Chevrolet dealers operating under the sunny skies of Phoenix are now taking orders for Volt's and the Chevrolet team was in town to get the word out.Tuesday morning brought the team to Midway Chevrolet for a live broadcast with KSAZ FOX 10’s Diane Ryan. You can see a replay of that broadcast by clicking here. Later that afternoon anxious Phoenix area consumers stopped by the dealership to test drive the Volt. Among those who waited were two Leaf owners who came out to compare the market's two electric vehicles. New Volt owner Andy Jones also stopped by to share his initial reaction - he absolutely loves the Volt and hasn’t found anything he didn’t like about the car.The following morning the Chevy team met with and showcase the Volt with several members of the Phoenix Automotive Press Association. They were able to sit down and casually ask questions about the car before getting up close and personal with it - one reporters discussed her experience in the Phoenix Business Journal.
We also hosted a ride and drive at the Del Webb retirement community in Florence, AZ. Many who took the time take the Volt for a spin commented how the car had exceeded their expectations. But for those of us who regularly give drives of a Volt, we know exceeding expectations is something the Volt manages to do quite frequently.

Volts are taking center stage in Boilermaker country as they are now available statewide.  This week in Lafayette, Indiana, the Volt team was on hand for a ride and drive at Bill DeFouw Chevrolet despite the wet and windy weather. Here's what the Courier Journal had to say about the Volt becoming available! We met with some interesting folks including Defouw's first Volt customer. We also met a Toyota Prius owner who came out to see what the Volt had to offer. After an extensive look over and drive with the Volt he thanked us and went home only to return to DeFouw the next day to trade in his wife's Toyota Camry Hybrid for a new Chevrolet Volt.  

Our trip also took us to the campus of Purdue University as we were on hand to represent GM's commitment to the great engineering program offered by Purdue. The General Motors Foundation presented a $160,000 grant to the engineering school. Several members of Purdue’s electrical engineering department were anxious to hop into the Volt and, like many of our other drives, their trip concluded with a big smile and lots of compliments for the Volt.

It wasn’t just staff and faculty taking the Volt out though. Despite a rainy morning, students lined up to get a look at, drive and take pictures with the Volt.  Many of them were engineering students, who asked some great questions and already had a deep knowledge of the technology behind the car. More than one of them told us they had a blast taking the car around campus and hugging the curves of the roads while cruising on nothing but electricity.  We enjoyed our time in Indiana and are looking forward to some warmer weather when we head to Phoenix next week!

Last week the Volt team paid Madison, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, visits as Volts are now available for purchase state wide. We first stopped in Madison where, after a short tour of the University of Wisconsin’s campus, we arrived at Ballweg Chevrolet in Middleton. It was interesting to meet some of the people who came out to our event. Take for example four video game developers from Raven Software and Activison. They told us they were intrigued with the different technology inside the Volt. One of the developers said he just needed to talk to his wife about the Volt and could see it in his garage shortly. Two advertising students from the University of Wisconsin also came out for rides in the Volt. We were told their professor tasked their class with creating an ad campaign for the Chevrolet Volt and, through our Twitter account, found out about the event we were hosting. They took down some notes, asked us some great questions and promised to show us what they came up with.
 
After our event in Wisconsin we headed off to Minneapolis, where we held ride and drives at Village Chevrolet in Wayzata. Of the more than 50 drivers, several were engineers who couldn’t believe how well the Volt handled.  As the Volt is now available in the greater Minneapolis area even the employees at Village Chevy waited patiently to take out the vehicle they had heard so much about. The last leg of our trip took us to General Mills corporate headquarters. Many of the employees there were fascinated by the Volt and told us they had never experienced a ride so smooth. Several drivers were anxious to drive the Volt and got out with big smiles when their drives concluded. More than once we heard “It’s so quiet. I can’t believe how well it drives!” The team had a great time talking with and meeting everyone who came out. We look forward to the next stop on the Volt tour: Lafayette, Indiana.

The Chevrolet Volt team was in our nation’s capital this week for an event being put on in association with our friends at Meetup.com.  It had everything to make for an enjoyable evening. Food, music, Volt owners, Alexandra Paul and of course, several Chevrolet Volts available for test drives.We were delighted to see the enthusiasm from those who came out to see what the Volt was all about. Not only did the owners who came out proudly show off their Volts, they also helped answer questions as well. Most of the attendees who came to drive the car had never been in a Volt let alone drive one. We're glad that they had the opportunity and it's always refreshing to hear what they have to say when they return from their drive...what they liked and didn't like about the Volt.  Many of them told us they would need to consider purchasing a Volt in the near future.As mentioned, Alexandra Paul joined us and rubbed elbows with everyone in attendance. She chatted with owners about her Volt and the experiences she and her husband had with the car. Alexandra also stood up and discussed why electric vehicles were so important and also plugged (pun intended) National Plug-In Day, which is this Sunday. It’s always a great time when we get to bring our owners together with people interested in the Volt. We appreciate the time everyone took to enjoy a warm Autumn evening with us and the Volt.

This week the Volt team rolled out in Chicago, the same time the vehicle became available in Illinois. We met some great Chicagoans and were asked a lot of questions about the Volt, and electric vehicles in general.

On Tuesday we were outside of the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day as folks were invited to come out and test drive the Volt and then get a free lunch from the Southern Mac & Cheese Truck (which was delicious, by the way).  Many people we spoke with had never seen a Volt before and didn’t even know (but were pleasantly surprised) the Volt had the ability to travel another 300 miles once the battery had depleted.

Wednesday brought the team and our squadron of Volts to Deerfield and Mundelein. We first stopped off to Walgreens corporate headquarters in Deerfield, where employees lined up to see what the Volt was all about. A number of drivers couldn’t believe how quiet the Volt was once they were inside, and several others commented how cool the touch screens were. More than once we were told a discussion with a spouse was needed to convince them to spring for a Volt.

The final leg of our journey led us to the Del Webb active adult community in Mudelein. To say the Volt was a hit would be putting it lightly. People there repeatedly told the team how happy they were to finally see a vehicle like the Volt and enjoyed how silently it cruised along the road. One driver returning from his drive joked he would take very good care of the Volt if we let him keep one in his driveway for show, and gave him another one to zip around in to show off. All-in-all, we had a great time interacting with everyone that came out. The people in the Chicago-area were welcoming to both the team and the Volt, asking great questions and showing awesome enthusiasm. We’re definitely looking forward to bringing the tour to Minneapolis next week!

The Chevrolet Volt team recently rolled into Oklahoma and Arkansas to give folks there a taste of what was to come to dealers’ showrooms this fall.

While in Oklahoma City the Volt was greeted by some local radio personalities like Pete Roeper, Jennifer Lee and Craig Buffington. These local voices battled the heat to take a look at and get a feel for the Volt. After experiencing the vehicle firsthand, they provided some great feedback. Despite a great (but warm) time in Oklahoma, the team had to bid farewell to the Sooner State.

The next stop was Little Rock, Arkansas at the Clinton Presidential Center where the team joined up with Entergy Arkansas, a local provider for nearby free EV charging stations. Entergy also has a charging station at the University of Arkansas for Medical Services and they're working with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Fayetteville to provide on-campus charging stations. Several media outlets, dealers and people curious to check out the Volt showed up to the presidential center. There, Otie McKinley with GM Communications was able to demonstrate how the Volt plugged in to recharge, something many of those watching had never seen a car do before.

There are some pictures below of the team’s time in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Be sure to also check out the Launch section of ChevroletVoltAge.com for more info on upcoming tour dates.

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