NDEW 2018 was a great success! We kicked off the event at 10 am with City Councilwoman Mindy Gibson reading the proclamation signed by the Mayor Frank Cantino. Over 50 EVs of 14 unique models were on display, including electric conversions, plug-in hybrids, and all-electric vehicles. We had the NASA Lunar Rover on display to remind everyone that it was also an electric vehicle. Everyone appreciated the food trucks and the raffle prizes donated by the exhibitors. The weather was perfect if not a tad hot. We had plenty of pop up tents for everyone to hide from the sun while talking about EVs.

Special thanks to the City of Satellite Beach for hosting the event with us at the Schechter Center and of course the national sponsors Plug In America, Sierra Club, Electric Auto Association, and Nissan.

We would like to recognize and thank Boy Scouts Troop 772 who helped with the set-up and also our student volunteers who ran the registration tent.

Follow this link to see even more photos from the day:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FP8pyE7CW9LgERrU7

This year’s exhibitors included: (in alphabetical order)
BMW of Melbourne
Brevard Solar
Citizens Climate Lobby
Coastal Mitsubishi
Dusty Joe’s Smokin Eats
League of Women Voters
Nissan of Melbourne
Pipistrel Electric
Porsche of Melbourne
Rethink Energy
Satellite Beach Sustainability Department
Solar Energy Systems
Speedie Weenie
Tesla Orlando
Udder Delights

The 2014 event took place  in Melbourne, while 2015 and 2016 took place in Satellite Beach and this year we once again held our 2017 National Drive Electric Week event at the Schechter Center in Satellite Beach .  The big note from this event is that it was planned for the weekend right after hurricane Irma caused a lot of problems throughout Florida.  Due to the hurricane, we didn’t have quite as many electric vehicles show up that were registered but we were still amazed that we had 42 over the course of the day.  Some showed up early then left later on to do hurricane clean up, and others did some clean up early but still showed up later staying to the end.

Let’s just say it. We were blown away by the number of EV owners that volunteered their time to show their car and talk to attendees all about them and answer their questions this year.  We had plenty of owners that gave test rides and some owners let lucky attendees drive their EV around the block.  Everyone agreed that being able to not only see the cars and talk to the owners but  to actually go riding or driving in them really showed the attendees just how great EVs are. Current owners talked facts and figures letting attendees know that these vehicles are available and affordable convincing some that an EV could realistically be their next car.

We opened the event with a speech from Steve Osmer, vice mayor of Satellite Beach.  He kicked off the festivities by reading the official proclamation signed and sealed by the mayor. He  also took the time during his speech to say a few words about how this event lines up exactly with their environmental and green efforts brought forward by the city’s sustainability board.

Everyone loved the FREE raffle prizes that were donated by some of our very own Space Coast EV Drivers club members, Schneider Electric, and Nissan Leaf. The kids especially loved the Simon says game allowing them a chance to grab a few prizes while having some fun.

We had two food trucks out of the four that were registered to be there.  The hurricane made it hard to find generators and messed up the food supply for some of them.  Both the Coastal Kitchen and Good Moos food trucks sold out of most of their food and were a big hit. Everyone loved the ice cream and smoothies from Good Moos to help stave off the heat from the great, 90+ degree sunny weather we had that day.

Sadly, we had a few exhibitors that had to cancel due to the hurricane as well but we still had plenty to help make a great event such as: Melbourne BMW, Solar Energy Systems of Brevard, Citizens Climate Lobby, Florida Institute of Technology Engineering Electric Race Team, Space Coast Progressive Alliance, and Brevard Solar.  Much thanks to all of our exhibitors that came out and a very big thanks to Denis DeSousa from Melbourne BMW who sponsored the water/soda tent, supplying our volunteers and attendees alike with refreshments in the heat.  We love having exhibitors as part of the event and the benefit of having solar installers on hand is being able to show attendees how some of our members who already have solar on their house drive everywhere using pure sunlight as fuel. True zero emissions!

