Tag Archives: Event

July EV Meetup Recap

July 2, 2017 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

Today we met at the Squid Lips bar and grill because it is right next to the charging station at the Eau Gallie Library. Al Lococo gave us an explanation of the different adapters he has collected or built himself over the years for his electric vehicles. He uses a lot of them on road trips when plugging in at the various hotels he stays at that allow him to get a nice, overnight charge while he sleeps. As more and more hotels and businesses install the standard, J1772 plug charging stations, it will be MUCH easier and become commonplace for those staying overnight at hotels to charge their EV. Remember, if you are a business owner and want to attract more business a simple investment in an EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) is a no-brainer. Just check our charging station info page for all the info you need for the various types, sizes, and configurations of charging stations. You can also call or email us if you have any immediate questions on all things EV related.

We also had a guest from the Brevard Environment and Sustainability Team visit our meetup and tell us all about the upcoming city council meeting at Melbourne City Hall on July 25 at 6 pm. We will be there to show support for the city to create an environmental and sustainability committee and to pledge goals for renewable energy and electric car fleets for city use. We can show how much we save and how little money we spend on maintenance on our personal vehicles that would translate to electric city vehicles.

We are still pushing to make sure everyone signs up for National Drive Electric Week in Satellite Beach on September 16 and tell everyone you know to sign up too. The newspapers and radio like to see that hundreds of people have signed up for an event to get really excited. In 2015 we had almost 200 attendees. In 2016 we had almost 300 attendees. We are hoping to get almost 400 or more this year! Make sure everyone you know signs up to attend our event to ride in a Tesla, or any other make model EV we’ll have there. From the Nissan Leaf to the Chevy Volt, the new Chevy Bolt, BMW i3 and i8, the Kia Soul EV, the Fiat 500e, and the Ford C-Max Energi. Below is a list of all of the current numbers of members and makes/models we hope will be there at the event!

Current Membership as of July 2, 2017

Total EVs:
80

Total Members:
94

EV Models:
RAV 4 EV	1
Nissan Leaf	21
Mitsubishi iMiEV	1
Ford Fusion Energi	1
Chevy Volt	22
Ford Focus EV	1
Tesla Roadster	1
Tesla Model S	11
Ford CMax Energi	2
Plug in Prius	3
BMW i3	2
BMW i8	1
Tesla Model X	2
Zero S Motorcycle	1
Chevy Spark EV	2
Toyota Celica Conversion	1
Austin Healey Conversion	1
Fiat 500e	1
Kia Soul EV	1
Zero FXS Motorcycle	1
GotWay MCM2s	1
Chevy Bolt	2

Local EV Event

FIT Homecoming Parade Fun!

November 10, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

On Saturday Oct 26th we had six electric vehicles in the FIT homecoming parade. We had a great spot up near the front and after a special request we were put in front of the MG club so we didn’t have to “breathe their fumes”! We realized about two minutes into it that it was going slow enough where two people could have walked in front of our line of cars with our banner. It’s too bad we had already hung up the banner at our tent in the tailgating area at the end of the parade first thing that morning. But now we know!

Five of Six EVs lined up for the car show. — EV Car Show

After the parade we parked our cars next to each other in a line near our tent and table as usual. We had about 20-30 people come up to ask questions, sit in, and look at our cars. As usual most of the people learned the facts and challenged what they thought they knew about EVs. Some of the attendees let us know they would now consider buying one! Education and proliferation of EVs are two of the main reasons why we do these events so we call this one a success.

Chevy Volt operating cost numbers — EV Driving facts and numbers

Here’s some pictures from the event and we are looking forward to the next events in November so we can show our EVs to even more people in the community and answer their questions with our real-world experience from driving these electric cars every day.

EV News, Local EV Event

July’s EV Event Recap

July 15, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

July’s EV Event Recap

Seven drivers of electric vehicles pose for a photo around a table at Panera Bread — Members of SCEV Drivers pose for a photo at the July EV meet up while at Panera Bread in Palm Bay, FL

Each month the Space Coast Electric Vehicle drivers host an informal Electric Vehicle drivers meet up at Brevard County area establishments located within walking distance of a public charging station. These events usually take place the first Sunday of each month, with the exception of months with holidays falling on or close to the date (such as July 4th). For those who couldn’t make it we post an event recap for each month to keep you all up to date!

