Hey all. I'm sure some of you remember me. I haven't posted here in a while. I don't drive much any more (letting my mom borrow the car for the time being, meanwhile I'm taking the train), so I haven't had a whole lot to say. I probably haven't been stopping by here as much as I should though. I have been working with Plug In America (http://www.pluginamerica.org), a nonprofit group working to bring electric cars back to the market. Plug In America is the organization featured in Who Killed The Electric Car?. Check out the website, there's a lot of great info on electric cars and plug in hybrids. There are petitions to sign, and contact information to tell automakers that you want to drive a car that plugs in. We are having a parade this saturday in Santa Monica, CA for those of you who are in the area and want to stop by to see 70+ electric cars.

Anyways, the reason for this thread. Repower America is part of Al Gore's we campaign. Their goal is to get 100% renewable electricity in the US in 10 years. You may have seen some of their other commercials. Last Saturday, they were shooting another commercial, which featured a mechanic working on my friend's 2002 RAV4 EV (which has virtually no range degredation; batteries are still perfect) in an auto shop of the future. In the background, there are other RAV4 EVs, a couple of plug-in Prii, a Tesla (not sure if they are going to use the shots w/ the Tesla; it's too flashy), a Plug In Escape, a couple of Zenn NEVs, and my Civic Hybrid. They actually contacted me and wanted to use my car. I think it's great that they didn't just fill the room w/ Prii (though they did have 3 of them) and they thought to use a Civic hybrid too. In one of the shots, my car is next to a charger, pretending to be plugged in (oh, how I wish this were possible).

Keep your eyes out for the commercial. It will be airing nationally in the US on the 20th and will also be on youtube and on repoweramerica.org.

I wanted to upload some pictures of the shoot, but I still can't upload pictures to GH. I've uploaded them to facebook and will link to them here...


Here's my car parked in front of the RAV. We had to get there at 6am... Still dark out.


A Zenn NEV (neighborhood electric vehicle). Only allowed to go 25mph in California, due to crash testing.


A PHEV Escape. This perticular one is the first PHEV ever to be made by a major auto manufacturer.


3 Toyota RAV4 EVs. The 2 in the back belong to the City of Santa Monica.


Under the hood of a RAV4 EV. Note the cool license plate put on there by repower america


My HCHII at the shoot


The Tesla that was at the shoot. This is not the production version, just a prototype so it looks a bit different.


Imagine if all mechanic shops looked like this...




If anyone has any questions on EVs or about Plug In America, please feel free to send me a PM. I am going to try to be a bit more active on GH too. I look forward to talking w/ everyone and meeting all the new people.

 

Great stuff, Thank you Colby. Wellcome back, Hal

 

It's good to see a message from "giantquesadilla"! I always got a kick out of that name.
I think it's great that you're taking the train to get around.
The work you are doing with Plug In America sounds very interesting. I will check out their website, and look forward to seeing the Repower America ad. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Welcome back.

Colby, do you have any idea how many of the RAV4 EVs are still in operation?

 

Cool stuff! I'll watch for the commercial. Of course it's not possible to plug in the HCH, but I'm looking forward to converting the MMH once my wife gets bored with it and wants a new car.

 

I'm not sure of the exact number of RAV4 EVs left on the road. We try to keep track, but it's hard since people sell them and owners transfer. The rough estimate is about 500, but it could be up to 800 or so.

Here are some specs on #s of EVs. The different numbers are from different people, since no one is 100% sure.

Electric Cars Produced:
EV-1: 1,135 (782 available for lease)/1,115/ 1,117/1,100
S10 Electric: 490/492/500
Ranger EV: 1,700/ 1,500 + 500 in USPS body
Think! City: 440/550
Epic: 50/351/120
RAV 4 EV: 1,300/1,249/1,369
E-Com: 30/ 15
Altra: 300/133/120/240/133
Hypermini: 50
EV Plus: 300/330/300/320
Chrysler TEVan: 2,000/ 30

How many still on the road:
EV-1: 0/ about a dozen in Michigan at GM/1 In Canada (Does not count deactivated EV1s in museums and universities)
S10 Electric: 76 (including 19 with US military)/40-50
Ranger EV: 200?/65/ 400
Think! City: 160
RAV4 EV: 400?/ 820
Altra: very few
EV Plus: 0/ one or more/a couple (I know these are still around; several people have told me they have seen one or two at LAX)
Chrysler TEVan: at least one

Kristian-
In the commercial they "plugged in" my civic, by putting an extension cord in the tailpipe. I plan to eventually convert my car to an EV or EREV (extended range EV, like the Chevy Volt). Of course, I would hate to trash the IMA system that's already in my car, so I hope I can just buy an EV in a few years. I'm signed up for the MINI E, but the MINI E's need a little more firmware work. They are all 100% manufactured though. BMW got twice the ZEV credits for building them in 2008, rather than 2009.


I just found an EV section of GH! Cool!

 

Well, I'm glad some of them escaped the "crusher". It seems that, given the chance, these vehicles can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. Thanks again for all the info.

 

The commercial aired today on CNN. Maybe some of you saw it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, it's available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-d8FWnd6Yo&fmt=18.
The movie star's my friend's Toyota RAV4 EV, but you can see my little white 2007 HCHII in the background of most of the shots.

 

Hey Colby,
I did indeed see the commercial several times today while watching the news. I noticed your white car in the background, and thought of you.

 

Good news dude!!!1Thanks for the post and please update much more in this topic. Hybrids in automobile is growing much more in America. They are in need of auto makers for the automobile industry. Really a great stuff!!!!

 

The only real issue I have with plug-in electric cars is that we still use coal and other fossil fuels to make that power. Granted, in SoCal we do have the Nuclear Station at San Onofre, it isn't nearly enough clean power down here. Before I'm ready to plug my HCHII into the wall I'll need to see a few more Clean Nuclear stations and Hydroelectric station.