Educate, educate, educate...then educate some more

I'm a firm believer in the idea that if you want people to adopt EVs you have got to get out there and show those EVs in the wild, not some show room or fancy press event, and make sure you have actual drivers doing the talking (with their cars and not just one) not a test driver or engineer from the manufacturer.  Fancy flash work and test drivers are cool on a closed course or environment but as soon as the audience goes home the interest fades and they go back to thinking ICE thoughts 

We have to get people to think - "Wow, he drives it everyday, he takes his family in it, he did over 15,000 miles in one year and he is having fun.  He used to drive a gas car and he does not want to go back, I want to know more".

Showing off our cars is easy, just driving around is not enough, you need an audience, how?  Easier than you think.  There are tons of free car shows that you can call up or just appear at and they will let you in.  I find it most effective to go to all ICE shows, they really like EVs and you will be the center of attention.  Another very effective way to show off your EV is to ask schools if you could demo your car, I have never been turned down by a school.  They love these cars, especially as most have 'green days', and they totally get it.  It is a lot of fun for you as well.  The kids have great questions, especially when you tell them EVs are fast and fun.  After all, they very well could be future EV drivers.  I've shown mine to pre-schools up to Colleges.  You may be surprised how 3 year olds totally get what EVs are about.  Best comment I've received so far from a pre-schooler was the car does not stink since there is no pipe in the back.  He was 100% correct.

I'm just tossing a few photos up here (there are many more) to give you an idea of all the types of educating you can do with EVs....it is a lot of fun and it really works.  Want to get involved?  Message me or join one of our facebook groups to keep up to date.

New Jersey Electric Auto Association (NJEAA)
BMW ActiveE Group

Showing EVs at Kimberly Clark School in Montclair

Demonstrating the ActiveE to Mount Olive High School Physics Class

Presentation at Pershing to 'Going Green' employees

Pershing 'Going Green' corporate event

Just pulled in and they found a spot for me

Cars and Croissants - Chatham NJ

Demonstrating the ActiveE to pre-schoolers

Demonstrating the Benefits of EVs at Bergen College teen STEM day

Kids love to plug EVs in - would you do this with a gas car?

People love to see EVs in action - Princeton Airport

Green Day at Princeton airport

People walk away seriously considering an EV....but, and this is to those manufacturers...we drivers plant the seeds but we need to keep it going and we can't do that without your support.  We are your biggest marketing asset.

Free charger update...Kudos to Coulomb

As some of you have read before I was awarded a free charger from Coulomb Technologies, I had the onsite inspection and was then awarded a fat estimate to install it - or more accurately'swap' the new charger for what I have now which is a Clipper Creek unit from my MiniE days. This was a 3rd party installer contracted by Coulomb which has now just begun to hear about these high install estimates - I'm not the only one.

All is not lost, I got an email and then later a call from Coulomb saying they were aware of my concerns and are looking into another option. How did they find out, they responded to post I left on the Facebook group...so kudos to Coulomb for being proactive and reaching out to me.

Even if they are unable to make the install more attractive, I sure do hope they can, to me they did the right thing by contacting me and letting me know they were aware of the situation. Worst case I stick with my Clipper Creek.

It's just a swap...right?

I've been waiting to see what being awarded a free charger from Coulomb Technologies really means...I think it means 'sit tight it's free and we are still working this out'.

After being awarded the charger emailed my contact at Coulomb a couple times asking questions about install and other details about their network...no reply. I did get an email from a home inspector, not an installer as best I can tell, and I asked him what other costs are there if any, since all I was doing was swapping out my old Clipper Creek box from my MiniE days. He did not know....I'm still waiting for the initial inspection.

The problem is my ActiveE is about to arrive and I need a charger...fortunately I have the upgrade kit for my Clipper Creek box, cost $400, and if if this free charger from Coulomb costs less with install than the Clipper Creek upgrade kit, and the Coulomb has a warranty plus free software updates it is the better deal....right...maybe. My fear is once they finally tell me there is indeed an install cost (I've read $500 or more) it will be higher than the Clipper Creek kit and I will have missed some quality drive time with my ActiveE sipping from the 110.

I'm beginning to wonder.

Free charger...maybe

So I was just awarded a charger from ChargePoint America which is sponsored by Coulomb Technologies. Very cool but what that means I'm still unclear about. Is the charger free and installation extra or are both free...too soon to tell. I will be getting a call from an installer and I'm sure I'll find out then.

What I'm most interested in is free access to their expanding charge station network...my understanding is that I may have free access until 2013 but again those details still need to be confirmed.

Either way, it is great to see an infrastructure starting to be built for EVs, free or not, it is a great time to be on the cutting edge.