Celebrating Chevrolet’s Plug-Ins and Advancements in Technology

We borrowed a Chevrolet Volt for the day to experience Maven and talk plug-ins with a group of owners.

We are living on the brink of what may be the biggest shift in transportation since the invention of the automobile. Manufacturers are moving to respond to a new generation of shoppers that have a growing interest in green technology and a declining interest in the traditional idea of vehicle ownership. GM has been at the forefront of this change with an array of plug-in vehicles like the Bolt EV and new car-sharing program called Maven. But how does all of this new technology work in real-world scenarios? Do these early efforts bode well for the future of the automotive industry?

Chevrolet Forum was recently invited to a gathering of Chevy plug-in owners to help celebrate a successful first year on the market for the revolutionary Chevrolet Bolt. In order to blend in with the crowd and fully experience GM’s latest efforts in alternative transportation, we utilized the Maven application to borrow a Chevrolet Volt for the morning.

Dude, Where’s My Car?

The concept seems simple enough: Browse the Maven app and find an available GM vehicle to reserve for a few hours or even an entire day. The vehicles are conveniently located in urban areas near college campuses and hubs for public transportation. We rode the train to the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles and walked a couple blocks to find our Volt in a parking garage.

With the Maven app, your phone becomes the key and you effortlessly walk up to the car and take off. Watch our video below to see how easy it was to grab the Chevrolet Volt from Maven and continue on to our event.

Plugging In and Driving Off

The Chevrolet Volt from Maven included everything we needed for our day trip, including both Android and iPhone chargers along with a Maven credit card that we used to top off the car with gasoline. We plugged in our phone to the Android Auto interface to navigate across town to the event, all the while listening to our own music. We acclimated to the Volt in the first 10 minutes of our drive, and the car felt less like a rental and more akin to our personal vehicle.

As we entered the parking garage for the Chevy plug-in owners event we were queued up in a row alongside other Volts, a Chevy Spark EV, and a myriad of Bolt EVs. We walked around the crowd and spoke to a variety of Chevy plug-in owners to learn more about their car and their experiences as owners. There was a retired couple who simply wanted a gas-free car for around town and found their Volt to be a blast to drive. Another owner needed an efficient car for his 80-mile commute and even customized his Bolt with a 10-inch subwoofer and an upgraded stereo.

Embracing New Transportation Technology

Any preconceived notions regarding the age or social status of the typical EV buyer were smashed as we met and talked with a wide variety of happy owners. However, EV ownership does require a slight change in mindset, as one owner excitedly told us about the various charging stations he has discovered around town to keep the battery charged. But each Bolt, Volt, and Spark EV owner talked positively about the adventures of owning a plug-in vehicle and becoming an early adopter of this new technology.

Bolt owner, Peter Yu, remarked: “I’ve had the Bolt for about nine months now. I live in Orange County but I work in San Diego and it’s been great commuting back and forth with the long range. I love the car – it’s a great, smooth ride. The Lane Keep Assist is amazing, the Apple CarPlay/Android Auto work seamlessly with everything, so it’s just been a great experience so far.”

We acclimated to the Volt in the first 10 minutes of our drive, and the car felt less like a rental and more akin to our personal vehicle.

The entire trip and event with Chevrolet helped us realize just how simple adaptation to new transportation technology has become. The fear of electric range issues was quelled with the introduction of the 238-mile range Chevrolet Bolt. In addition, Maven has made it easy for those without a car to freely move about the city and utilize different GM vehicles for whatever they may need that day. Watch the video below to hear more of our thoughts. We challenge you to talk with a Chevrolet plug-in owner and even try out one for yourself. We hear there might even be an app named Maven for that!

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