Patch Blog: Our Week With Volt, Day 3

If you are just getting into this, my husband has already written three posts regarding our week with the Volt. He has a , , and . Click on the links to catch up!

Now, My husband has been blogging about our week with the Volt. Many of his posts are related to the technical aspects of the vehicle. He reviews the different settings, the nitty gritty “guy” stuff, where I will come from a slightly different angle: the car is super cool.

I feel like it should start talking to me as I walk up to it and get in, like something out of the Jetsons. It already makes this boot up sound that is cool, but I want it to have a voice and say “welcome.” Then have Mater or Lighting McQueen pull up and start talking to my car. That’s what it feels like, it feels like the future. How cool is that? I still can’t get over it. I love putting the car and gear and I start moving with absolutely no sound at all. Have I said this car is cool? I think a lot of people worry that they will miss the sound of a big engine, but I find beauty in the quiet whirring of the engine. Why do we need to flood our ears with the sounds of fossil fuels burning? Personally, I prefer to flood my ears with birds chirping and the sound of wind whistling through the trees, but I digress.

The other cool part about the car is that you become much more aware of your vehicle and its performance while you drive. Am I accelerating too fast? Braking too fast? If I get behind this big bus, will I get better electric mileage? We spend so much time “tuning out”, but I really enjoyed “tuning in” and enjoying my driving experience. My grandfather was a pilot in the air force, and I could imagine him having this feeling when he flew the SR-71 (well, that might have been better than driving a car).

I found the car to be very conducive to my daily lifestyle. My commute is from Montrose to Glendale, five miles. If I were to own a Volt, I would be basically driving an electric car all the time. I also liked the modern conveniences of a new car. I currently own a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee (not the greenest car, I know….) and there really isn’t anything fancy about it. But the Volt has the proximity key and I just keep it in my purse and never have to worry about digging to find my keys. I can’t tell you what a hassle it is to find my keys. Just ask my husband who has to wait for me.

This Saturday I will get to spend another day with the Volt. I plan to go on a longer trip, so most likely will use some gas. I look forward to exploring that aspect of the car and the gas mileage it gets in that mode.

Till then!

References and Resources:

Chevrolet.com: Volt information from Chevrolet

GM-Volt.com: Volt and EV related blog

The Future is Electric: GM blog related to the Volt and EV in general

EV World: dedicated EV blog and resource