The weekend before the dawn of the second-generation Volt

As the last post here before the cover is taken off the second-generation Chevy Volt, having learned more, I can tell you the 2016 Volt is better in several key respects – although really, this much you already knew.

A question that will remain even during and after the initial disclosure is how the vehicle will be received this year by the general public. The media will have a heyday contriving stories, churning up tons of information most people here know about like the back of their hand.

Some of the past lore involves details some of us are glad is behind the Volt.

Positive details are many as well. One biggie is that the first Volt was ever built by a restructured new GM in the first place – and now it’s carrying forward the new car having listened, it says, to you – the most enthusiastic supporters who’ve bought the first generation car.

For the “fast followers” as the marketing parlance has it for next-wave buyers behind “early adopters,” if there were ever an objection not to buy the first generation of any product – let alone an all-new big ticket item like a car – that objection is gone.

Many new buyers may be willing to entertain the notion that GM has fixed perceived issues, or otherwise evolved the product.

The present Volt already has super high customer satisfaction ratings and it’s been documented how many conquest sales and new faces to GM it’s brought.

But for some time now GM has marketed the car mainly to California where easily 40 percent of the sales come from, and at tech events.

Will it break out of a niche status? Again, GM has hinted the answer could be yes, but wide open is the question of by how much?

While we’ll have plenty of fodder to speculate on this question and more on Monday, its mainstream acceptability factor will not be known with absolute certainty Monday, and will be something that proves out in time.

Meanwhile, I will be interested to see how the media mill handles the new data that is the 2016 Volt revelation. It may dispassionately handle it, maybe spinning it a little off color in cases, and others will likely cover it with greater care and accuracy.

Look here Monday Jan. 12 at 12:01 a.m. eastern time (Sunday Jan. 11 at 9:01 p.m. Pacific time) for a story revealing specifics on efficiency, performance, and more.