On its first road trip last week, from a Detroit
factory to consumers' garages near New York
City, the Chevrolet Volt made a lot of people
happy.
In Mitch Seaton's eyes, the Volt saved the
Detroit-Hamtramck plant where he and his wife,
Carmen, have worked for 13 years to support
their family of six. They never saw a plant more u
pbeat than when it started building the first
extended-range electric car -- a bit more than a
year after GM's plunge into bankruptcy.
By Monday, more than 300 Volts were lined up
proudly in the plant's parking lot -- just 4 miles
from Henry Ford's early Model T factory --
ready to show that Detroit remains a cradle of
cutting-edge automotive technology.
Five truck drivers loaded 45 snow-covered Volts
onto their carriers and began what trucker Eric
Norvell called "a cross-country race."
"I want the American car manufacturers to get
back on top," Norvell said after he reached
Gearhart Chevrolet in Denville, N.J., where
detailer Teddy Faura was ready. He hosed off the
Detroit snow and began preparing the nation's
first consumer Volt for its buyer.
That customer, Jeff Kaffee, 69, of Parsippany, N.
J., traded in a 2005 Toyota Prius for his Volt.
"I like buying American products," said Kaffee, a
Realtor who is a former pilot and a lover of
technology. "But frankly, up until recently, my
choices, I felt, weren't there."
Complete story:
http://www.freep.com/article/2010121...-a-head-turner
