(November 19, 2012) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Chevy Volt owners often find themselves thrust into a political tug-of-war over their choice of vehicle, reports Edmunds.com. And while every Volt owner has his or her own story about spontaneous arguments over the car with friends and strangers alike, it's when passions boil over that things can get scary.

"Some have reported acts of vandalism, like slashed tires or expletives on the windshield," says Edmunds.com Community Manager Mark Holthoff, who sought out and spoke with several Volt owners. "One even found himself being intentionally run off the road."

But those are extreme examples of the blowback, and Edmunds.com found that Volt owners are especially proud of their cars.

"Pretty much all of the Volt's critics are people who have never been near one," says one Volt owner. "My mother-in-law's first reaction [to the Volt] was to prohibit me from plugging it in at her house. But she has come around."

"I was at a stoplight next to another Volt driver," says another owner, "and we both rolled our windows down and chatted for a few seconds about how much we love our cars and what our mileage was."

The Volt has been a political football since even before the first models rolled off the assembly line, but it's especially been under the microscope in this most recent election cycle. Liberals hold up the car as an example for building better green technology and a resurgent American auto industry. Conservatives, meanwhile, point to the car as a symbol of wasteful government spending.

What may shock folks on both sides of the aisle, though, is who is making the move to the Volt. While Edmunds.com found that a likely suspect — the Toyota Prius — has been the model most often traded in for a Volt this year, the next two models on that list are surprising: the BMW 3 Series, a sporty European car, and the Chevrolet Silverado, a full-size pickup.

Read more about how Chevy Volt owners are dealing with the politicization of their cars on Edmunds.com.