cts | Volt a Day | The First Guest Test Drive November 13, 2010

My friend DH was excited about me getting a Volt. Of all of my friends, he called the most often to find out where it was, when was it arriving, how soon after it arrived could I bring it by? He lives up on Mullholland Drive, and this morning I drove the boys to Griffith park Observatory and then to Beverly Hills for lunch at Papa Jakes. (If you are in Los Angeles and want a true Philly Cheesesteak, that’s where you go.) Afterwards, I figured we’d stop by for a bit and he could take the Volt out for a spin.

After the steep hill to the observatory, and having a bit of fun with the traffic on Sunset, there were only fifteen miles left on the battery. Since it was all uphill to DH’s, I decided to see what Mountain Mode would do for me. I asked the boys if they could tell a difference as we glided along the flats to the foot of the hill. Nope. I could hear the hum of the gas engine, but apparently it wasn’t noticeable to passengers.

I didn’t lollygag up the hill, a steep climb up Benedict Canyon. When I got to the top I had sixteen miles of range, something I didn’t think the ICE could do (add a mile? up the hill?). But I know that the calculation for the range is complex and you can see the number jump around a bit. As we leveled out on Mullholland I flicked it back to Normal Mode and rolled along the curves to his house.

With the boys playing, we headed right back out with DH in the driver’s seat. Getting in he said, “It’s like being in a kitchen.” That’s what all that shiny white surface does. (I have already decided that if I order a Volt it will be with a dark color on the stack.) But after a moment in the kitchen, DH decided that it was comfortable, not tinny feeling, the doors closed with a really solid feel. “They’ve made a real car.”

As an aside, it’s a bit of a back-handed compliment when people are so impressed with the Volt because they inevitably say, “This doesn’t feel like a car from GM...” at some point. But I guess if a company culture is trying to move forward it needs to accept that the previous products were not as good as the products they can create now.

We rolled out onto Mullholland and in a moment we were on one of the worst sections of that twisty, turning road along the ridge of the Santa Monica mountains. It was downhill, rough road, and sharp turns with decreasing radii. The Volt handled it all great. “It’s like a European car! It has weight, it sticks to the road.”

We pulled off and did a slow loop through the Beverly Hills equivalent of a strip mall. He wanted to see if people noticed the car. Only when we were really close (when you could notice that it is silent as it glides by) did people turn their heads. A couple of younger guys sitting outside a Starbucks noted it and one pointed. On the way back, the rest of the tables seemed clued in.

After another breezy ride along Mullholland Drive we pulled back into DH’s driveway. “That was wonderful. It’s a real car. That electric drive... that’s the future. Instant acceleration.”

I hope so. I really hope so.