When he heard the Chevrolet Volt was coming to market in New York state, he knew he had to have one. He said, “I went to the dealer and I said ’How do I get myself a Chevy Volt?’ And he said, ‘We’re going to get two and one is already sold. So you have to put money down on it.” He put $1,000 down and had to wait six months, but when it came in, he realized his vision for a state-of-the-art electric vehicle had been achieved.

He ticked off some of the differences between his first electric vehicle and his Volt. “This car is a lot more efficient, first of all. It’s much more aerodynamic than an S10 pickup truck. The battery is lithium ion which is a lot lighter.” Plus, he said there’s no comparison between the maintenance he had to do on his truck and what the Volt requires.

He’ll never make the world forget Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but he did tell us, “I love this car.” And he ran down some of the things he loves in comparison to his truck. “This car is a lot more fuel efficient. This car drives so much faster, too. I like how quiet it is.” He also loves that his car will send him a text message if charging gets interrupted.

The instant torque of the electric motor has also been fun for Jon. He told us about having a Corvette pull next to him at a stoplight, and when the light changed, Jon took off from the line while the Corvette revved up. He admits, “the Corvette blew me away,” but he liked being ahead of the ‘Vette for (at least) a short distance.

Jon's Volt plugged into a public charging station in the Buffalo, NY area

Jon may also have given the electric car community a new catch phrase – “opportunity charging.” He said, “People ask well when do you plug it in? Anytime you’re parked and there’s an outlet nearby, you plug it in. It’s called opportunity charging. So you just charge when it’s available. If there was an outlet right here, I would have a plug in right now.” He said his employer lets him charge when he’s at work, so his 38 mile one-way drive from home to work becomes an all-electric round trip on most days. He also admits that he sometimes hangs around his friends’ houses a few extra minutes to get a little more charge before getting back on the road.

After more than six months of ownership, Jon sums up his feelings about his Volt this way: “I get in it and I still say I can’t believe I own this car.”

More than five dozen Volt owners showed up on the Thursday afternoon prior to the official Dream Cruise, and took their electric-powered cars for a spin on Woodward. They came from near and far, and they weren’t concerned about driving beyond the limits of the Volt’s electrical charge, because – unlike all other electric vehicles – the Volt has an onboard gasoline engine that powers a motor/generator to keep the car rolling until you reach your destination.

Jim and Michelle Corning talking about driving their Volt from Arizona to Michigan

Someone commented to Volt owner Michelle Corning from Flagstaff, Ariz. that it was kind of “crazy” to try to drive an electric car from Arizona to Michigan. Her response? “This has a range of 40 miles electric, but it has a pretty spiffy 1.4 liter engine. We get great gas mileage, and we still enjoy and have fun with it, so it wasn’t crazy at all.”

Michelle and her husband Jim are both engineers, and they had some business to take care of in Colorado on the way to the Volt homecoming. Michelle said, “We went to Colorado first and Jim actually drove that portion. And then from there, we came up through Indianapolis. So it was like driving any other vehicle that we drive across country. No difference.”

Michael Motto came from Catawissa, Penn. to attend the homecoming. Mike has ridden his Harley motorcycle in parades before, and experienced the camaraderie of people who have the same vehicle, but the Volt Homecoming offered the additional feature of being able to talk to the people who built it. Mike said, “I like the part of having the people that actually built the car, and were part of the car, here. I was standing by my car, and the guy from powertrain came by and said “Is this your car?” And I said yes, and we just started talking about it. That was really neat.”

NASCAR champions Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson joined the Volt owners for the event. They both own Chevrolet Volts and said they enjoy driving it. Gordon said, “When you step on the accelerator and it takes off and it puts you back in the seat, it’s a great feeling.”

From engineers to Harley riders to NASCAR champs, the Chevrolet Volt appeals to people on a lot of different levels, and based on a recent Consumer Reports survey, they would definitely buy the Volt again.

Nothing definite has been announced for the future, but it won’t be surprising to have the quiet performance of the electric motor rolling alongside the throaty rumble of the V8 engine at the Woodward Dream Cruise in the years ahead.

