expected to leave the assembly line ahead of its competitor, the Tesla Model 3, entering showrooms with a $30,000 starting price and a 200-mile range.
[Source: Chevrolet]
Chevy Jolt?
Chevy Screw?
Or perhaps “Nut” ?
Did you hear about the asylum inmate who escaped and ran off to his girlfriend’s house? The newspaper headline the next day screamed “Nut bolts and screws”.
Motorcycles, custom sleeper cabs, electric commuter/city car.
These three products are in very different markets that don’t appear to compete with one another. I don’t think GM will have a hard time getting Bolt through the USPTO
Not necessarily. Both companies may built electric trucks in the future.
GM: Please pick a better name.
Besides, I can’t believe GM’s own attorneys didn’t catch this before applying for the name.
The only appropriate name is… “Volt 230”!
This isn’t a problem, and its normal. Back in 1958, BSA/Triumph and GM came to a very easy agreement regarding the use of the name Bonneville: Both sides could use it as long as Triumph didn’t build cars (Triumph cars were a completely separate company at this point) and GM didn’t build motorcycles.
In 2001, with the Bonnie being reintroduced, Hinckley Triumph and GM revived the old agreement, with no legal problems whatsoever.
Dolt.
May I suggest “Dolt”?
How about “D’oh”?
d’oh! beat me to it.
Simple !
Use the name you had originally thought about using on the Volt….
Electra !
Actually that’s pretty good.
And address Buick’s image problem at the same time? Great!
Surely, Electra is being held in reserve for the Buick version of Volt 2.0, or is that too free of groupthink?
I’d like to see a Buick version. The tech appeals to me, but the styling looks too economy car. A Buick version could be a good solution, and give GM a way to get a reasonable premium over the Volt, unlike the entirely unreasonable pricing they tried with the Cadillac ELR.
Electra, yes… but Electra 240 instead of Electra 225. And you can’t call them “deuce and a quarter” anymore.
Bolt just sounds like you’re mispronouncing Volt. Try again, Chevy.
What? No love for latin-american accents?!
They registered the name Ampera in the US. A simple solution to the problem.
They should make a third PHEV called the Ohm and complete the trifecta. Though it may impede the sales of the Volt and Ampera.
Might have some resistance to that idea.
I’m revolted by all of this. I’m going ohm.
I see what you did there
I see *watt* you did there!
How about “Ohmega”?
Corvair Monza.
But seriously, I do like “Electra”. And they already own the name!
Isn’t Electra too reminiscent of Freud or Amelia Earhart?
Oh, wait… Chevy buyers… never mind.
To me, Electra is reminiscent of luxury Buicks.
Even worse! You’re thinking Deuce and a Quarter, then they roll out *this*.
Yeah, but LeMans WAS reminiscent of decent mid-size Pontiacs and they screwed that pooch.
Between that wide-open back end and their perpetual help from Uncle Sugar, why not call it “DC”?
I jest though – between the room and the range I’ll be highly interested in this car in the future…
I’ve lived through a lot of industrial decline but more than any other manifestation of that, I knew it was Game Over, America when I first saw that pop can LeMans.
Bolt , what a stupid name to begin with> If GM is in a race with Tesla, I’d wait for the Tesla. GM’s record with new products is pretty dismal IMO
AffordaVolt: the Affordable Volt.
millivolt? A subcompact would be microvolt, fullsize: megavolt.
And evolve all the way to Megatron?
I’m not a fan of the Bolt name. You have to think a bit to connect it with the whole EV thing (lightning bolt, I guess), but more importantly it sounds too much like Volt. It’s going to be difficult for this car to gain traction when everyone is confusing it with its plug-in stablemate.
It should have been called the Spark, honestly. That name makes me think “electric car”, which the real Spark, incidentally, is not, for the most part anyway (Spark EV sales are probably not very significant).
It’s GM, I predict they will double down on a bad idea. This would the perfect time to cut their losses and choose a pleasant sounding name. Bolt does not exactly roll off of the tongue now does it? Counterpoint below.
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;
-William Shakespeare
Since they passed on a golden opportunity with their compliance subcompact EV, how about renaming this the Chevrolet Sparky?
