Plug In America

Linda Nicholes and Chris Paine get their Teslas - Oh Happy Day!

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

I couldn't help but wonder if Chris Paine, director of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" and Linda Nicholes, president of Plug In America, were humming that beautiful hymn, "Oh Happy Day" this afternoon. Both received their long awaited Tesla Roadsters in a three hour orgasmic EV fest.

The Tesla Roadster first appeared in public over 2 years ago in a hangar at the Santa Monica Airport. http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/20/tesla-roadster-unveiling-in-santa-monica/

The "Signature 100" were sold that day to people of means and of vision. Betting a cool $100K that this upstart company, conceived by Martin Eberhard and now run by Elon Musk, would deliver on its promise of the world's quickest car.

Today was delivery day.

PIA Fundraiser a Big Hit

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

What a busy weekend! Friday and Saturday, we had AltCar Expo here in Santa Monica at our Civic Center where once upon a time, they held the Oscars. For both days, we had record numbers of folks coming to see the latest and greatest in alt-fuel vehicles. The only viable vehicles were sporting electric drive systems. The hit of the show was the second public showing of the new Chevy Volt hot off the truck from its unveiling in Detroit last week. The coupling of the Volt next to the red EV1 from WKTEC was sweet.

Plug In America had hundreds of people at our booth and we talked non-stop for hours. Many were rather desperate for an EV, a big difference over last year when there was strong interest, but not what I would characterize as desperation. Four bucks a gallon'll do that to people. I explained my opinion about how fast the cars would come, a few hundred this year, a few thousand next, and then in 2010, the dam bursts with tens of thousands from several OEMs.

This mollified some, but others were still nervous.

The highlight of the weekend, however, was the big PIA fundraiser party Saturday night. We'd spent a nervous two weeks trying to get Chris Paine's house presentable since it was a major construction site and far from a good party venue. As we got closer, though, it took shape and by late Saturday afternoon, through the hard work of lots of great people, we had a cool party house.

Day 5 - Obama accepts his party's nomination - Are EVs with renewable energy around the corner?

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:36:00 -0400

It's now Saturday afternoon, some 40 hours after I saw Barack Obama accept the nomination to be my party's Presidential candidate....

I didn't get in till 1:30 a.m. on that historic night and had to leave for the 20-hour drive back to Santa Monica early the next morning, so I'm just now sitting down at the Mac to share this last day with you. However, the promise of a successful outcome in the November 4th election is still palpable. Colette, Cayenne and I talked almost non-stop while driving through four states of this magnificent country to get home.

When we woke up Thursday morning, we had no tickets to get in to Invesco Field, but not to worry. With both Colette and Nate Vanderschaaf on the case, within an hour, we have enough for the seven people in our group. Some of us walked the mile or so to the field, but Colette and Cayenne opted for one of the ubiquitous rickshaws and ended up getting in well ahead of us. By the time we got there, the line was over a mile long with dozens of busses continuing to drop off thousands more. Everyone was in a great mood however and I made good use of the time by interviewing the family behind us on their thoughts about EVs. The patriarch of the family was an attorney, and when I asked him to sign the release, he re-wrote the whole thing, crossing out and initialing all over the form. Good luck getting making the cut.

DNC Day 4 - We get inside!

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Today was a red letter day! Nate Vanderschaaf, PIA member and Obama delegate from Colorado, scored me a ticket to get inside the convention hall, so right this minute, I'm sitting in a private suite drinking a cold beer, OK, I'm on my second one, and getting a start on today's blog. There is no wi-fi in the building, so you won't get this till I get home later.

(Later)

We got a good start on the day by going to Coors Field, the local baseball stadium where Bobby Kennedy Jr. was to speak again.

DNC Day 3 - The Enviros flex their muscles

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:52:00 -0400

I wish I'd brought cooler clothes. I have all these long sleeve shirts and haven't worn one yet. Man it's hot.

The ride and drives continue, but we're spending most of our time now seeking interviews with anyone who we think will have something interesting to say about EVs. As promised by Daryl Hannah's manager yesterday, we got her for a good 15 minutes after she talked at the Denver Civic Center. This was a new venue for us and rich with possibility. I was wondering where all the protestors were hanging, the ones who remind me of my days in Eugene. Well, we found them here and got some decent material, although Daryl's interview might be the only usable one since she was pretty good at articulating the issue. Of course, Chris Paine and his editor will be making the call as to what goes in the film. Sometimes the most articulate isn't the most interesting.

DNC Day 2 - Big Splash, Darryl Hannah on the Daily Show!

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:05:00 -0400

The Electric Vehicle Rolling Showcase was quieter today with the start of the actual DNC. We had a few takers for rides in the EVs, but started looking for opportunities away from that venue since the action seemed to be elsewhere.

The city seemed to have swelled considerably in the 24 hours since we arrived, and 16th Street in downtown Denver, a pedestrian oriented street several blocks long, was completely filled with roving groups of activists and protestors with a good number of delegates sprinkled among them. I was planning on taking the camera into that morass to get some great interviews, especially from the anti-gay group who were protesting Obama. I can only imagine their views on electric vehicles.

Before we could make that happen, however, we got a call from Obama delegate, and the organizer of the Electric Vehicle Rolling Showcase, Nate Vanderschaaf, asking us if we were available to pick up Daryl Hannah and assist her with a shoot for the Daily Show. Hell yes! Our only question was who would be the correspondent. Colette, Cayenne and I piled into one of the AC Propulsion eBoxes with Owen Emory behind the wheel and plied our way through the thick traffic silently and without polluting the Denver airshed.

(pics below the fold)

Photos Going to DNC

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:10:00 -0400

I wanted to get a few pics out before we head out to the convention for more test drives.

First pic is of Colette and three of the four Italian guys being interviewed from a distance (don't think the audio is going to work on that, but we got them close up, too).

Second is of "Meagan", a woman we met who was on her way to Chicago. We got some good quotes from her since she said he father drives an EV in upstate NY.

Third is lucky me with my two travel and production partners. (Note: my wife is completely cool with the arrangement:~)

(pics below the fold)