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.

4,000 on the cheap

4,000 miles at a cost way less than gasoline....are these cars some of the best kept secrets in transportation...yes.

I'm not a scientist but I do know enough to understand when I'm saving money, let's look at what I'm getting at.

I just reached 4,000 miles in my ActiveE, all on electricity of course.  My previous car got a real world average MPG of 22.  That is what I got by simply dividing the gallons I took when filling up into the miles driven each time I filled the tank.  Gasoline cost around $3.70 per gallon by me - cheap for gas.  So I divide 22MPG into 4,000 and I get 181.9 gallons which I multiply by $3.70 and get $673.03 - that is pretty much what it cost me in gas to drive 4,000 miles in my previous car and this is in about 75 days.

Now lets look at the ActiveE - the average cost to go 100 miles in an EV is around $5 in electricity, but I'm Northeast and we get hammered with our rates so I'll bump that to $7 of electricity to go 100 miles.  Again I do the simple math of dividing 100 by 4000 and I get 40 and then multiply that by $7 = $280.

Lets see, gas powered = $673 and electric powered = $280.   My insurance is the same and leasing the ActiveE is about the same as the other cars I lease but the EV adds a few more unseen cost savings...no tune-ups.  That's right, none.  Yes, BMW covers maintenance anyway but that runs out after some time and BMW might remove that one day, Mercedes did.  We all know how much regular maintenance can cost....so the ActiveE, as luxury cars go, is pretty reasonable for me.  I'm not one to pay attention to what a car costs me because I focus on the 'fun' a car brings me.  The ActiveE brings me 3 benefits, it is fun, it is economical and it is clean.

Lastly, I'm seriously enjoying the car and so is my family.