I built a demonstration EV for the University of Michigan transportation department in 1995. Since this was a fleet vehicle, there were many opportunities to observe peoples' reactions.

One thing that kept coming up was that when you would step out of the car, you would get a little spark every time. Now, the same thing happens on many cars with low rolling resistance tires. However, on an EV, it causes a surprising amount of fear. People don't want to die and are afraid of the unknown.

It is much better to lose a little bit in efficiency than to make people afraid to drive an EV. If you are going to choose low rolling resistance tires, be sure to take resistivity into account.

Maybe the Chevy Volt can drag a wire or chain to trickle off the static charge? I've seen that in a lot of forklifts, powered-dollies, etc.

Another way to get rid of static is to make the seat covers conductive. That way, when you put your foot on the ground, with your seat still in the seat, any spark happens at your shoe, which is much less noticable than when you subsequently reach for the metal door.