Volt

Chevrolet Volt. Electric when you want it, gas when you need it.

Note: The 2012 Chevy Volt offers an EPA-estimated 35 miles on a full charge based on 94 MPGe [electric] and an additional 340 miles with a full tank based on 35 city, 40 MPG highway [gas]. Actual range varies with conditions.

The Chevy Volt is unique among electric cars because it runs on two sources of energy. You have an electric source – a battery – that allows you to drive gas-free for an EPA-estimated 35 miles. And there’s also an onboard gas generator that produces electricity so you can go farther. So if you want to drive using only electricity, you can. If you want to drive using electricity and gas, you can do that, too. Feeling all charged up? Check out what this current Chevy Volt driver has to say about his unique driving lifestyle…

Adam Meltzer’s life is anything but predictable. With three jobs and plenty of running around to do come the weekend, he says he relies on his Volt to keep him moving and motivated. “In Los Angeles you spend a lot of time in your car. If your car is not comfortable, it’s like working in an uncomfortable desk chair with a bad computer screen,” he says. Luckily, he loves his ride. “Before this car I didn’t even like driving. It was something I had to do.”

Want to tour across California in a Chevrolet Volt and experience that state’s best organic and sustainable farms, wineries, food producers, breweries and urban gardeners? Follow Jerry James Stone as he makes discovers some great spots in the golden state.
 
Jerry is a food and wine writer for Discovery Channel and NPR Northern California. He's also the main recipe developer for TreeHugger's Green Wine Guide. For the next 20 days Jerry will be traveling across California in a Chevrolet Volt and blogging about his experiences with both the amazing food he will be enjoying and the sustainable practices he will be learning about, including the Chevrolet Volt. We will be sharing his blogs right here on ChevroletVoltAge.com. Along with his writings, Jerry will be taking plenty of pictures and, from time to time, providing us with video of his tour.
 
You can learn more about Jerry here. Keep checking back on VoltAge for updates on his tour.

Please Note: this post originally appeared on General Motors' Beyond Now blog.

You might remember GM’s work to convert scrap Chevrolet Volt battery covers into wildlife habitats—from wood duck nesting boxes to bat houses.

Instead of sending that material to a landfill, we reuse it to benefit wildlife. So far, GM has created and installed more than 150 of them at designated wildlife habitat areas surrounding its facilities, as well as various locations across the United States.  And that number is ever-increasing.

The project is a fun and rewarding one, with GM environmental engineers oftentimes working alongside students and community groups to convert them. The team enjoys spreading the word about recycling and helping instill a deeper understanding and appreciation for nature.

Birgit Keil, a green and cause-minded cartoonist and blogger, recently came to us to learn more about the bat house project. After talking with GM Manager of Waste Reduction Efforts, John Bradburn, she drew the cartoon above. Visit her blog at http://justbeacartoon.com/ for more information about GM’s effort and why swapping out insect killer for a bat house might be a smart, nature-friendly choice.

Another of our newest Chevrolet Volt commercials now airing on TV features Elissa. She’s TOTALLY in love with her Volt and plans to use her fuel savings to go to Hawaii. Her ad is featured below. You can see our other newest ad featuring Eric by clicking here.

The Volt team headed west this week to Denver, Colorado, where the Volt qualifies for more than $13,000 in tax incentives ($7,500 federal and $6,000 state).  Among the scenic Rocky Mountains the first step was a dinner with the Rocky Mountain Press Association.  For the past few months, journalists in the Denver area have been given the opportunity to test drive the vehicle. There's no better place to experience and discuss the benefits of driving in mountain mode. 
 
The following morning we met with several Denver-area Volt owners for breakfast. They picked our brains over things like the future of battery production and 2013 Volt (stay tuned!). There was also some friendly competition as to who had the best lifetime MPG and who had used the least amount of gas and traveling the farthest distance on a single charge. As we travel to different states were doing our best to meet and hear from our Volt owners.  
 
Next, the team headed to Medved Chevrolet in Wheat Ridge to meet with more than 50 retired General Motors employees. They shared stories from their time at GM and asked some interesting questions about Chevrolet’s Volt that they had heard so much about and seen from time to time. Following a brief Q & A session with Chevrolet Marketing Director, Cristi Landy, they were able to sit in and test the Volt out for themselves. After taking the Volt for a test drive one retiree exclaimed, “I didn’t think it would drive this smooth! It’s nice!”
 
It was a quick trip to Colorado but we're always looking for a good reason to head West.  Let us know if you have any great ideas to promote Volt in CO.

You've probably seen some of our other Chevrolet Volt commercials featuring real Volt owners Priya and Adam. We'd like to share our newest TV spot featuring Eric. He loves how little he has to gas up his Volt and says people can't believe it either.

Note: Greg DeLaere recently started a blog to talk about his new Chevrolet Volt. This post originally appeared on his blog: Electrifying Volt Journey.

 I actually drive an electric car now.

I hope to chronicle my experiences owning and driving an electric car, the Chevy Volt, through this blog. Please enjoy...

First, let's start with life before the Volt: I drove an absolutely awesome BMW 650i convertible. Powerful, comfortable, open air, and everything you would expect from a high performance BMW. I filled the tank roughly once per week, sometimes a bit more often. The payment was predictably high, but I was OK with that - I was driving one of the most beautiful, powerful, and eye catching vehicles on the road. I had heard of the Chevy Volt, been a passenger in a Toyota Prius, and even checked the websites for the Ford Focus Electric and the Nissan Leaf. To be blunt, I was not impressed. TWO major issues were obstacles for me: Range (how far I could go before plugging in and charging up), and Price - most of these cars hover around $40,000 which is a lot for a mid sized car, even if you get a $7,500 incentive. So, it simply never occurred to me that one of these would be practical. I figured the "Car of the Year Award" in the US and Europe was a political setup, to force an otherwise unpractical vehicle on us in order to pacify the green groups.

Note: This post originally appeared on Faces of GM

Kevin Kelly is back from a three-month assignment that took him far from home and allowed him to get a new perspective on his job. He went to Shanghai to help launch the Chevrolet Volt in the China market. Check out the video to find out what he learned during his time abroad and discover what became his best friend as he dealt with the language challenges.