Bob owns the Cherry Republic, a made-in-Michigan store that sells everything cherry – cherry salsa, cherry chips, chocolate covered cherries, cherry pop and nearly 200 other cherry products. Every year, thousands of people visit the Cherry Republic stores in Glen Arbor, Traverse City, Charlevoix, and Ann Arbor, Mich.

The GM social media team met Bob at TEDxDetroit this fall and was impressed by his passion for made-in-Michigan products and suggested he check out Chevy’s latest made-in-Michigan product, the Chevrolet Volt.  Bob also shared with the team that he drives a Golf diesel because it gets 50 mpg.

“When we met Bob we saw an opportunity to have him experience the made-in-Michigan Volt and give us some feedback on that experience,” says Jay Cooney, GM’s Director of News Operations. “I met with Bob last week to pick up the Volt in Ann Arbor, and he told me he was getting 379 mpg with the Volt, and that he probably would not have gone to a Chevy showroom to look into a Volt without this experience.  That’s what these influencer grassroots opportunities are all about, getting people to think differently about our products.”

Bob spent two weeks in the Volt, and shared the experience with his staff and his wife.  “I think I was one of only two Volts up north,” he recalls. “We live in the center of town and park on the street. Right next to us is a coffee house, boy, did it turn heads.

Jay says it’s these types of grassroots efforts that help to create excitement, enthusiasm and eventually sales for products like the Volt.

Bob gave test drives to people during the 14 days he spent with the car. He thought the Volt had a lot of space, accommodated his two young kids nicely, and he really enjoyed how quiet it was.

“My favorite memory of the car will be with my son,” says Bob. “On Halloween after all the candy chaos, my son and I hopped back in the car. I turned the radio, engine, and vents off and we drove home in silence. When I asked my son what his favorite part of Halloween night was he said, ‘driving home with you in the Volt’.”

President and owner Mike Schwabl drives a Chevrolet Volt because he feels that it reflects his values and those of his company. He said, “Our agency here is very green focused, so this is part of our commitment to being green.” But it’s not just about the environment. It’s about creativity and technology and community.

Mike said, “At Dixon Schwabl, our whole thing is about delivering the ‘wow’ for our clients and this car delivers the ‘wow’ every day.” The technology is part of the ’wow.’

“The amount of technology in this car is unbelievable,” Mike said. “And I do like the little report at the end of the day when you turn the car off. You get home and it tells you how much electricity you used, how far you went, how much gas you used – if any at all.” Mike admits that the displays in the Volt impact how he drives. He told us, “I live 20½ miles from work, and so you know you start with a 40 mile charge and my personal best is just to get to the office and still have 27 miles left of electricity. I’ve done that twice, so I’m trying to outdo that.”

Mike shows us his Volt keepsake book.

He sees the creativity in the way the Volt solved the issue of range-a potential anxiety for customers – by providing a gasoline backup in the event the driver has to go further than the charge in the lithium-ion battery.

Mike also appreciates the personal service he’s received since he decided to buy a Volt. He said, “General Motors is doing a great job. I have my own representative in Michigan who calls me monthly. Before the car arrived, he was calling me weekly, but once the car got here, he checks in with me every month to see how I’m doing.”

A present from GM also made him feel special. “I got this nice little package in the mail from General Motors. A little keepsake book about the history of the Volt and how it came about,” he said. “They’re really doing a great job in customer satisfaction. It’s unlike any other vehicle experience I’ve ever had. They sent me a little (video) camera so I can keep my Volt memories alive as I travel around.”

The lobby at Dixon Schwabl has a mural on one wall painted in a design reminiscent of cubism, and several large words are incorporated there: Spirit, Innovation, Pizzazz and Vision. A place with innovation, pizzazz and vision. It seems like a place you’d expect to find a Chevrolet Volt. Happy driving, Mike. Let us know if you get to the office with more than 27 miles of charge left.

