As of today, winter solstice 2012, I have been driving electric vehicles for ten straight years and generating the electricity for them from sunlight. When Zan and I bought that RAV4 EV we had no idea how it would change our lives, but change them it did.
The RAV was an incredible SUV. When I sold it to an engineer in San Francisco last year, it had 91,000 miles on the odometer and was still getting a full 120 miles to a charge. It ran exactly the same as the day we bought it. I understand it is still running fine, although the range is starting to fade. Not bad for a decade old car!
Zan (my former wife and current friend) and I taking delivery of our RAV ten years ago today! My “chemo hair” is evidence of the cancer that started me on this amazing journey.
I leased one of the very first LEAFs in January 2011 and recently traded it in for a 2012 model. I also sold my wonderful Vectrix electric scooter, the first one in southern California to a friend in Eugene, OR. I replaced it with a fantastic Zero ZF9 electric motorcycle. After so many years driving the only EV I could get my hands on, I find myself upgrading to better EVs with alarming regularity. I guess that’s what happens when one is presented with multiple good choices.
While we EV enthusiasts will always be impatient until the adoption rate reaches the point we know it ultimately will, these early days of the new market give us much to celebrate, like having any plug-in car available to buy at all. It wasn’t that long ago that the fight was over keeping the 5,000 ZEV mandate cars from being crushed. Only some 1,000 were saved and they are pretty much all still running fine a decade later.
We have over 50,000 plug-in cars on U.S. roads today, up from about 3,000 just two years ago. There are at least 12 plug-in models available for purchase or lease today, and this time next year, there will be close to 20.
This is great progress and something to cheer as we head toward the new year.
Plug In America is to be commended for its part in making this happen. I hope many of you consider this when deciding where to contribute your year end non-profit giving.
Paul Scott
Plug In America Founding Member
