The current 2015 Chevrolet Volt, now in its fifth year, will be the last of its generation before a revised and updated 2016 Volt is unveiled next January and goes on sale later in the year.
But GM's first range-extended electric car turns out to have logged another minor distinction in its list of firsts:
The Chevy Volt is, thus far, the sole vehicle in the entire current GM lineup that hasn't been recalled for safety reasons during the last seven months.
DON'T MISS: All Green Car Reports news about the Chevrolet Volt
This distinction was uncovered by reporter Nick Bunkley, in a perspective piece for trade journal Automotive News.
It comes amid regular announcements of new safety recalls of GM vehicles that have become so numerous the company resorted to issuing an infographic to explain them all--and then promptly recalled some more not listed on that slide.
2014 Chevrolet Volt - IIHS small front overlap crash test
He looked at why GM is continuing with the Volt and its range-extended electric powertrain despite lower-than-expected sales, political uproar, and generalized dislike for electric cars by portions of the political spectrum.
The answer can fairly be summarize as: Because GM believes it's the future, and it will give the company a technology edge and a leg up to meeting tough corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards between now and 2025.
The Volt has other distinctions: It brings Chevrolet more "conquest" buyers from other brands (about 70 percent, Chevy says) than other vehicles, and it has the highest customer-satisfaction scores ever recorded by any GM vehicle in history.
It was also deemed a Top Safety Pick+ based on new and tougher crash-safety tests by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS).
ALSO SEE: 2016 Chevy Volt Coming: A Look Back At GM's Range-Extended Electric Car (News Video)
So Volt owners can take legitimately take pride in the design and build quality of their range-extended electric cars.Some may even want to point out to friends that their car hasn't been recalled this year--unlike tens of millions of Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevrolets, Chryslers, Dodges, Fords, GMCs, Hondas, Lexuses, Pontiacs, Rams, Saturns, Toyotas, and many more makes.
That said, GM may well issue further recalls, as it has done every few weeks this year.
Perhaps the bragging is better saved until, say, December 15. Just in case.
_______________________________________________
