Today, September 20, 2014, was time for the annual electric
car rally put on by the Electric Automobile Association on Silicon Valley. I had been looking forward to this event for
weeks, as it’s my one chance to geek out and see what’s new in EV’s this
year. I had an opportunity to sit in a
new Kia Soul electric and to test drive a Fiat 500e. I found the Fiat to be a bit more “normal” feeling
than my Mitsubishi i‑MiEV, but I prefer the interior utility of my car. There was a converted Porsche convertible from
1958 which had a 60hp motor and lithium-ion batteries. I also spotted a guy standing on what amounts
to a motorized wheel. The device is
controlled via foot actions on the pedals upon which the rider rests. There were also several companies selling
infrastructure or apps related to charging electric vehicles. But my favorite exhibit remains the electric
bathtubs. These tiny fiberglass bathtub
shells, complete with spigots, are little electric cars (along the lines of
Barbie’s cars) that kids can drive around in a small coral. (I was told I could try one, but I was afraid
I wouldn’t be able to extract myself afterwards.)
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| Electric-powered bathtub cars for the kids |
Of course, all of these exhibits paled in comparison to the
main draw of the event. It would seem
that earlier this year the good citizens of Stuttgart, Germany, got together and
assembled a parade consisting of 481 battery electric vehicles (no gas engine hybrids)
and made their way into the book of world records. Earlier this week came word that Silicon
Valley was going to break that record.
With little notice, and even less marketing, we cobbled together a band
of hundreds of electric cars. Each car
was registered ahead of time and had to present credentials for driving on the
road. We all filled nearly two parking
lots at the community college where the event was held. There were low-flying drones capturing a
record of the event, and countless smartphones snapping pictures and videos. By the time I had arrived, most of the
drivers had filled the main parking lot and were overflowing into a
second. Finally came the call to start. I did some math and estimated that 500 cars
spaced 30-feet (front-to-front) would occupy about three miles. Sure enough, just before my section from the
parking lot departed, I could see the first cars arriving from the two-mile
loop. The official count for the parade
was 507 electric vehicles, breaking the Stuttgart record by 26. There was a loud cheer as the officials
announced the final tally.
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| The official world record plaque |
As I was stuck in traffic trying to pull into the parking
lot, and during the two-mile loop around the college, I could not help but
notice two things. First, electric cars
really are quiet. There was no droning
of gas engines idling, waiting to inch each car forward. There were no exhaust fumes from the other
cars either. If this is the traffic jam
of the future, I’m all for it. The
second thing I noticed was how well electric cars drive at slow speeds. My gasoline-powered car is a blast to drive
at highway speeds and through the mountains because of its manual
transmission. But creeping along at 4 to
6 MPH is a task that wears on your left foot and is anything but smooth. Likewise, the small rental car I drove last
week was jumpy off the start, lurching forward and unable to get going
smoothly. By contrast, the electric car gets
going and maintains these speeds easily, comfortably, and quietly. Again, driving in heavy traffic is best
enjoyed in an electric vehicle. I still
prefer the wide-open roads, but now I don’t object so much to congestion.
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| The parade of all-electric vehicles (including conversions) |
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