Retired Airline Pilot Takes Delivery of First Chevy Volt

A retired airline pilot Jeffrey Kaffee is the nation’s first owner of GM’s much-anticipated Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle with extended range capability.

As part of the deal, Kaffee traded in his 2005 Toyota Prius at Gearhart Chevrolet dealership in Denville, New Jersey to get the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

Sixty-nine-year-old Jeffrey Kaffee is one of 360 customers who will receive Chevrolet Volts this week. Others Volts were delivered to Chevrolet dealers in the Washington, D.C., area and are en route to California and Austin, Texas.

The heart of the Chevrolet Volt is its Voltec electric propulsion system, which combines battery-only electric driving with an efficient, gas-powered engine giving the Volt up to 379 total miles of driving before having to recharge the battery or fill up the small gas tank.

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt gets an EPA estimated 93 miles per ’gallon-equivalent’ when driving under electric power only, 37 mpg when in gasoline mode and over the long term it is estimated to get 60 miles per gallon in combined gasoline-powered and electric-powered driving.

The Chevy Volt goes has a sticker price of $41,000 (including a $720 destination charge). Including the $7,500 federal tax credit for which the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will be fully eligible, the consumer’s after-tax net value of the vehicle will be $33.500. GM is also offering a leasing option for the Chevrolet Volt available on a 36-month term which will set you back $350/month with an initial payment of $2,500.