Category Archives: National Drive Electric Week

2018 National Drive Electric Week Recap

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.

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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

National Drive Electric Week is Sept 15

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It’s that time again. Time for the annual, nationwide, grassroots event known as National Drive Electric Week.  Electric Vehicle (EV) owners all over the USA are organizing events at shopping centers, civic centers, city halls, and public parks where real owners bring their personal cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and even electric skateboards to show to the public.  The events are free and open to everyone curious about electric transportation to come out and ask every question they can and get answers from actual EV owners that drive electric to work and school every day.  Not only can you ask questions but there will be many different makes and models ready for anyone to take a ride or sometimes drive (if the owner is comfortable allowing others to drive their car) around the block so everyone can see just how great the experience of quiet, smooth, and fun to drive can be in an electric vehicle.  We should have several of the brand new Tesla Model 3 for everyone to see as well.

Our event hosted in partnership with the City of Satellite Beach will be Saturday, September 15 from 10 am – 5 pm.  We will have food trucks and free raffle prizes drawn every 15 minutes – you must be present to win.  Please register to attend at our official event page here: https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=1235

Email us if you have any other questions.

Here’s the Coastal Connections interview we did with Terri Wright at WFIT:

 

National Drive Electric Week 2017 Recap

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.

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

Join Us for National Drive Electric Week 2017

page01It’s time for the big event we look forward to every year: National Drive Electric Week!  This is the time for everyone in and around the Space Coast of Florida to come out and take a ride in a Tesla and every other available make and model electric vehicle.  These are our personal cars we drive every day to work and school and have driven them for many years and almost a million combine miles.  Every car on display or available for ride and drives will be able to plug in and drive on pure electricity.  This does include plug in hybrids like the Chevy Volt and Ford CMax Energi that have built in gas generators for long trips in addition to 100% electric only cars like the Tesla and Nissan Leaf.  There will be at least 14 different makes and models to see and take for a ride around the block to get the full EV experience.  To show everyone just how easy and convenient it is to plug in your car every day, we’ll have some charging stations and portable chargers on site to let attendees plug and unplug our cars!  We’ll have a big tent set up for water and shade for public Q&A. Since we drive these cars every day we are definitely the people to answer your burning EV questions.  We’ll have food trucks, music and raffles for small prizes!  There will be environmental exhibitors such as solar power installers, the Marine Resources Council, and the Turtle Coast Sierra Club.  We’ll also have the new Electric Fun Rides right next door with electric bicycles, scooters, skateboards, and hoverboards ready for you to take a spin.  So come on out, check out all the different makes and models of electric vehicles, take a ride around the block in some others and enter the raffle for prizes.   This day is all about electric vehicles and how fun and easy they are to drive and to spread the word on all the savings on fuel and maintenance and their environmental benefits of clean air.  We’ll have our members on hand that can show you how they installed solar panels on their house and now charge their electric car with pure sunlight!  Make sure to register to attend right now, today!  Go here for our official event page and click the Register button: https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=917

National Drive Electric Week 2016 is this Saturday!

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

 

National Drive Electric Week 2015 Recap

Here’s a very nice recap of the National Drive Electric Week event we just had on Saturday, September 19, 2015 at the David R Schechter Community Center in Satellite Beach, Florida as written by one of our members, Ken Sherman:

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We’d been worried about the weather all week. Early forecasts showed 100% probability on rain on Saturday. As the days drew closer the forecast improved steadily and low and behold the mid September Florida day made itself known with blue skies and a few puffy clouds and temps in the low 80s. Perfect.
I decided to take my car, a ’93 Miata, rather than ride my bike. I needed a place to store a few things during the day and I was feeling a little lazy anyway. It would have been a bit of a ride anyway, about 15 miles and too many bridges.
I arrived to find a plethora of EVs with Tesla Model S being too many to count without walking around. There were EVs in the visitor’s parking lot. There was a 48 Volt E-bike. A gorgeous BMW i8 glided in so silently I didn’t noticed until I turned around. There were a small gaggle of i3s snuggled up in the SW corner of our display area and I am always impressed with these cars. It sounds as if about 50% are being ordered with the REX backup generator by the way.
Satellite Beach welcomed us with open arms. After a welcoming announcement that started right on time at 10 am, dozens of people wandered back to start working on getting that test drive they came to experience.
I was pleased and gratified to speak with people who were indeed shopping for an EV and looking for more info and feedback from an owner or two. All of the businesses who reserved showed up. The local ROTC prepared food was simple but good and helped with their finances I’m sure. I was pleased at the number of supporting businesses who came to talk to our visitors. I won’t attempt to list them all. I will mention that Nissan brought a car. Porsche brought Panamera plugin hybrid, BMW brought cars. I just started to list the auto manufacturers who didn’t show any support but the list was getting too long.
The weather finally changed a bit and a little shower passed through over 15 minutes or so. Wasn’t even enough to get you too wet. A few EVs left before we managed to snag a picture of the attending hoard, but it was impressive none the less.
I half jokingly declared the event a success early in the day as the weather was great, all the vendors etc. showed up and people had been streaming in to get a ride and see if these new cars were going to work for them. Everyone I spoke with was convinced. Electric is the future and there’s not reason to wait. I’ll say it with a little more conviction now. This event went very smoothly, with passionate people having a great time. I guess that’s a good description of a success. Let’s hope that more than a few of these amazing cars are sold as a direct results of our efforts.
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To learn more about National Drive Electric Week check out the main website here:  https://driveelectricweek.org

Here’s a video Josh and Brenna made from the lineup of EVs and their owners at the very end of the event:

Here’s a video Josh and Brenna made with a few photos taken from setup in the morning through the wrap up at the end of the event:

NDEW 2015 Drone Shot

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National Drive Electric Week 2015 Kickoff

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.

