Raleigh Road Outdoor Theater: Beauty and the Beast 2017

I am very blessed to live in a state with two operating outdoor theaters. I make it a point to see at least one show a year at our local one, The Raleigh Road Outdoor Theater in Henderson, NC. The theater is about 35 miles from my home, which puts me on the edge of my range. Thankfully, the town of Wake Forest has a few public chargers at the Town Hall public parking lot with lots of little restaurants nearby. So off we went to dinner and then the magical reimagining of one of my favorite Disney classics. Thanks to the PlugShare app, I was able to see that the chargers were not in use. However the GE Wattstation Connect app is kind of broken. My friend Nate feared I was going to light the station on fire, I couldn't register an account in the app and the 800# was disconnected. I finally got an account by registering on the GE website, but then we discovered that the charger was just stuck and not locked...

Once we started our charge, we walked to Over the Falls for dinner. Really great food, really fast service, and reasonably priced. There is also White Street Brewing Company Taproom, which is almost directly across the street from the charging stations. After a delightful meal and a full charge, off we went to Henderson! I discovered that Google Maps, when set to avoid Highways, seems to define "highway" by a speed greater than 55mph. Google had us get on and off US-1 in sections that were 55MPH and not 65MPH. We arrived, Nate and myself in the Smart and John and Dave in the i3, and parked together along row 6. We discovered that even on the lowest setting, the Smart's infotainment system was distractedly bright. We came up with a creative solution to overcome that, but it took two radio power-offs before I discovered the on/accessory switch position on the ignition didn't turn on the stupid-bright LED daytime running lights. The movie is a must see, and if you can, see it at a drive in! We made it home, top up due to the cool night, with 18% battery power. It's reasonable that I can go to and from without stopping for a charge. The owner has a Tesla, I've heard, so here's hoping that he might install a J1772 charger at the drive-in some day.

Wake Electric Annual Shareholder Meeting 2017

Plug-in NC sent out another call to ambassadors to showcase their cars and talk to the public. This was for the Wake Electric power co-op's annual shareholder meeting in Louisburg, North Carolina. The meeting is held at the town's college, and the closest charging station was 15-miles away at the Wake Electric office in Youngsville. Sketchy territory for a little city car, even more so for an electric one. But what convertible doesn't love a drive in the country? I took a test drive on a low 50F-degree day and stopped at the College and the Youngsville Office to make sure that I wouldn't run out of charge. Turns out I could make it all the way home and still have more than 10% left. However, I forgot that is the Month of Amanda. I cannot miss her birthday party, but it's 55-miles away in Fuquay-Varina. I think we can do it. I left the house and drove straight to the Wake Electric office in Youngsville and plugged in. I watched Disney's The Brave Little Toaster, the most awesome movie ever,  on the infotainment system of my car while I charged. I got to chat with the COO of Wake Electric, who was very excited that I was coming to the event with my car.

After I got a full charge, I drove the back roads to Louisburg College. Once I got staged, they let me plug into a standard outlet for an hour before the guests arrived. This put me around 80-81%, more than enough to get me to Amanda's home in Fuquay. I had a great time talking with the Co-Op's members, who were all curious about the little convertible. Many expressed a common concern - safety in a crash, but most agreed it would be a really cool second or third car. It was compared to an MG and a Karman Ghia by patrons. One patron in particular brought up some valid criticisms about the electric movement: the weak infrastructure, both in available plugs and the Grid's ability to handle the load. We had a thoughtful discussion about the overall state of the electrical system in the US, and he complimented me on my passion, experience, and theories for solving our energy needs.

At 6p, I packed up and departed to Fuquay. I took US401 the entire way, it was shorter but had more stop lights (opportunities for regenerative braking). The weather was once again perfect for a convertible, 72F and clear. It did drop to 66F by the time I got to Fuquay, so I put the roof rails in and put up the top for my journey home. Amanda's husband opened the garage door for me and plugged up my special extension cord, which is bright yellow, to replenish my battery which was down to 16% state of charge. Three hours, and a lot of laughter later, I had 41% state of charge (I only need 25% to get home).

