This post is part of a blog series on electric vehicles. See more posts from the series here. SACE Clean Fuels Director, Anne Blair, contributed to this post.
Last weekend was National Plug In Day. About 100 events throughout the U.S. (plus three in Canada and one in the Netherlands) took place to celebrate electric vehicles (EV). EV drivers gathered to share fellowship and show their rides off to curious event-goers. We had 20 events in the Southeast and SACE was fortunate enough to be able to attend two of them–in Atlanta and Charleston.
In Atlanta, we attended the event held at Atlantic Station. Some 70-100 EVs were on display (there were so many, it was hard to get a clear count!). Hundreds of people in the area had the chance to see the range of opportunities for EV drivers and hear firsthand from the car owners about their experience. While the Chevy Volts, Ford C-Max Energi, and Nissan LEAFs were popular among attendees, the Teslas, not surprisingly, were the biggest attraction. Other interesting highlights were older vehicles that their owners converted to electric.
The Charleston gathering brought together the owners of nine local electric vehicles under the shadow of the beautiful Ravenel bridge. There were five LEAFs, three Tesla Model Ss, and one electrified racing motorcycle courtesy of Juiced Racing Team. The bridge provided an excellent setting for giving people the opportunity to test drive the cars and personally experience electric cars as they crossed the Cooper River on a picture perfect day. I was personally impressed that even though I have seen the Model S in person a few times and have even gotten to drive one, I always walk away having learned something new about them. This time, I was particularly impressed with the huge Google Map capability on the touch screen for navigating city streets and the variable-level suspension for optimizing aerodynamics. I can’t say enough good things about the Model S.
All the vehicle owners were happy to talk with event attendees and share information about what it’s like to own an electric vehicle. The take-home report was that they were unanimously thrilled with the performance and reliability of their cars and were so glad to have bought them.
If you weren’t able to join your local Plug In Day event, fret not. You can see photos of the action on the Plug In Day Facebook page, SACE’s Flickr page, and Lowcountry Plugin Drivers’ Facebook Page. and can head to your local Nissan, Ford, Tesla, Mitsubishi, or other preferred EV maker for a test drive.