On Saturday, April 27th, Connecticut’s 1st Annual EV Road Rally was held in Westport. The Rally was a resounding success with a total of 33 plug-in Electric cars taking part, making this the largest gathering of plug-in EV’s in Connecticut to date.
Photo: Jim Motavalli, New York Times journalist, car enthusiast, and blogger, along with Leo Karl III at Connecticut’s 1st Annual EV Road Rally held in Westport, CT sponsored by the Westport Electric Car Club.
The Rally began with each car being handed a set of very specific directions to follow, including some arcane clues as to when and where to turn – like take a right at Lucille Ball’s husband (that meant turn right with you see the Desi Diner). Each car had a driver and navigator. I was fortuante to have Jim Motavalli, an auto enthusiast, blogger, and New York Times journalist, riding as my navigator. You can read Jim’s review for the New York Times here!
When we crossed the finish line in 37.7 miles, we were confident we hadn’t made a wrong turn. Our only challenge came at Fairfield Warde High School, where we had a check-point about half-way through, when we had to circle the parking lot several times looking for a space. At the time, Jim commented “let’s just park, we don’t want to mess up our mileage!”. In the end, we managed a 2nd place finish when our odometer reading was deemed to be just .2 off the optimal measured distance. The winner had nailed the mileage exactly.
Overall, it was a very fun event. I thank our customers and friends who were able to particpate, and I encourage all of our other Volt owners to consider signing up for the next Road Rally event! You won’t be disappointed.
At the conclusion of the rally, all 33 EV’s were parked on a grass area just off I95 Exit 17 in Westport next to the Blu Parrot restaraunt. It was quite a site, and for me, it signaled a tipping point for plug-in EV’s in the market. EV’s are here today in a wide varity of configurations. And increasing numbers of consumers are finding out how powerful driving electric can be. The freedom from weekly and monthly gas bills is rather amazing.
As an example, on the day of the Road Rally, I left New Canaan with my Volt fully charged. I drove 11.6 miles to the Westport Metro North Station where the Rally was to begin. I then completed the 37.7 mile Rally course and crossed the finish line with about 3 miles of battery range remaining. So on this particular charge, I achieved a total range of 52.3 miles. Over the course of a full calendar year, the acutal range of a full charge will vary due to factors including outside temperature, altitude and terrain of where you are driving, and your own individual driving style. After driving my own Volt over 15,000 miles, I have found my average range per charge is between 38 and 40 miles.
If you’re even just curious about what it might be like to drive electric and be free from gas bills, I encourage you to stop in and talk to us. We’ll be happy to arrange a personalized drive in the Chevy Volt.