The Kennedy Space Center once again brought their Lunar Rover to display as it is also an electric vehicle.  Kids and adults alike loved to sit on it and take selfies.  We weren’t expecting many attendees to show up due to the hurricane but we counted close to 350!  Thanks to everyone that brought their EVs and everyone who came out to see and learn about them we had a VERY successful event.  We’ll see everyone at our next event in October.  Make sure to check our Upcoming Events page to see where we’ll be next so you can come out and see and learn about all the different makes and models.

Here’s the link to the full album of photos taken from the event: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZNgwjxHF2NyzAQB93

Make sure to sign up to attend the big, annual electric car show happening this Saturday, September 17th from 10 am – 4 pm at the Schechter Center in Satellite Beach.  All the info you need and the button/form to sign up to attend can be found here:

https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=600

This event is happening nation wide (and some places all over the world!) this week in various cities.  Each event is led by a city captain that gets all the local EV drivers to share their personal electric vehicles with the public for rides or test drives.  The main idea is to get people to see the benefits of driving electric and have their questions answered by real people that drive EVs every day.  This is much better than talking to sales people in our opinion and makes it more comfortable to ask questions in a non-sales environment.  There will be dealers at the event just in case anyone wants to switch to an electric car after taking a test ride or drive!

We will also be raffling a gift card to Longhorn, a Chevy Volt branded duffle bag, a Chevy Volt branded USB hub with memory card reader, and other things!

We’ll also have food trucks available for refreshments and an air conditioned room with tables and chairs for eating.

There will be solar power installers on site as well to answer all your questions about costs and tax breaks on getting panels installed on your house.  Then you can charge your car with your solar panels and drive around on pure sunlight!

Here’s some videos we made from last year’s event to give you an idea of what to expect:

So if you want to take a ride in a Tesla or kick the tires on a Chevy Volt, come by this Saturday and check out the electric cars!  Don’t forget to sign up to attend here:

https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=600

To kick off the official start of National Drive Electric Week here’s some updates for our upcoming event.

We finished the final touches on the flyer to advertise the event coming up on Saturday September 19th.  So keep a look out for it posted up in coffee shops, stores, and anywhere else we can think to put it.  If you have an idea of a great place to post one where lots of people will see it feel free to print a few out and post it up.  You can download the flyer PDF here: NDEW 2015 Flyer Letter Size

You can also email us if you know of a place where we should place one and we’ll add it to our list and make sure to get one there.

We will also be handing out these really nice 2014 EV Buyers Guide from EV Insider Magazine:

So make sure to drop by and pick one up!

If you want to sign up to attend the event go to our official event page here and click the Register to attend button.

We’ll also have refreshments like hot dogs and hamburgers with water and soda sold by the Air Force Junior ROTC Satellite Beach for those that come hungry!

We’ll also be giving out awards to EV owners for example:
1. Most total EV miles driven.
2. Oldest EV (by purchase date).
3. Newest EV (by purchase date).
and more.

And the Kennedy Space Center will be bringing NASA’s first electric vehicle… The Lunar Rover a.k.a. Moon Buggy!  Come see it up close and in person.  It’s not the actual one that went on the moon but it’s still very cool to see!

For music we’ll have a DJ playing great songs including the obvious ones for an electric car event:
The Electric Slide
Electric Avenue
Electric Car by They Might Be Giants

One of main ideas for the event is for you, the public, to come and ask all the questions you can about driving electric and the different makes/models available today.  You be getting your answers from average people that live and work right here in your community that have been driving electric every day for several years.  This way you’ll get real data like power bills, maintenance costs, and gasoline savings for the plug in hybrids that have gasoline generators under the hood for extending the range after the battery is empty.  There will also be a few dealerships on hand to go over the costs etc. for those interested in getting an EV for their next car.

And finally of course we’ll have several makes/models of  electric cars there for you to ride and drive!  This lets you experience the smooth, quiet, space-age like ride that’s only possible with the instant torque of an electric motor and the single fixed gear instead of a transmission that has to shift gears or CVT with extra moving parts.  Most people’s minds are completely changed for the better after taking a ride in an EV.  Come by and take a ride for yourself!

Here’s some numbers we have currently on our event page:

Registered Attendees

There are currently 81 attendees registered.

Expected Plug-In Vehicles

Registered attendees report 496,846 electric miles driven.