100-Mile EV Rally
Sunday, 5/6/12
Greater Phoenix Area

"EVeryone completed the 100 Rally and we all learned a lot about our EVs, new people we meet and companies in the greater Phoenix area. Preliminary results show Garry (SolCharged) Cronwett in his 2011 LEAF got the best economy at 8.5 miles per KwH. So far this seems to beat even the lighter MiEV's and Smart-ED. Data that will be checked by ECOtality with their smart networked BLINKS will confirm the data. Only 1 EVSE seemed to have a problem and it was reported at Kohls. We met a lot of people in the area that had never seen an EV charge or talked with their owners. Thanks to all our drivers and volunteers for taking the time to talk with EVeryone." - Jim Stack


Photos are courtesy of Jim Stack



"I posted this "report" about our First Annual 100 Mile EV Rally on some blogs:

Sunday we had the First Annual 100 Mile EV Rally! We had over thirty people attend (remember even the Super Bowl had an inauspicious beginning) and participate with their cars. Some people rode along, I got to be "navigator" in a Tesla roadster. We had four Tesla Roadsters.

One couple actually won their Tesla in a contest!! Everyone was shocked and jealous of their amazing lucky prize. The said they both submitted an entry in the contest every day for three months!! That is a common practice in contest followers, and you can even get magazines that list contests all over the US. Some people make a habit of entering as many contests as possible...and some are regular winners. The magazines feature articles on people who successfully fish the contests and make regular strikes! A strike is a fishing term, when you manipulate the line & lure with sufficient expertise to get a fish to "strike" and take the bait. Bowlers also want strikes, but baseball players don't!! Funny how we humans can affix so many different meanings to the same word.

The car I navigated wound up at 105 miles....some of the chargers were hard to find, even with GPS like directions from www.plugshare.com or Ecotality. Parking lots (especially in America) were quite large at several of the major locations, such as the Football Stadium, the Botanical Gardens, a couple Super Malls, and even in quaint "old town" community spots. We drove around a while before finding them sometimes. One of the participants is an engineer for www.GoE3.com, so it was good for the company to participate and see the practical side. Adding signage will help people find chargers in the future.

Our 100 Mile EV Rally instructions included requirements for participants to go into some of the businesses to retrieve information, and to encourage EV drivers to patronize the businesses whose owners have a vision for a cleaner future and installed the rechargers. We had lunch at a quaint Root Beer brewery with hand made ice cream!! One of the best floats I've ever had!! Our Tesla didn't need a recharge, but other people with shorter mileage battery packs did recharge along the route, such as the Smart EV (now priced well under $20K) and the Mitsubishi MiEV's. We had 2 MiEV's provided by a local dealer, one of our EAA enthusiasts got to drive one, and a sales manager drove the other one. We also had several Leafs in the Rally. Some drivers chose to recharge, some didn't...there is a "novelty" side to being able to drive your EV to a destination and "plug-in" when you get there. All the recharges were FREE!! The businesses are providing the free recharge stations to encourage patronage, and our members and their guests certainly responded.

We did not have any conversion vehicles in attendance, we don't know why, we do know several of the members converted vehicles have well over 100 miles range, but for whatever reason, none of them attended this first event. BUT, it was such a fun day, a great finish with about 17 people at dinner and such good camaraderie, that we are confident it will be even better next year. We will also have more time to advertise and prepare an even better route and itinerary.

One stop in particular was inspiring, the instructions required some reading at our Desert Botanical Garden.

Core Values
Stewardship: To protect and preserve desert plants, animals , and habitats.
Interdependence: To respect the mutual destinies that link people, plants, and all of nature.
Authenticity: to reflect our unique natural heritage and cultural history within a public garden setting.
Accountability: To act ethically and responsibly as we serve our many communities.

Their assessment that EV's will help achieve these core values is what led to there being recharging stations at the Desert Garden.

It was a Great First Annual 100 Mile EV Rally!! Photos will be posted at www.phoenixeaa.com in a couple days." - Don Eyermann