News from this week:
After years of following progress reports on the Volt, I finally got the call from the ordering manager at Paradise Chevrolet in Ventura stating, “your car is ready and all is perfect”. Manager Per “you will be assimilated” Bjorge had provided weekly updates regarding timetables at GM and progress of my Volt #555. An equally good source for Volt tracking is found at http://www.camarotracking.com. My Volt #555 was delivered this past Friday the 14th at 9AM. Most Volts are being sold at MSRP as was mine. I asked the dealer about a free second 120V charge set as part of the deal. This request was denied. However, I was able to negotiate on the extended service contract. I settled on $375 less than the asking price. My offer was $400 less. The dealer replied with, “best I can do is $375 less”. Those Bjorges are tough.
The Volt feels very good on winding roads in the L shift position. Acceleration is ample in Normal mode and more than ample in Sport mode. It goes without saying you must watch steep driveway ramps and speed bumps. As the front air dam is positioned low to the ground. I will offset this negative comment by saying a friend had a look at my Volt and called it “Bad ass!”. He really liked the look of the air dam and what he calls “the steel grill”. I am driving the Volt at 66mph-72mph on the freeway, and moderately in town. My first charge delivered 43 miles of battery range, with the following recharge displaying 40 miles reserve. This is in beautiful Southern California conditions of 62 degrees with the climate control set to ECO 72 degrees. About 95% of my driving is done in Normal mode using L shift position. I find no downside to being in L shift position all of the time. I love it.
A history:
I first stumbled upon the Volt during an internet search in 2007. Found a clip of Volt Nation 1 wherein some guy in a suit was saying he was going to drive without gas. This guy turned out to be Dr. Lyle Dennis. Up to this point I was in the dark concerning electric cars. I didn’t even know about the EV1 being available to lease. I also found Lyle’s web page http://gm-volt.com and was considering registering on the “want list” but I didn’t. The list had 7000 names on it at the time. I wasn’t sure I was willing to drive electric at that point in time. I eventually joined the group of 10,000 members by entering my email address and deposit tolerance level.
During the period of 2007-2008 I worked as production foreman for a plastics company in Oxnard, California. Sales were good and we had recently expanded to a bigger building. Our product was preferred over our competitors from Asia because of our high quality, options on size and color, and quick delivery. Then came $140 per barrel oil. Overhead strangled our company and we went out of business. I worked my last 40 hours out of loyalty for the company without pay.
I will add a footnote to this story. Knowing the Volt would cost more than any other car I had previously owned, I had to become creative in ways to generate the cash needed to buy a Volt. I decided to research the stock market and find a small company that had solid management and a good product. I used a search engine at T. Rowe Price. This narrowed this list down to about 100 companies. The one I chose is called Radient Pharmaceuticals. The price was at $1.18 per share and I began to accumulate. The price dropped to $.80, and I bought more. Dropped to $.40, and I bought more. Finally the price dropped to just $.24 per share. My hopes of owning a Volt were nearly dead. I had just lost $15,000 trying to earn a $20,000 profit. Then positive stock news was announced. India, China, and South America were interested in the RPC product. The stock price climbed to over $2 per share in one week. I sold all shares and had profited the entire cost of a 2011 Volt.
The demo drive:
I was very fortunate to make it down to El Segundo this past October 17th. Had a great demo drive in a Silver Volt and met our beloved Chelsea Sexton. There were three GM reps present to assist with Volt features and engineering information. The demo drive went great with my wife and son having their first taste of the Volt experience. I describe the acceleration of the Volt as comparable to a 302c.i. Ford 8 cylinder. I have owned two of these and burned through a couple dumpsters full of gasoline in the process.
(above photo) Chelsea Sexton and GM reps at Volt Unplugged El Segundo
Over 1000 Volts have now been produced with hundreds safely in the garages of new owners. Lyle Dennis is a big part of this reality. Just a regular guy who looked forward to being able to drive without gas. GM-Volt.com and the new Volt Owners Facebook page continue to grow and gain fresh energy as they plug-in to the public each day. I feel a good word needs to be passed along concerning my fellow posters here at http://gm-volt.com. Harrier, Tag, Mr. Petit, Nasa and all the regulars and visitors that are making these important years both entertaining and informative. Hope to have the opportunity to get together at a future Volt Nation rally.
And now the image we all want to see. It’s not only a freeway ready electric car. It’s the 2011 Car Of The Year. Garage charging on house current. The 2011 Chevrolet Volt!
Source: GM-Volt.com
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