Amanda wanted a test ride in my "little toy car," and it ended with "Can I get one in pink?"

Greensboro Odyssey 2017

As an ambassador for Plug-in NC, I am asked to showcase my vehicle and share my experience driving it at public Eve TS around the state. The first event of 2017 happened to be at the Greensboro Oddyssey, the Car Show of the Future. I actually got to set up the booth and they have me a t-shirt, making me all official!

There is a challenge to getting my Smart car, Gopher, to Greensboro. On a warm (above 60F) day, my best range will be about 75 miles, and Greensboro is just over 80 miles away from my home. This is where Plugshare's trip planner comes in handy. Using it, I was able to find charging locations along the way. However, I had a better idea to allow for destination only charging: I'll stay over night with friends in Hillsborough! My spouse, John, was going to drive our BMW i3 to this event and not his Zero SR Motorcycle due to concerns about cold and possibly rainy weather. After a full charge, John and I departed to Durham, NC to have dinner with a our friend who was passing through.

When we got to Tyler's Taproom in downtown Durham, we pulled into the parking deck where they have four car charging stations available. Two of the spaces were in use, by a Volt and the brand-new Hyundai Ioniq electric! I had to take lots of pictures, because this is a car that truly excites me! It will come in three drivetrains: Electric, Plug-in Hybrid, and conventional Hybrid. John was critiquing "why an electric car needs a transmission tunnel" when I mentioned the other two gas-utilizing variants. This car has dethroned the BMW i3 as the top selling electric car in Norway! Electric cars represent 36% of new car purchases in that country, so to take #1 so quickly is a pretty good indicator of how well refined it is.

Well, this encounter inspired me about the remainder of my trip. After a lovely dinner, our buddy ran John home so I could continue towards Greensboro by way of Hillsborough. There wasn't much to it, because my friends home is about the same distance to Tyler's as my house was. I got there and plugged in for the night, and began to indoctrinate my hosts with the AMC TV series HUMANS. It was a great way to end the work week: spending hours at a time with friends. The next morning I woke up and headed into Greensboro via I-40. I left around 6am so that I'd have ample time to recharge before the Odyssey setup started at 10am. It was cool, below 50F, and my battery heater was running. I made it to Havana Phil's a little after 7 with 16% power remaining, and light rain.

I have to really chat up Havana Phil's. First, the owner is a very passionate man who has revived a famous downtown restaurant building into a chic gentleman's lounge. Plus, their charger is open to the public without restriction in a reserved parking space 24 hours a day 7 days a week. John loves cigars, so this was the perfect stop-over before we headed back to Raleigh later in the day. I was truly thankful that they allow their charger to operate at all-hours, because I got around 83% charged before I needed to leave. Their location was a short walk to a Hardee's, though I had to wait for the rain to stop before I ventured out. Havana Phil's has one of only three public chargers in the Greensboro area, compared to Raleigh's 15.

The event was a lot of fun. I met a number of organizations and individuals who were active with or curious about electric vehicles. The new Zero Motorcycle dealer came with a 2017 model Zero SR. Tesla was well represented with two Roadsters, two Model S, and one Model X.  A Th!nk City car camped out between me and my BMW i3, there were two conversion vehicles - a Suzuki Samurai and a Chevy Truck. There was an off-grid Solar powered Tiny House, a solar powered race car, and even the new Segway personal transporter was being exhibited. It was a very fun event, and great to meet the Triad Electric Auto Association. This link has all the photos I took over the weekend.