Hm, my friend’s wife just learned of my utterance and has given it a big thumbs up. “I’d drive a Sparky!”
Sparky is much better, I concur. They could spell it Spark-e.
As usual, GM is hopelessly behind the times. The modern trend is to name each model with a confusing combination of letters and/or numbers like CLK or 330i.
May I suggest “OMG” for this latest Chevrolet model.
“WTF”?
Chevoltte not to be confused with its faster cousin the Corvoltte.
How about calling their new car Chair? We can then buy an electric Chair.
I think you’re onto something there…
Just pronounce it the same way, but drop a letter: BLT. Awesome marketing awaits.
Then they’d be hauled into court by some sandwich chain.
Seriously, this seems like a really silly squabble; does a maker of truck cabs really think someone will confuse a small electric car with their product. reminds me of the fuss stirred up over the possible confusion of the Chevy Beretta with an Italian firearm.
>> does a maker of truck cabs really think someone will confuse a small electric car with their product.
I’ve been looking at the actual USPTO documents and it was an over-reaction by the USPTO examining attorney that raised the issue, not the truck part company. In GMs response, they pointed out:
“As shown by the attached excerpts from the website featuring the mark BOLT CUSTOM TRUCK AND MANUFACTURING AND DESIGN, the company’s cabs for tractor trailers feature “bolt on” custom sleepers which use a rubber boot to connect the sleeper to a day cab (Attachment C). The use of “huck bolts” is also noted on the prior applicant’s website in connection with a solid attachment of cabinetry in the cabs (Attachment D). This again suggests that “bolt” is being used in the sense of a fastening rod, not a dashing, quick movement or bolt of lightning as in the Applicant’s Mark.”
There’s much more in GMs response. I don’t think there will be an issue and they should be able to get the mark.
I’m still wondering if this mark will ultimately end up on the car. A significant amount of the US population pronounces the letter “B” as a “v” sound, so aside from the confusion when Volt and Bolt are pronounced the same, they’d take a PR hit for being culturally insensitive to those buyers.
Spork
Vampira
Erg
Molt
KuLomb
That’s a list of names that are less dumb than “Bolt”.
I just hope that GM Engineering has a bit more imagination.
The Discharge
The Trickle
The Larch
@Rideheight
I like your idea of “Discharge”, but I don’t think that’s specific enough. It kind of looks and acts like a station wagon, so shouldn’ t it be a “Wagonal Discharge”?
Nah, that’s misogynist.
Since the Bolt will be a first for America I prefer to be misandrist and call it Seminal Discharge.
Zzzzzz. Says it all, regardless of what you think (out of the box, or, A Box).
Electra is not bad, but would more likely be associated with the prominent bicycle company of the same name. Anyone old enough to associate Electra with Buick land barges is long dead.
Maybe Chevy Jolt? Chevy Shock? Chevy Buzz?
Given what a big fleet of these would do to the oil-fueled ambitions of Putin, Iran, and the Saudis, maybe they should pay off Jeep and call it the Patriot.
If GM pours all its engineering resources into this one vehicle and it fails, will TTAC run the “GM Death Watt” series?
Given its eco-appeal to old hippies, maybe GM should call it the Chevy Garfunkel. Tag line: The Sound of Silence.
I happen to like Bolt, but I do see the potential for George Lopez to write a comedy routine about the Bolt/Volt pronunciation, if he ever runs out of jokes about suffering felony child abuse as a kid.
Whatever they call it, I would totally drive one and I’m excited about it.
“Anyone old enough to associate Electra with Buick land barges is long dead.”
You obviously have an annuation deficiency. The last Buick Electra was built in 1990. Maybe that was before YOU were born, but chances are, there are still a few Buick Electras on the road.
Many including myself for many years confused the FWD Electra for Park Avenue, since so many were sold with that trim and it was featured on the rear quarter panel and stitched into the leather seats.
I’m liking Electra more and more as a name, but as a Buick and not a Chevrolet. Draw a distinction between the first generation Electra and the 21st Century, maybe give it good styling if possible.
…just use EV2 and be done with it…
How about Chevy Joule?