A car is one of the most important tools for anyone trying to juggle careers and kids. As Kristin says, “They’re a basic necessity. They’re everything. Your car’s not working, everything falls apart.” Knowing the importance of cars to the Manic Mommies and their audience, Chevrolet established a relationship four years ago, including sponsoring the duo. Occasionally, Kristin or Erin will get an opportunity to drive a vehicle – like the Chevrolet Traverse – and they will then write a review covering their experience. Chevrolet is also a major sponsor of the annual “Manic Mommies Escape.”

The Manic Mommies arrive at the Dream Cruise in their Chevrolet Traverse

Chevrolet invited Erin and Kristin to come to Detroit for the Woodward Dream Cruise this summer, so that they could see first-hand the passion that people feel for the brand. The Mommies drove a Traverse on a road trip to the Motor City, and they used all the vehicle’s technologies to get them to their destination. Kristin owns a Chevrolet Equinox, so she felt comfortable in the Traverse, and served as Erin’s co-pilot on the drive from Rochester to the Detroit area. Kristin said, “I knew where everything was, and how we could use all the different features.” Among other features, they used OnStar navigation to provide directions, and the Bluetooth® phone feature to talk hands-free while they were on the road.

They arrived at the Dream Cruise route on a Thursday, just in time to ride in the Chevrolet Parade, which celebrated the brand’s 100^th anniversary. That parade started with flags being waved by NASCAR stars (and Chevrolet Volt owners) Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Erin rode in a Volt during the parade, while Kristin was in the new Chevrolet Sonic with Orion Assembly Plant Manager Alicia Boler-Davis and Chevrolet Small Cars Marketing Director Margaret Brooks.

Kristin and Erin check out some classic Chevrolets at the Dream Cruise

The rest of the weekend was a whirlwind of activities, which included a tour of the OnStar Command Center, dinner with engineers and “Malibu Moms” Suzy Cody and Kara Gordon, a meet-up with local Detroit Manic Mommies, and a trip to the actual Dream Cruise event, where more than one million people showed up to see classic cars cruising on Woodward Avenue through the Detroit suburbs.

The Chevrolet relationship with the Manic Mommies continues this November, when the Manic Mommies Escape 2011 takes place in New Orleans. Chevy will provide complimentary round trip airport transfers for attendees flying into the Crescent City, and several Mommies will actually road-trip in Chevrolet vehicles to New Orleans, courtesy of Chevy. Chevrolet team members will join Erin and Kristin in several panels and podcasts. The weekend promises to be a great escape for Manic Mommies!  If you’re interested in joining Chevrolet and the Manic Mommies, there is still space available. You can register or obtain more information at Manic Mommies Escape 2011.

Chevrolet is glad to help make things a little less manic for mommies everywhere.

“When I get in my Volt, it’s like an a-ha moment,” says Jimmie Johnson, five-time NASCAR champion and driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet. “It’s amazing to see the technology and how it’s moving things forward, really closing the gap between racing and production cars.”

“I get a lot of looks and a lot of questions about the car,” says Jeff Gordon, four-time NASCAR champion and driver of the #24 Dupont Chevrolet. “First, they think it’s really cool looking and second, they can’t believe how quiet it is. I find myself being a great Chevrolet sales person.”

Johnson and Gordon got to spend plenty of time talking up the electric Chevrolet at the Volt Homecoming Parade on Thursday, Aug. 18th during pre-Woodward Dream Cruise festivities in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

In pure racing fashion, Johnson and Gordon waved flags to mark the start of the parade, which included more than 50 Volts and their owners from as far away as California, Arizona, Texas and New Jersey.

“These cars are just another step in the right direction of going green. Hopefully the Volt will provoke more thought and change,” says Johnson.

Gordon says he appreciates how Chevrolet is always pushing the envelope and he hopes there never comes a day that he has to compete against them. “With Chevrolet celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, I can’t think of a better vehicle (Volt) to show off the brand’s heritage and where it’s headed.”