After the event was over, we packed up and headed back to Havana Phil's. This is where we got the chance to meet Phil, who was very intrigued with the electric Smart car. We hung out for about an hour and a half - long enough to top off my car - and then we headed to Historic Hillsborough once again for dinner. This was a strategic stop, knowing I might need a little top off to comfortably make it home. The weather was perfect for a convertible! 70F and a tailwind! I arrived in downtown Hillsborough with about 20% state of charge. I am very thankful that Orange County NC has invested in 4 public chargers in the parking deck next to the Library in the heart of downtown. One of their chargers was broken, and has been for over a year. However I was able to get one of the other three spots to plug in. We had dinner, and then I let my friend Nate (who rode up with John in the BMW i3) drive my little car home. Once again, strategy, he's less than half my weight and we only had 30% state of charge, 34 miles to go, rain and falling temperatures. Falling temperatures means battery heater, which means reduced range. But we made it home without fail, we had about 7% when we got home and plugged it in. Nate now wants to own one, he thinks it's the coolest little car in the world.

North Carolina by Electric Vehicle

Welcome to the travel chronicles of my little 2013 Smart ForTwo Cabrio Electric Drive, affectionately called Gopher (named after a character in the Ghost Hunter series by Victoria Laurie).

Gopher has a unique story...

I have lived with a convertible in my life since since 2011. Prior to 2016, I was a devoted Volkswagen owner. However, dieselgate and the continuing quality concerns with the last three TDI models I owned led to a divorce from the brand. I won a lemon law buy back on my 2014 VW Beetle TDI convertible (6-speed manual) in March 2016, with a turn in date was April 1. Knowing I would be in the market for a new daily driver, and having been influenced by my best friend Brad's purchase of a used 2012 Nissan LEAF, I decided that I should go all-in on an all-electric vehicle.

My spouse, John, was supportive of an EV. He wasn't supportive of that EV being a LEAF. Wrong-wheel (ie, front wheel) drive aside, he thought the car was the epitome of dull. It was bad enough I was buying a literal appliance that plugged in, I was buying one that highlighted all the 'wrongs' of the auto industry in the past twenty years (in his eyes). Knowing I was going to buy a sub-$10k car, he got on AutoTrader and started looking for the elusive Smart ForTwo Cabriolet Electric Drive.

You see, we wanted to get a Smart Cabrio ED some time back. Orders with our local Smart Center were never filled for convertibles, only hard tops. I have speculated that Mercedes depended on the incentives from CARB-compliant states to cover much of the R&D cost for the vehicle. As such, sales (99% in the form of leases) went to CARB-states only. Our former Smart brand manager told us she didn't think the cabriolet electric launched in the US, because she couldn't order one for herself. However, John knew that the 2-year leases were coming due and he set out to Autotrader to find one. He found two -- one in Texas that was black/black and base radio, and Gopher in New Hampshire with premium radio and Grey/Black leather. Gopher was cheaper, and better equipped, so I called up the bank and got an approval, then called the dealer and put $500 down on a credit card and bought him sight unseen.

I did test drive an electric hard top and sat in a gasoline convertible prior to committing. But, I had no idea how the car would truly behave. I took a leap of faith. On April 4, 2016, two days after returning my dirty diesel to VW, I became electrified. I still remember the excitement of seeing Gopher on the truck.

Gopher ushered in the great electrical renovation of 2016 at my home, the Brentwood Solar House. We never used the included 120v "Level 1" charger that came with Gopher, because it was defective (and replaced under the warranty, then sold on eBay). I used a Nissan Level 1 charger, borrowed from Brad, until my Aerovironment TurboCord Dual came in. By July we had 12 solar panels installed on the house and a dedicated Level 2 ChargePoint Home charger installed on the property. To date, I have offset around 90% of Gopher's driving with solar power. Gopher also pushed us to replace my Mazda 5 with a BMW i3 w/ Range Extender. I'll probably post a little about it's adventures as well, but it's somewhat cheating with the on-board 2-gallon gasoline generator that makes electricity for the all-electric drive train.

It's been almost a year, and over 13,000 miles, since Gopher came home to me. We've made some pretty cool trips in that time -- with many more hundreds of mile trips planned for this summer -- and you can read about all of them right here!