National Plug In Day in Alameda

I had fun today in Alameda at the South Shore Shopping Center at the East Bay's National Plug In Day Event.  I talked to a lot of people and learned a lot, and hopefully passed on some of what I've learned.  I estimate that about 125 people attended the event plus about 25 - 30 people who brought electric vehicles to display.

Photo from today's event.  I hope to post more from other participants.

 

I counted two Volts (including ours), tow or three new plug-in Prius's, three Leafs, a Think, a new RAV 4, an old RAV 4, a Kewet, a Sparrow, several Yike Bikes, several electric motorcycles, at least four electric conversions, and a Tesla roadster.  I probably missed some cars since I was busy talking to people and offering test rides/drives.

 

Some thoughts from various conversations:

• Most people don't understand that the Volt is an Extended Range Electric Vehicle that always runs on the electric motor--powered by the batteries for the first 35-40 miles, and then by the generator
• The challenge for most people is up-front financing.  I need to learn more about the way that lease options work since that is the way most people are buying these cars.
• Most people do not know about PG&E's E9 electric rates for charging EVs (e.g. see my previous post dated May 22, 2012)  PG&E should be required to promote these rates.
• The tax subsidies for purchase of EVs and for installing charging equipment are very important at this early stage of EV adoption.

All in all I was very happy to see more EV models out this year than I saw last year at Krissy Field in San Francisco.  I enjoyed the day, and hope National Plug In Day continues to build in the future.

 

Good news for EVs from the White House

I was very happy to see the press release from the White House on March 7 promoting electric vehicles
See press release.

The key points that caught my eye were:

• Increasing the credit for EV buyers from $7,500, making it scalable up to $10,000;
• Reforming the credit to make it available at the point-of-sale by making it transferable to the dealer or financier, allowing consumers to benefit when they purchase a vehicle rather than when they file their taxes; and
• Removing the cap on the number of vehicles per manufacturer eligible for the credit and, instead, ramping down and eventually eliminating the credit at the end of the decade.

In addition, the "EV Everywhere" program includes $650 million in the 2013 budget to invest in breakthrough R&D for advanced batteries, electric drivetrain technologies, lightweight vehicle structures, and fast charging technology.

I didn't like the way the White House is promoting natural gas, since that is no way to solve global warming.  But on the whole, it's a good program.  It's light years away from the Republican presidential candidates who, incredibly, are stepping all over each other to see who can be the most backward on global warming, reducing oil imports, and cleaning the air.  Mitt Romney once said, "The Volt is an idea who's time has not come."  I think of him as being like the people who derided the first automobiles by saying, "Get a horse" or those who laughed at the first steamboat, calling it "Fulton's folly."  At least we have a President who understands that we need to move into the future.