This past Sunday we held our July EV Event at the Panera Bread in Palm Bay, FL’s Hammock Landing shopping area.

Two Chevy Volt parked in an EV designated spot at Kohl's in Palm Bay, FL — Two Chevy Volt’s parked in EV designated spots at Kohl’s in Palm Bay, FL

The Kohl’s, which is walking distance to Panera has two designated EV parking spaces with a single J1772 Level 2 charger and a 110V outlet. Unfortunately the charger was giving some of our members a hard time and it took quite a while to switch it from one car to another. Luckily one of our members who frequents this charger gave it a little tough love and solved the problem.

We welcomed one new local member with a Chevy Volt and had the pleasure of meeting Al Lococo and his wife, of the Central Florida and Sun Coast EAA who drove their Toyota RAV 4 EV all the way from Winter Haven, FL to attend July’s EV event.

A Toyota RAV4 EV parked in front of Panera — A Toyota RAV 4 EV from Winter Haven, FL attends the July SCEV Drivers meet up.

If you are counting rare EVs in central Florida this is the second 2nd generation RAV 4 EV to attend a Space Coast Electric Vehicle Drivers meet up. Pretty impressive when you consider they were never sold in the state of Florida, Toyota has only sold 1,594 of the 2,600 2nd generation RAV4 EVs produced and Toyota has announced they will not be producing any more of these SUVs in favor of other technologies.

Chevy Volt parked in an EV designated spot at Kohl’s in Palm Bay, FL

At the meet up we discussed efforts to place more local charging stations in and around Brevard, Melbourne BMW’s new dual level 2 dealership charger as well as handy, printable window displays for your EV. Brenna discussed the early development stages of an official SCEV Drivers logo for the use on future signage, business cards, t-shirts and more. Brenna and Josh gave an overview of progress for Melbourne’s National Drive Electric Week (NDEW) event which will take place September 20th 2014. Please make sure to register to attend or volunteer at the NDEW event! But one of the highlights of the afternoon was that event attendees were able to take home copies of Al’s book Turning Point in History an “exploration into the subject of Energy and Transportation and how they affect our lives, our economy, our politics and our future.”

Overall it was a great meet up and we are looking forward to next month! The next meet up will take place on Sunday August 3rd from 2-4 PM in Downtown Melbourne. We will be meeting and parking at The Mansion located at 1218 E New Haven Ave Melbourne, FL 32901. Those with a L3 compatible car that need a charge are welcome to park at the charger at City Hall which is just a short 7 minute walk (.3 miles)

We look forward to seeing you there and thanks for supporting the Space Coast EV Drivers!

National Drive Electric Week

National Drive Electric Week Update

June 20, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

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.

Local EV Event

Sunday July 13th Monthy SCEV Drivers Meet Up

June 4, 2014 Space Coast EV Drivers Team

It is meet up time!

To better show local areas that we appreciate the installation of chargers (EVSE) as well as to show off numerous electric vehicles at one time and place we will be rotating our meetings between the three current charging stations located within walking distance to food, fun, and shopping. These include the downtown Melbourne L3 charger at City Hall, the Eau Gallie library L2 charger and the Kohl’s L2 charging station in Palm Bay at Hammock Landing.

Kohl's EV Charging Sign — Kohl’s EV Charging Sign

For July’s event we will meet in Palm Bay at the Kohl’s L2 charger, pictured above, and walk over to Panera Bread for a late lunch, coffee, tea, or just some great EV Talk. All Electric Vehicle drivers are welcome as well as those wanting to learn more about purchasing an EV from local driver/owners. While these events are normally on the first Sunday of each month, we decided to switch July’s event to the second Sunday due to the holiday. We are looking forward to seeing you there! Comment below to let us know you are going to be there or Let us know you are coming on Facebook.

When: Sunday July 13th 2-4 PM

Where: The L2 Charger located in front of Kohl’s at 205 Palm Bay Rd NE Melbourne, FL 32904 (the shopping complex is located to the west of I-95 off of Palm Bay Rd)

July’s EV Event Recap

It's Electric!