The Chevy Volt Test Drive Team Visits Mountain View Grand

Mountain View played host on Oct. 4 to five media teams from across the United States spending a week in New England test-driving the new Chevrolet Volt, an award-winning extended-range electric vehicle new from General Motors. After landing in Burlington, Vt. to begin the journey, the five drivers headed to Stowe, Vt., stayed at Topnotch Resort and Spa, then charged their batteries before turning east to Mountain View Grand, where they charged up again and spent the night. Garry Sowerby, Lisa Calvi and Peter Schlay represented Odyssey International in organizing the event on behalf of Chevrolet’s Director of Communications Rob Peterson. 
They all joined journalists from Dvice, Electronista, Left Lane, Women’s Adventure Magazine, and TechnoBuffalo in driving their Volts to their final stop at the Bar Harbor Inn on the coast of Maine. 

All were equipped with complimentary Olympus cameras to record the trip.The Chevy Volt operates as an electric car for its first 40 miles after a full charge, then uses regular gasoline to extend its range. It burns no gasoline during the first 40 miles after a charge, drawing energy from a lithium ion battery pack. When the battery is depleted, a 1.4-liter engine kicks in to power a generator that sustains the battery charge enough to give the car another 260 miles of range.In recommending the Volt, Consumer Reports noted the vehicle’s “quick and quiet acceleration, very low running costs and the equivalent of 99 miles per gallon overall.” 

Dubbed by the media as the “Indiana Jones of adventure driving,” Garry Sowerby has made a career out of personal challenge and high adventure by embarking on the longest drives on the face
of the planet and completing them in incredible record-breaking times, earning him four Guinness Book records. His popular “Road Less Traveled” weekly feature is carried in many American and Canadian newspapers.
The Environmental Protection Agency termed the Volt the most fuel-efficient compact car sold.

Below, the Chevrolet Volt test-drive team gets ready to head out to the Mount Washington Auto Road.  From left, Peter Schlay and Lisa Calvi of Odyssey Intl., Shawn McGraff and Rebecca Heaton of Women's Adventure Magazine, Rob Peterson, GM Director of Communications, and Gary Sowerby, of Odyssey Intl.