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Fellow Clean Car Supporter,

Let's Party!

It's with great pride that Plug In America announces its first formal fundraiser. Our invitation asking Tesla Chairman Elon Musk to speak at the event recently went out and Southern California members have received a Save the Date email. The date to save is Saturday, Sept. 27, immediately following the second day of AltCar Expo 2008 the annual alternative energy and transportation extravaganza in Santa Monica.

The party will be held in Southern California at the Culver City home of Chris Paine, director of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" who is now shooting a sequel, "Revenge of the Electric Car!"

Besides an appearance by Musk, and other goodies, such as Parducci wine from the first carbon neutral winery, highlights of the event will include a silent auction featuring such items as:

  • A Zero Motorcycles street bike
  • A week in a beautiful rental on the island of Hawaii
  • Four tickets to "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" with Green Room privileges and a guided tour of the CBS Television City facilities
  • Duffy Electric Boat Rides
  • Rides in one of our board member's newly delivered Tesla (providing the cars arrive in time)

Most of PIA's board members will, of course, be there to celebrate this auspicious step in our growth. We hope you will, too. Tickets are $75 minimum contribution, which includes a one-year PIA membership. RSVP and purchase tickets here.

If you'd like to donate an item to our silent auction or volunteer to help make our fundraiser a success, please step forward!

August 15 Deadline for More CARB Comments

In late July, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released more modifications to its ever-changing Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) regulation. Unfortunately, this current round continues to disappoint electric drive advocates. It adds unnecessary complexity instead of focusing on the goal of more plug-in cars on the road, sooner than later. Plug In America's formal comments on these changes will be submitted to CARB and posted on our web site on August 15th.

If you are compelled to see PIA's earlier public comments and speak up again, go to the "public comment" site of CARB and add your opinions by the Aug. 15 deadline. We need your voice!

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Click here to see past comments

EVs on CNN

With rising gasoline prices, alternatives to petroleum-fueled transportation are increasingly getting media attention. That has dovetailed well with PIA's ongoing effort to make the case publicly for EVs. CNN Technology reporter Miles O'Brien has been airing reports on how Americans are dealing with increasing gasoline prices, so board member Marc Geller wrote him suggesting a report on how electric car drivers are avoiding the squeeze.

CNN producers presently contacted Marc and quickly sent a crew to do an interview aboard Marc's RAV4 EV. The report aired on July 17, fittingly the day Al Gore went public with his ambitious plan for a 100 percent renewable electric grid within 10 years. You can view the video here on Marc's blog, Plugs and Cars.

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Portland Installs Chargers-and PIA is There

PIA board member Dan Davids attended the recent dedication of Portland General Electric's plug-in charge station. PGE says it is working with local businesses and governments to install a dozen stations throughout the area to develop the infrastructure needed to support plug-in vehicles. The utility hopes the move will help accelerate the adoption of PHEVs while providing current owners with more convenient plug-in options around town.

New PIA Podcast

PIA has posted a new audio interview.

In this piece, Darell Dickey, long-time electric car driver and self-proclaimed "EV nut," discusses how his daily routine changed when he switched from a gas-burner to a plug-in electric car. He highlights the many benefits of driving an EV, not all of them financial.

Liza Arrived

Liza Stoner, the intrepid 14-year-old plug-in supporter, delivered her petition on electric vehicles to Congress on July 21 after completing a 32-day, 1,500-mile bike ride with her mom, Amy, from Minneapolis to Washington. Liza met with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on the steps of the Capitol to deliver the petition urging Congress to authorize tax credits and incentives to encourage the manufacture of electric vehicles. Liza had gathered about 1,200 online names for the petition.

"I want to raise awareness for electric vehicles and try to get something started," Liza told a reporter with the Associated Press. "I want to let people know that the technology exists, and we could have electric cars - we just have to do something about it."

PIA, a sponsor of Liza's trip, congratulates Liza, Amy and proud papa, Jeff!

"It's the Batteries, Stupid"

"It's the batteries, stupid!"

Former CIA chief James Woolsey and former U.S. Labor Secretary George Shultz made that statement, invoking Bill Clinton's campaign slogan, three years ago to stress the benefits of electric drive today. Industry experts are finally stating that those batteries are ready for the road, and, like those in our ubiquitous cell phones, they're made of lithium.

Government, academic and industry representatives presented data backing this development at July's Plug In 2008 conference in San Jose. Contradicting CARB's two-year old expert panel report, which said that more research was still needed, it appears that we are "there." The current crop of battery designs meet performance objectives and cost and safety concerns are now old news.

Five major companies reported test results including recharge cycles in excess of 4,000 and calendar lives of 10 to 15 years. These numbers extrapolate to more than 150,000 driving miles per vehicle and dispel the safety bugaboo.

"Battery safety is simply a systems issue at this point," stated panel speaker Fritz Kalhammer, an independent consultant in energy technology.

Most enlightening were Kalhammer's calculations that fuel savings over the life of a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) life now exceed the added cost of batteries. For a PHEV 10 (with a 10-mile all-electric range), estimates are $3,823 vs. $3,000, for instance. For a PHEV 20, the difference is a similarly impressive: $5,779 vs. $4,500. These numbers don't include likely savings on vehicle maintenance, something that drivers of pure EVs already enjoy.

With all the good news, what's keeping the technology from appearing in your local showroom? Only the time required to construct battery factories and get production lines humming, which was generally estimated at two years.

Who will be first to market with automotive-sized batteries? The nod may go to those who have experience in turning out large quantities of quality batteries. Companies such as A123, which supplies batteries for power tools, and LG Chem, the world's largest maker of lithium batteries for laptops and cell phones, will certainly be in the running. Both are in competition to power the Chevy Volt, due in late 2009. Johnson Controls-Saft, whose officials spoke confidently of their progress at a recent PHEV conference in Washington, DC, was joined in San Jose by representatives with similarly positive reports from Altairnano and Canada's Electrovaya. All are in deals to supply batteries to carmakers.

To be sure, the horserace for better batteries is rounding the far turn with a bevy of worthy competitors. Plug-in hybrids will cross the line first with pure EVs in hot pursuit. All are riding on lithium. Woolsey and Shultz's proclamation is about to come alive.

RAV4 EV 100,000 Mile Club

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Mike Colburn first learned about EVs in the late 1990's while working with his employer's fleet at San Diego Gas & Electric. His favorite ride was a GM EV1 that the company occasionally made available to employees.

"I always asked fleet dispatch for an EV when I had to drive on company business," Mike told PIA. "The electric cars were smoother, quieter and cleaner than the gas burners. I tried my best to get on the waiting list for an EV1 at the local Saturn Dealer without success."

But just hours after RAV4 EVs became available to individuals for lease or purchase, Mike jumped at the chance to own one. "Ironically, the same week that I got my personal RAV4 EV, I sadly observed every single San Diego Gas & Electric RAV4 being loaded onto a transport heading out the gate, never to be seen again."

Indeed, Mike remains grateful to drive one of his own, noting that drivers were whining about the price of gas even back then. "I figure I've avoided buying and burning 5,000 gallons of stinky, toxic, expensive gasoline while also avoiding 100,000 pounds of CO2 emissions."

It's almost impossible to park the RAV in public without encountering interest from passers-by, Mike says, adding that a couple of children recently commented on his license plate, PLUGZIN. "The kids knew exactly what it meant and why it was a good thing."

Mike enthusiastically reports that he has noticed no discernable decrease in vehicle range. "I'll send an update at 150,000 miles."

Sincerely,
Linda Nicholes
Plug In America

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