Recently, members of GM’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) employee affinity group – GM PLUS – spent their Saturday at the Live Green Fair in Ferndale, Mich., offering the eco-minded attendees a chance to drive GM cars and trucks. The Chevrolet Volt seemed to be the star of the show, with its Voltec (electric) powertrain and the ability to drive up to 40 miles without a single drop of gasoline.  Pamela Lawrence, a Fair attendee, said she dreams about owning a Volt and called the employee ride-and-drive event as “a wonderful opportunity” to get behind the wheel.

GM PLUS Chair Adam Bernard at Live Green Fair

Adam Bernard’s job title is associate director of competitor intelligence for GM. He also serves as chair of the GM PLUS. He says ride-and-drive events help to introduce GM products to audiences that might not have been paying attention otherwise. “We brought some of our coolest, greenest cars and trucks, both to reach out to the LGBT community which is kind of an untapped market for us, and also to reach out to customers who may not think of GM when they think of environmental-type vehicles.”

Adam says GM employees take their personal time to present their cars and trucks to the public, partially because it’s fun. He says, “I love talking about whatever it is I’m driving.” And Adam adds that meeting customers face-to-face helps employees do their job better. “Sometimes you sit in an office building or a cube or some kind of desk and you kind of lose sight of the fact that yes we’re building cars and trucks for people. So this is a great opportunity to clarify some misconceptions about GM products, to tell people stuff they might not know and to find out what interests our customers.”

GM's Patrick Hernandez briefs driver of CTS Sports Coupe prior to test drive

The event at the Affirmations community center in Ferndale was arranged by GM’s Vehicle Advocate Program, which has put more than 20,000 people behind the wheel of GM cars in the past year.

What do the customers think of meeting the GM employees and driving the cars? Tao Tao was smiling as he was sitting in a Camaro convertible. He said, “It’s easy to get to know the different vehicles here.” He rode in a Chevy Cruze and Volt prior to the Camaro, and he admitted he liked the Camaro best. Adam Bernard understands the smiles on the faces of the people when they finish their test drives. He says, “How can you not smile (when you) get out of a Camaro convertible or a CTS or a Volt?”

Inside Building 73 at GM’s Milford Proving Ground in suburban Detroit, Charlie gave us a tour of the Road Load Simulator. This is a unique machine that allows GM engineers to precisely measure vehicle performance in a variety of conditions, and then make changes to improve the miles per gallon from the cars and trucks in development. We won’t bury you in engineering talk, but we will let you know that very few companies have dynamometers that can measure up to the Road Load Simulator. Charlie says, “We are very fortunate at General Motors to have a piece of equipment with this capability.” It is booked nearly 24 hours a day as teams line up to tweak their products.

"Robot driver" sounds like sci-fi, but this box allows precision test driving on the dynamometer

The simulator allows the engineers to put a vehicle through hill climbs or descents or stop-and-go conditions, all without ever leaving Building 73. And every response and reaction from the vehicle is measured with astounding accuracy and precision that allow the teams to improve performance and efficiency.

Charlie has been with GM for 32 years and he remembers a time when trucks were king and the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra were the mpg leaders for the full-size pickup segment. (They still are.) When the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse burst on the scene, they also were near the top of the mileage rankings for full-size crossovers. But the biggest change he’s seen is the improvement in mileage from smaller entries like the Chevrolet Cruze. Charlie smiles as he recounts the time the Cruze spent inside Building 73 when it was being developed for the North America market. He says, “The Cruze ECO manual which delivers 42 miles per gallon – industry- and segment-leading 42 miles per gallon – was developed with a significant amount of time spent here.”

Charlie has learned to slow down a little when he’s driving, but he isn’t slowing down when it comes to his job. He says the Chevrolet Volt extended range electric vehicle is a “terrific entry in the segment. It’s groundbreaking in its configuration.” However, he sees internal combustion engines holding a large market share for the foreseeable future. His team continues to work on improving the parts and components to make sure GM cars and trucks deliver outstanding fuel economy, while providing a great driving experience.

Brazell worked for Texaco for 40 years and learned all about the oil business from the inside. As coordinator of Texaco’s worldwide exploration and production activities he knows how difficult it is to find, retrieve, transport and refine petroleum. He also knows we don’t have unlimited oil. “We did recognize that oil is a finite energy source,” the 84-year-old retiree said. “One of these days it’s going to run out.”

