The Chevrolet Volt – the electric vehicle with extended range – is one of the most important vehicles produced by General Motors in its 100 year history, as it demonstrates both innovative technology and the company’s shift to more environmentally-friendly transportation. To engage and educate the public, Chevrolet created ChevroletVoltAge.com, a social network for the Chevrolet Volt and the electrification of the automobile. With a focus on transparency, dialogue and engaging content, Chevrolet VoltAge enhanced other branded social channels, showcased the development of the vehicle, served as an educational resource for casual consumers and armed electric vehicle and Volt advocates with the information and ability to generate word of mouth buzz for the car’s launch in November 2010. The program turned a car that started the year shrouded in questions into a multi-time winner of Car of the Year.

Chevrolet created ChevroletVoltAge.com a social network dedicated to conversation around the Chevrolet Volt and the electrification of the automobile. The site houses all Volt content, including original videos, photos, blog posts and educational materials. It also has an interactive forums section, where members of the Volt team are able to communicate directly with customers and EV enthusiasts. The content touches on topics such as manufacturing, vehicle testing and Volt events happening around the country. The site is linked with Chevrolet.com, the Chevrolet Volt Facebook page and the Chevrolet Volt Twitter account to share content and connect with consumers across platforms.In October and November, ChevroletVoltAge.com served as a social hub for Volt Unplugged, a 12-city cross-country tour with a fleet of Volts that engaged consumers and media through test-drives and subject matter experts. The social tactics included Posterous updates and an interactive mosaic that captured actual vehicle reviews from consumers.

The online buzz for the vehicle drove support and interest that ultimately resulted in numerous awards for the vehicle, including 2011 North American Car of the Year, 2011 Motor Trend Car of the Year, 2011 AUTOMOBILE Magazine Automobile of the Year and many more.Since the site launched in July 2009 until the end of 2010, ChevroletVoltAge.com has generated:• More than 1,100,000 organic video views and counting• 3,700 registered members• 550,000 site visits• 1,800,000 page viewsVolt Unplugged generated:• 6,348 participating consumers in ride-and drive activities• 11,128 visits to Volt Unplugged tab on ChevroletVoltAge.com• 86,011 page views for Posterous content from tour• 1,366 pre-registered Volt drives through VoltAge.