July 15, 2011  –  New Canaan, CT

As the first mass-production extended range electric vehicle, the Volt represents an American solution toward sustainable transportation.

Recently Chevrolet documented that the total number of Volts on the road have surpassed two million miles, and about seventy percent of these miles were on all-electric power.

As of this post, our Chevy Volt has been driven 2,570 miles with 2,189 on battery power and 381 in extended range generator mode.  That is over 85% of the time on battery power.

Let’s take a moment to do some math.  The Chevy Volt has a 16kwh battery, which Chevrolet engineers use 10.4kwh to achieve the Volt’s 40 mile EV range.  The battery is protected from both over-charging and draining by programming the Volt’s computer to call the battery full charged at about 90% of capacity and fully depleted at about 25% of capacity.  Thus only about 65% of the Volt’s battery capacity is actually used which will help the battery achieve extremely long life-cycle.

The Volt travels approximately 4 miles on a 1kwh of battery energy; thus to travel 2,189 miles on battery power, our Volt consumed about 547kwh of electricity.  The cost to charge up for these miles at Connecticut electric rates has been $87.56; plus $54.82 in gasoline for the extended range miles; giving us a total operating cost $142.38 or just 5.5 cents per mile.  To put that in perspective, at $4.25 per gallon, a gasoline hybrid car getting 40 mpg would cost 10.6 cents per mile.

Some critics have said they are waiting to hear of a Volt driver somewhere who will be shown to have used the car as a conventional gas powered car, and rarely or never plug in; but that is simply not the case.

Chevrolet Volt’s have traveled over 2 million miles on America’s roads using very little gasoline.

It would appear the majority of Volt owners are at the opposite spectrum and this makes sense, as the Volt was first heralded by forward-thinking people, and they have been first to begin logging miles.

As a fairly typical case example, Chevrolet recently highlighted the story of Kory Levoy, a manufacturing manager from Yorba Linda, Calif.

His previous car was an Audi TT Roadster and his gasoline bill was $50-60 per week.

Since owning a Volt for the past six months, he has only filled up the gasoline tank three times in 7,500 miles of driving.

“I was tired of spending roughly $200 plus a month on gas,” Levoy said. “The ability to not even consider finding a gas station or worry about fuel pricing is a phenomenal experience.”

His commute is 25 miles each way, and he is getting about 40 miles of all-electric range, he said.

Levoy said the amount he pays per month in electricity to charge his car is $25, and estimates he could save $2,000 per year in gasoline costs.

A similar story comes from Carey Bailey, an electrical engineer from Cottage Grove, Ore., who has had his Volt since January.

He estimates he cut his monthly transportation energy bill by about $100 per month, and expects it to be further reduced.

Bailey said he used to spend $500 per month for his 75-mile round trip, and now spends about $1.10 per day to charge his Volt.

“Each day, I use about a quarter of a gallon of gas to get to work, which is hardly anything,” said Bailey. “Being able to charge at work is an added benefit and I love the fact that I am reducing my carbon footprint by not consuming as much gas.”

Chevrolet said it is collecting this kind of Volt owner data, and is sure the car is a success out of the gate, and where the company wants it at this point still early since its introduction.

“About two-thirds of the more than two million miles driven by Volt owners to date have been powered by domestically produced electricity,” said Cristi Landy, Volt marketing director. “We are hearing from owners like Kory and Carey who are able to charge both at home overnight and at work during the day. These owners are able to maximize driving on electricity alone, seeing real saving at the pump and in their wallets.”

Invitation to KARL Chevrolet Volt owners….

How about you Volt drivers? You know GM is trying to jump start the anecdotes by posting these kinds of stories, but I bet some of you may have your own story to tell.

I know we’ve spoken to each of you individually and the feedback has been tremendous.  Would you consider sharing your story with us?

People sharing from the heart with other people is powerful.

Chevrolet is actively looking for real world feedback on customer’s experiences with their Volt; so we encourage you to share them with us and we will pass along or keep them private as you wish.  And if you’ve read this post and found that your Volt curiosity has been peaked, please stop by for a test drive!  We always have a Volt available for a drive and are happy to arrange extended overnight test drives if you wish.  The Chevy Volt is for real – it is ground breaking new technology that just flat works.  Here in Connecticut, the Volt’s combination of 40 mile EV range coupled with extended range generator power make this vehicle the potential perfect solution for a wide range of consumers.

And, whether you are interested in telling a story or not, that is fine. As always, feedback is welcome in the readers’ comments section as well. Thank you.