He decided to do his part in cutting back on gasoline consumption by getting himself a Crystal Red Volt. Brazell says, “I believe electric vehicles like the Volt are an important step towards reducing our dependence on oil, while renewable sources of energy – like wind, solar, and hydrological power – will all play a role in producing clean energy for electric vehicles.”

Brazell posing proudly with his new Chevrolet Volt

Brazell first heard about the Volt in 2008 and immediately knew he wanted one. He went to his local dealership in Asheville, North Carolina, and put down a deposit even though he didn’t know what it was going to cost and it wasn’t going to be available for purchase until 2010. When it was determined North Carolina wasn’t going to be one of the launch markets for Volt, Brazell made arrangements to get one of the first ones in the Washington, D.C. market from Lindsay Chevrolet in Woodbridge, Virginia.

When his Volt was ready for delivery, Brazell drove his old Buick up from North Carolina. He went to the dealership along with his daughter Mary and his grandson Ben. They piled in for an inaugural drive and Brazell immediately knew he had upgraded his ride. As the Volt accelerated he said, “It is quiet! And it’s a softer ride than I thought.” After just a few seconds behind the wheel he felt like he wasn’t going to miss his Buick Park Avenue.

Brazell has an interest in the environment as evidenced by the fact that he recently audited a class on sustainable energy at the University of North Carolina at Asheville campus College for Seniors. He says most of his driving is less than 40 miles a day, so he expects to use very little gas, but he isn’t willing to give up the independence provided by a gasoline engine. He likes the Volt because “the extended range of the gas engine is there if I want to take a drive to New York to visit my grandchildren.”

The man who spent a good portion of his career looking for oil, looks forward to using a little less of it over the next several years. His instant review on his Volt: “They’ve done a good job on this car. It’s going to be a real joy to drive it.”

The Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle with extended range that is just beginning to show up on the roads. The first responders – firefighters, EMS technicians and police officers – have had some questions about how this new technology might impact their jobs as they respond to crash scenes. The Chevrolet and OnStar Electric Vehicle Safety Training Tour was created to address those questions and Leslie Kilgore was one of the trainers assigned to deliver the message.

Kilgore says Chevrolet and OnStar worked together to serve key audiences. “Chevrolet wanted to make sure that people understood this new technology. OnStar always deals with first responders, that’s their target community, that’s who they serve, and so as an extension of their services this was an opportunity to make aware of additional information about what OnStar was going to provide to keep them safe when interacting with electric vehicles.”

Electric Vehicle Safety Training Tour – a joint effort with The National Fire Protection Association –  made stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Washington D.C. , New York City and Detroit and trained more than 2,000 fire and emergency service leaders. They were coached on topics specific to electric vehicles such as power shut-off procedures, lithium ion battery details, locations of high-strength steel and cut points for extrication. Kilgore says the trainers had to do more than just say the Volt presents no danger to first responders. “We had to convince them that we had done our homework. That we could really prove it was safe.” That involved presenting a lot of information and producing resources that can be used while the first responders are in the field.

Kilgore has two mechanical engineering degrees. Her undergraduate degree is from Michigan Tech and her Masters is from Purdue. She has worked for GM since before she began college. “I started off as a high school co-op. I did all my college internships at Powertrain. And then when I graduated I went to work in the truck group.“ She has worked assignments around the U.S. and was on an ISP in Australia for three years.

Engineers are usually known more for their skill with numbers than for their skill with words, but Kilgore says she learned to speak publicly while she was in high school. “I did parliamentary procedure in high school competitively. So you always had to speak during the live competitions. I have a lot of background in oration, speeches and public speaking and I really enjoy it. I like to talk and not in the sense of babbling, but in the sense of sharing information. I like to teach.” And she hopes the first responders who came to her training sessions learned the important lessons she laid out for them.

To find more information about the electric vehicle training series and to register for upcoming sessions, visit: http://www.evsafetytraining.org/