I am not in a Volt launch market, but I want the car sooner than it's coming to my city. So on Friday I placed a deposit with a dealer in a launch market, and when the time comes I will haul out there and drive my car (thus also neatly demonstrating the long range capability).

One concern, however, is that my Volt will then be far from a dealer that is able to fix any problems that come up. This is especially a concern since I'm likely to have one of the very first units, and there are bound to be some teething problems.

Now, I understand that someone would look at this and say "hey you made your choice to take that risk" and I shouldn't expect Chevy to support you. But there's another way to look at this: what if you bought the car in November and then took it on a long road trip out of state? If it breaks down, then what?

This morning I called the GM Volt info line and asked them about this scenario. To my great relief, they said that they will have dealers across the country trained for Volt service, even if they aren't in one of the 5 Volt launch markets. Restated, anywhere you go in the country one of the Chevy dealerships nearby will be able to do basic service on the Volt, in most cases well before they are selling the car themselves.

To be sure, not every dealership will be able to service a Volt, just as not every dealership will be selling the Volt. But it gives me some peace of mind that I won't be completely hanging out over the precipice until my market gets launched!

I thought you all would like to know.

I have a deposit down in Austin since the Volt won't come to the DFW area until April but like you I did some checking and there are multiple Volt Certified dealers in our area that will have all had service training completed prior to the first Volt being delivered anywhere in the US.