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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Just picked up a '17 Volt! Coming from a polar opposite car '14 Dodge Challenger R/T (5.7 Hemi, manual 6psd, custom exhaust, intake, tune @400HP). Not going to lie, miss my Challenger, but driving the beast in the commute was killing me! 16mpg(!) manual, loud was great for fun, not so much for a 45-60min bumper to bumper freeway crawl in LA.

Have the LT heather gray now with heated seats, heated steering wheel, light charge port. After a few months of driving I can honestly say I enjoy this car more than my Challenger as a daily driver. Great response/power in sport mode (only mode I drive in), nice handling as suspension is very well tuned for comfort and control. Infotainment is very easy to use and I love Android Auto and the base stereo sounds pretty damn good. Still not used to how quiet this car is! Many times I check to see if I turned it on.

Got a great deal... $7500 federal rebate, $3500 California rebate (being poor paid off for once!), $450 SoCal Edison Power rebate, Chevy rebate, dealer rebate... my gawd, took off about $15K!

My daily commute is 43mi round trip and I charge based on off peak @ 110v/12amps. In the morning before I take off I pre-condition the car and usually return with about 10mi of range left. My Challenger was using about $7-8 of gas per day... Volt probably around $1.80 of electricity. I'm no mathematician, but even I can figure out this word problem!

Oh yeah... just got my green car pool stickers, saves me another 15-20min on my commute. Only time in my life I will ever blow by a Dodge Hellcat! Still stare at it in my rear view mirror in envy though.

I'm sure you'll be seeing me around as I love cars and love talking about them... Here's a couple pics of before and after (please tell me I made the right swap!).:cool:

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Muscle car Dodge challenger
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Sedan Mid-size car
 

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Oh yeah, you totally made the right swap. I certainly have fond memories of my muscle-car days (a long time ago now), but now I appreciate the characteristics of an EV lifestyle even more. Where revving up my engine in preparation for a fast take-off used to make my blood flow, now I get more of a kick out of taking off like a shot in near-total silence. While there was a certain pride in timing the delayed acceleration of an ICE just right for a perfect pass, it's now even better to have instant response when I need to accelerate. As you sit in stop-and-go traffic and others are burning gas to go nowhere, you'll know that you're only using energy when you actually move (plus just a little to stay comfortable). About a year and a half from now, it's going to dawn on you that the only maintenance you've done on your Volt is a single tire rotation (and that will have been free), and then you'll start adding up in your head all that you would have paid to maintain the Challenger. Add to your already substantial fuel savings, and to the fact that you're driving a great car with super technology that handles well and is really fun to drive, and you'll still be glad you made the change you did. Congratulations on your new Volt!
 

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Trust me, you made the right swap. I was driving a 2007 Chrysler 300 SRT-8 with a cat-back that would drone like crazy on the highway. Now I'm cruising silently in my 2011 Volt and I love it. I've gone 2200 miles, and just recently had to put gas in it. I was going at least once a week in my Chrysler. I do miss certain driving aspects of the SRT-8. But I plan on getting a project to work on, hopefully a more track focused car that I don't have to worry about driving to work the next day.
 

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Here's a little reported factoid, many folks trade in uber performance cars for the Volt. Back in 2012 I traded our Jaguar XK in on our first Volt, then 18 months later I traded in my 2011 CTS-V in on our 2013 Volt.

Today I no longer think a loud obnoxious exhaust sounds sexy. Now all I hear is a lot of noise for someone driving through my sub division, or in town at 35-45 MPH. I'm no longer impressed.
 

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Christmas/freeway traffic....ugh. I hate it, but, ya know, in a regenerative electric car the stress level, at least for me, is greatly reduced. If I'm not running late, then going with the flow, no matter how slow.... and having XM Sirius entertaining is pretty neat.
 

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Congrats, your going to love it....I gave up a fast, modded police interceptor to drive my volt - In Canada fuel is 6.50 per gallon , im saving just under $400.00 per month..!! Only got 5k off a $40000 car though, but it's still saving me money......!!!!
 

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Discussion Starter · #11 ·
Here's a little reported factoid, many folks trade in uber performance cars for the Volt. Back in 2012 I traded our Jaguar XK in on our first Volt, then 18 months later I traded in my 2011 CTS-V in on our 2013 Volt.

Today I no longer think a loud obnoxious exhaust sounds sexy. Now all I hear is a lot of noise for someone driving through my sub division, or in town at 35-45 MPH. I'm no longer impressed.
Always wanted a CTS-V! Especially a manual wagon.

Congrats, your going to love it....I gave up a fast, modded police interceptor to drive my volt - In Canada fuel is 6.50 per gallon , im saving just under $400.00 per month..!! Only got 5k off a $40000 car though, but it's still saving me money......!!!!
I too had a P51... loved the bench seat and column shifter! LA cops hate civilians driving cop cars and after being pulled over a few times in the first year alone I had to get rid of it.

Thanks all for the support... I know I made the right decision. Just need something else now to work on and drive as a weekend toy.
 

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Congratulations on your new Volt! That's fantastic the deal you got. Guess I should have moved to CA. No state rebate or power company rebate here in Minnesota.

My muscle car days are long gone now . I once had a '69 Dodge SuperBee with a 383 Magnum, and my secret weapon, a 4.11 sure grip rear axle. Horrible on gas obviously. I sold the SuperBee fearing I would get myself killed street racing. I was young and foolish with that car.

Again congrats. I love the Heather grey too.
 

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I once had a '69 Dodge SuperBee with a 383 Magnum, and my secret weapon, a 4.11 sure grip rear axle. Horrible on gas obviously. I sold the SuperBee fearing I would get myself killed street racing. I was young and foolish with that car.
Very cool car. Growing up a neighbor had a '69 Plymouth Super Bird version with the huge wing on the back.
 
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