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2011 Chevy Volt: Freedom Drive Underway, GM Offers T-Shirts

 
1,701 views Jul 2, 2010
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2011 Chevrolet Volt in Waco, Texas, en route during the 1,776-mile Freedom Drive PR stunt

2011 Chevrolet Volt in Waco, Texas, en route during the 1,776-mile Freedom Drive PR stunt

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Taking a break from the relentless drumbeat of news about Tesla Motors, its stock offering this week, and the latest model of its electric two-seater, the Roadster 2.5--we bring you a story about the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric vehicle.

2011 Chevrolet Volt Freedom Drive route map on the morning of July 2, 2010

2011 Chevrolet Volt Freedom Drive route map on the morning of July 2, 2010

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2011 Chevrolet Volt late-night recharging in Little Rock, Arkansas, during July 2010 Freedom Drive

2011 Chevrolet Volt late-night recharging in Little Rock, Arkansas, during July 2010 Freedom Drive

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Specifically, a Volt is now en route from Austin, Texas, to New York City, scheduled to arrive on July 4th, Independence Day, as part of a publicity stunt Chevy is calling the "Freedom Drive."

The entire route adds up to 1,776 miles--get it?--and the Volt reached Little Rock, Arkansas, early this morning.

While drivers Nick Richards and Rob Peterson slept, the somewhat grimy car recharged its 16-kilowatt-hour battery pack, giving it 40 miles of electric range to kick off today's leg.

You can follow the entire trip, including a near-real-time map of the Volt's route, on the Freedom Drive website.

And if you want to win a Volt Freedom Drive t-shirt (and happen to be somewhere along their route), take a photo of the Volt on its travel and upload the image to the Volt Facebook page.

The Freedom Drive was announced (and commenced) yesterday as part of a package of Volt announcements, including production volumes, dealer requirements, and more information for interested buyers.





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Comments (4)

  1. By cliff Posted: 7/5/2010 9:25am PDT

    Im really getting sick of news about the Volt. Why doesnt anybody get it that this is 5 year old technology. This thing is a genuine peice of crap. 40 miles on electric power??? Thats horrible. But because of the hype people will buy and be very dissapointed. This is a total joke.
     
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  2. By Matt Monroe Posted: 7/5/2010 4:42pm PDT

    While these new types of automobile technologies help bring awareness and start us moving away from oil dependence and waste, the Volt is just another hybrid-like diversion. It's a product designed to keep consumers buying gasoline while helping them feel like their doing something green. Let's be clear, despite it's misleading name, the Volt burns gas! With an electric range of only 40 miles, even the most conscientious drivers will have to continue frequenting gas stations.
     
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  3. By John Young Posted: 7/6/2010 3:30pm PDT

    There will be an ev for all market segments in the coming years. The Volt is a good gamble for GM. It introduces the EV lifestyle, which, outside of retirement communities, very few of us have experienced. Yes it burns gas, but depending on how you use the vehicle that could be as little as 20 gallons or so a year. Personally I would very rarely exceed 40 miles a day in my daily vehicle wanderings. American car companies are still very curious about how the masses will adopt a pure EV. The Leaf, Volt, Tesla, Transit Connect, Karma, and Focus EV can't really be used as indicators of overall success due to the pent up demand from early adopters and enthusiasts. We won't know the real story until 2014 or so when we all have our EV of choice and now its our job to get the next door neighbor to buy one.
    By the way, the technology is actually well over 50 years old. Diesel-electric trains are series hybrids.
     
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  4. By Aaron Posted: 7/7/2010 9:41am PDT

    Around 80 percent of people drive less than 40 miles a day. Even if the Volt can ONLY keep people from using gas 80% of the time and just get "average" gas mileage from there on, it effectively eliminates their contribution to any need for imported oil as about 2/3 of oil is imported currently. It also provides a stepping-stone for people to transition to better electric vehicles as battery technology improves and public charging opportunities arrive.
    But personally, I'd rather have an onboard generator than park my EV in a public place with the charge cord draped across the ground, a perfect target for new urban mischief/vandalism. Without the generator, your only other option is to have a 2nd vehicle for drives that you know will be longer than your EV range. And it does't take tricky math to convince me that TWO vehicles are more expensive than one to buy, maintain, insure, etc.
    The ideal arrangement (which not everyone can fit into) is for a family to have a Volt-like car for daily commuting or short shopping trips, and a larger "family" car for trips/travels.
     
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