NDEW 2015 Flyer

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

2014 EV Buyers Guide

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

Vehicle Registered
Chevrolet Volt 6
Nissan LEAF 4
Tesla Model S 4
Ford Focus Electric 2
BMW i3 REx 1
Ford C-MAX Energi 1
Other Plug-In Vehicle 1
Tesla Roadster 1
Toyota Plug-in Prius 1
Toyota RAV4 EV (2012 and later) 1
10 Models 22

Registered attendees report 496,846 electric miles driven.

 

NDEW 2015 Proclamation Accepted

Tonight we accepted the signed proclamation from the vice mayor, Dominick P. Montanaro, of the city of Satellite Beach at the city council meeting.  He stood with us at the podium in front of everyone and read the entire thing before thanking us and letting us know he will see us at the National Drive Electric Week event on September 19 from 10 am to 4 pm.  Now the event is very official and shaping up to be a great event with 16 electric cars signed up to be there with even more signing up soon.  Don’t forget to go register to attend the event today and tell everyone you know to sign up as well!  Click here to go sign up at our official event page.

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You can also watch the NDEW 2015 Proclamation Acceptance on video!

NDEW2014 City Proclamation

NDEW2014 City of Melbourne Proclamation

Tony Patton, Josh Pritt, Brenna Kaminski, Julie Foster, and Mayor Kathy Meehan pose for a photo after the NDEW2014 City Proclamation is read
Tony Patton, Josh Pritt, Brenna Kaminski, Julie Foster, and Mayor Kathy Meehan pose for a photo after the Melbourne National Drive Electric Week City Proclamation is read

On August 26th the Space Coast Electric Vehicle Drivers founders Josh and Brenna attended the City of Melbourne’s National Drive Electric Week City Proclamation reading during August’s City Council meeting. The Proclamation was read by Mayor Kathy Meehan . Julie Foster of the City of Melbourne, a Volt owner, and an SCEV Driver herself also spoke.

Mayor Kathy Meehan reads the City of Melbourne's National Drive Electric Week Proclamation
Mayor Kathy Meehan reads the City of Melbourne’s National Drive Electric Week Proclamation

Julie spoke about the National Drive Electric Week Melbourne Event taking place Sept 20th and invited the attendees of the Council meeting to join us on Saturday Sept. 20th for the event. She also thanked the SCEV Drivers for their hard work and drive to bring this event to Melbourne, Fl.

Julie Foster of the City of Melbourne speaks at the Council meeting
Julie Foster of the City of Melbourne speaks at the Council meeting.

Tony Patton, a leaf owner and a regular at the SCEV Driver meet ups along with Ken Sherman, a future EV driver, came to show their support.  After the proclamation was read we had time for a few more photo opps.

Tony Patton, Josh Pritt, Brenna Kaminski, Julie Foster, and Mayor Meehan pose for another photo opp.
Ken Sherman (not pictured), Tony Patton, Josh Pritt, Brenna Kaminski, Julie Foster, and Mayor Meehan pose for another photo opp.

We are very excited to have the opportunity to work with the City of Melbourne to bring National Drive Electric Week to Melbourne, FL this year. Thanks to all who attend the meeting in person and in spirit! We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday September 20th from 10-3 at City Hall for the first annual Melbourne, Florida National Drive Electric Week event.

 

National Drive Electric Week Update

Powerpoint title slide showing electric cars and solar panels
Slide one of the SCEV Drivers presentation

Hopefully by now most electric vehicle drivers, owners, enthusiasts and potential owners have heard of National Drive Electric Week (formally National Plug in Day) hosted by City Captains in towns and cities all over the United States and abroad. National Drive Electric Week began in 2011 as National Plug in Day and is officially sponsored by  Plug in America, the Electric Auto Association, and the Sierra Club.

National Drive Electric Week aims to “…Heighten awareness of today’s widespread availability of plug-in vehicles and highlight the benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more.”  This year National Drive Electric Week will be held from September 15-21, 2014 with events happening across America and beyond through out the week.  We are happy to say there will be an event held in Melbourne, Florida and as your city captains Josh and Brenna are working to make this event a great success.  Josh and Brenna have hosted two successful National plug in Day events in Huntsville, Alabama with their sister group the Tennessee Valley EV Drivers in 2012 and 2013. Using their experience from these events they hope to make Melbourne’s first National Drive Electric Week a huge success.

Over the next few months we will be looking to area volunteers, sponsors and donors to be a part of this grass roots celebration of electric vehicles.  The very first goal is to secure a location and today we pitched our request for sponsorship to the City of Melbourne. In the next few weeks the Space Coast Electric Vehicle Drivers team will work to answer any questions the city has to hopefully secure a city sponsored location and more.

Take a look at the presentation from the meeting and be sure to register for your local National Drive Electric Week Event.