Volt

Make
Chevrolet
Segment
Hatchback

For people like Mark Hildebrandt, clean energy has been a longtime interest. In fact, he turned it into a career. He owns a company that installs solar panels and now he has turned his attention to using that solar energy to help charge his Chevy Volt. As being one of the first Volt buyers in his home state of Michigan, Hildebrandt believes "the demand for solar charging stations will increase...and powers his house, charges his Volt, and pumps energy back into the grid."

He's not alone in this belief. ZD Wines' winemaster and CEO, Robert deLeuze, has run his Napa, California winery exclusively on solar power since 2007. And now, his Volt is also a part of this solar power operation. He claims that "solar power generation makes sense, and I think the Volt will help generate more interest in home installations...the Volt was a driving factor in installing a solar photovoltaic system in my house." In fact, the Detroit-Hamtramck Volt assembly plant has been using sunlight to charge Volts before they're sent to dealerships.

So is the Volt the answer to all problems under the sun? No, but it's interesting to see how some owners are innovating on their own to avoid plugging into the typical electrical socket to charge their Volts.

Read more about Chevy Volt from our review.