I've only played for a few hours, but I'm curious to know how useful everyone is finding the weapons to be. I know that as far as offense, I'm liking the Barge power. Obviously not as directed as shunt, but it's nice little aoe power to set off in a group. 
 
The one that I'm not really feeling so far is Bolt; it doesn't seem to be too accurate, too powerful, or too precise. I'm not sure, but it feels like the only time I hit someone is if they are almost right in front of me. Anyone have tips on how they're making good use of Bolt?

For Bolt I've been firing it down straightaways more than anything. Especially if I am leading and drove straight for a bit, I'll fire some backward. I like the items in Blur quite a bit and the game has a good pace to it. My favorite thing about it thus far is how much fun I have playing it. I was thoroughly enjoying a race, then found out at the end that I was in 18th place, out of 18. I didn't really care. I had a lot of fans from the race and the destruction and powerup battles I had with some people were awesome fun.