Halfway intellectual post with no mention of the W-word

I was reading this article on CNN today and I thought it was interesting. Not the plug-in car or that NASCAR is considering it, but that this is such a weird position to be in for Chevy’s PR department. The Volt is a pretty cool thing—an all-electric car for a traditionally hyper-American brand that reveres gas-guzzling vehicles as a symbol of power.

Side note: Volt is a cool name for the first all-electric car. But what about when you make more? Are they all going to be electricity-related? The Shock, the Zap? Or do a tribute to Ben Franklin—Lightning, the Chevy Key. Oh, well.

So now they have a chance to reach out to a new, eco-conscious consumer set, with the risk of alienating uber-patriots who think the green movement is political mumbo-jumbo. But the fact that Chevy can market this as a vehicle to reduce dependence on foreign oil is a great opportunity to get people on board to the green movement without trying to change their political beliefs (which so far in any save-the-earth campaign hasn’t seemed possible). I think the notion that presenting the Volt as a patriotic car will turn off more environmentally friendly people is a little far-fetched. I mean, the car will reduce dependence on all oil and decrease pollution. Small tangent that is another post for another time, but making environmental issues political movement is a little ridiculous. We all live on the planet; we should all take care of it. Regardless of where you stand on global warming or going green or the like, reducing our impact on the planet and preserving it for the future is never a bad thing.

Anyway, Chevy has the unique opportunity to create a wide-spanning campaign that can reach multiple sects of society. Or will they pick one—try to change its consumer base, leaving traditional customers to switch to its nemesis, or try to change its existing customer base’s mindset to make them actually care about the planet? I can’t wait to see the campaign for this car.