I took my 2017 Chevrolet Volt Premier (“Lightning’s Girl”) for its New York State inspection. Naturally, everything passed with perfection. Because of course it did.
Wow. I still can’t believe it’s been a year of hybrid electric vehicle ownership. A year of changing my driving patterns and expectations for a car like this.
Understanding the difference between “normal mode” – running electric only – and “hold mode” – running full gasoline, and the combinations of “sport mode” and “mountain mode” which also balance out electric and internal combustion engine use.
Understanding the quietness of this car. I can hear the road under my tires. I can hear the wind against the windshield. And it’s peaceful. I need a peaceful car in my life.
Understanding that even with 93 octane in this car, I’m barely dinging my wallet because the car sips gasoline like a teetotaler at a temperance event.
Understanding the joy of finding free charging stations all over the Capital District, and finding myself patronizing those locations more and more often (Honest Weight Co-Op rather than Price Chopper for groceries, Saratoga Casino versus Rivers Casino, etc.). Yep, ChargePoint is your friend.
And long trips. I mean, getting the car itself was a long trip – I had to pick it up in Whitesboro, just outside of Utica. And after that … road trips to Syracuse (for the NBL-TBL All-Star Game in April 2022), to Baldwinsville for the lunar eclipse, to the Springfield-Durham double dip during Competition Season, and my first trip to Canada in nearly six years to chase the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train. I’ve put 13,000 miles of my own on Lightning’s Girl.
You know what? Sometimes it’s just a good feeling to own a car and know that it will work for you every single time. No worries about this or that. And a PZED warranty (transferable from its previous owner to me) that covers almost anything on the vehicle.
Yeah. I’m good with that.
So where will my next adventures with Lightning’s Girl take me?
Don’t know.
But I’d sure like to find out. 😀
Chuck The Writer 
I told you: one of the best vehicles GM ever built. So naturally they stopped building it.
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