2012 Chevrolet Volt Cleared for Carpool Lanes

A low emission model of the 2012 Chevrolet Volt electric car are on their way to California, where customers will qualify for a $1,500 state rebate and be allowed to drive solo in the state’s carpool lanes.

Chevy Volts with the Low Emissions Package, which is standard for California, began shipping from the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck plant this week and should begin arriving at the more than 140 participating Chevy dealerships in California before the end of the month.

"The Volts with the Low Emissions Package are certain to be a strong draw for California commuters looking to travel the state’s notoriously congested freeways in the carpool lane,” said Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet Marketing.

Commuters who use carpool lanes in Southern California save an estimated average 36 minutes a day, or about a third of their total driving time.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is making 40,000 Clean Air Stickers available for registered vehicles that meet the state’s emissions standards. Applications can be downloaded from the DMV’s web site at www.dmv.ca.gov
 
Additionally, the new Low Emissions Package makes the 2012 Chevrolet Volt eligible for owners and lessees to receive up to $1,500 in state rebates through the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. This incentive is in addition to a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 Clean vehicle rebate applications can be submitted online at www.energycenter.org
 
California has more than 1,400 miles of High Occupancy Vehicle lanes. Originally restricted to vehicles with two or more occupants to help minimize congestion, the lanes are now open to single occupancy use by owners of advanced, low-emission vehicles. Chevrolet Volts registered in Georgia, New York and Florida also are eligible for single occupancy access to carpool lanes.

The 2012 Chevrolet Volt has a total driving range of up to 379 miles, based on EPA estimates. For the first 35 miles, the Volt can drive gas-and tailpipe-emissions-free using a full charge of electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Volt’s battery runs low, a gas powered engine/generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range another 344 miles on a full tank. Volt owners have travelled more than 10 million miles since the vehicle launched late last year. Roughly two-thirds of those miles were powered by grid electricity.

Chevrolet Sonic - Extreme Testing

There are miles and then there are “Seth miles.” Both measure 5,280 feet, but a “Seth mile” is different. More extreme. More grueling. More punishing. All that rigor is part of the durability story of the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic.

 

“Seth miles” are named for Chevrolet Sonic Quality Manager Seth Valentine. Each mile Valentine puts on a test vehicle is called a “Seth mile” by Sonic engineers because of his reputation for extreme testing on long road trips. Valentine’s duty: Make the Sonic the most reliable and durable small car in North America.

 

The efforts are paying off as Sonic more than doubled the sales of its predecessor, the Chevrolet Aveo, in January. Chevrolet Sonic is the only subcompact built in the United States.

 

Over one six-week period, Valentine drove more than 14,000 miles in the first Sonic to leave the General Motors Orion (Mich.) Assembly Plant. Valentine drove Sonic Vehicle Identification No. 1 from north to south and east to west, across subtropical Florida, the arid deserts of Arizona, the mountains of Colorado, and the South Carolina low country.

 

In addition to amassing miles with other Chevrolet Sonic team members, Valentine would play typical consumer and pack the Sonic to the hilt for a family vacation.

 

During work trips, Valentine and his colleagues identified quality issues that needed fixed before Chevrolet Sonics were shipped to Chevrolet dealers across the nation. One lengthy journey from the assembly plant outside Detroit to Phoenix revealed an intense wind noise while traveling through a 40 mph crosswind in Texas. The wind noise was not a factor during testing at the GM Proving Ground in Milford, Mich. Valentine called the assembly plant from the road and had the problem fixed before VIN No. 2 left the factory. He took the same approach with other issues found on the road.

 

“ I do test drives because I want to experience everything a customer could: low altitude, high altitude, high temperatures and low temperatures, ” said Valentine. “ In the course of one week I can go from below sea level at 120 degrees F to below freezing temperatures at 12,000 feet above sea level. We can experience everything the customer might experience. ”

 

The Chevrolet Sonic comes with a 100,000-mile powertrain warranty, 40,000 miles more than most competing small car powertrain warranties. It is the only small car manufactured in the United States.

 

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com .

 

Visit Bale Chevrolet to schedule a test drive the Chevrolet Sonic in Little Rock, Arkansas. Don't forget to check out Weekly Specials section with some great deals on new and pre-owned vehicles!

Chevrolet to Debut Five New Ads on Super Bowl Sunday

Chevrolet is going big on Super Bowl Sunday with five new ads, including a first-of-its-kind music video with the new Sonic subcompact and the band OK Go.

“ The Super Bowl is a huge opportunity for Chevrolet to connect with millions of consumers – before, during and after the game – with our ads and digital extensions,” said Joel Ewanick, global chief marketing officer, General Motors. “At the core of our efforts are great Chevrolet cars and trucks.”
 

“The Sonic and OK Go partnership is the perfect match-up of an innovative small car with a band known for its unique videos and musical interpretations,” said Ewanick. “The Sonic was built to be fun to drive and the ‘Needing/Getting’ music video highlights its agility, power, and spaciousness.”
 

In the music video, the four members of OK Go are shown in a specially equipped Sonic, driving through a race course lined with musical instruments and other homemade sound-generating objects. The car is used to play the instruments along the route with devices attached to the body panels, as well as to the wheels and tires. The sounds generated along the course make up the music in the song.

“We always strive to find a new path with our music and our videos, so it’s really great to partner with a company like Chevrolet that is willing to push boundaries to connect with their audience, too,” said Damian Kulash, Jr., lead vocalist for OK Go. “They gave us free reign to indulge our deep-seated stunt driving fantasies and we’re thrilled that they liked the results enough to incorporate our video into their Super Bowl plans.”
 

In addition to the music video, Chevrolet will debut two other ads for the Sonic and one each for the Volt electric vehicle with extended range and Silverado full-size pickup . Also airing during the telecast will be the Chevrolet Route 66 Contest winning ad “ Chevy Happy Grad ,” created by 26-year old Long Island resident, Zach Borst.

Chevrolet has a strong digital presence during the Super Bowl with a number of initiatives including the first-of-its-kind Chevy Game Time app , which allows viewers of Super Bowl XLVI to play trivia, interact with each other via Twitter, participate in polls and possibly win one of 20 Chevrolets or thousands of other prizes. The app has been downloaded more than 300,000 times since it was made available during the NFL’s NFC Championship game.
  

Chevrolet is also the automotive exclusive advertiser for the NBCSports.com Game Day livestream coverage for desktop and tablet computers. Visitors to NBCSports.com, NFL.com YouTube and Hulu may see one of several videos featuring “The Office” star Rainn Wilson encouraging them to watch Chevrolet’s Super Bowl ads. Chevrolet is also the exclusive automotive partner for the Facebook Super Bowl program and is partnering with Twitter and the NFL on Twitter’s 'Road to the #SuperBowl' and NFL Huddle site.

Chevrolet is again the sponsor of the Super Bowl MVP trophy and will present the winner with a 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible.

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