Kathy and the Kilowatts playing after the rain. Photo by Mark Witt.
This year’s National Drive Electric Week “Picnic in the Park” ended up being “rain AND shine”
The first car to roll in was Ed F.’s Tesla Model S, with 10,310 oil-free miles, soon to be joined by 23 other electric vehicles for a combined (recorded) total of 275,841 oil-free miles on the road!
This year had the most models we’ve seen, including a BMW i3 that drew almost as much attention as the Zero motorcycles joining the event for the first time this year. The wheel-to-wheel row of Teslas were a beauty to behold, and the Volts and Leafs were driven in with wide EV grins as well as MiEVs, a Ford Fusion, Toyota Rav4, and conversions from long-time AustinEV members Brian and Jennifer L., and Ben J. There were more two wheeled vehicles this year, including a first time conversion motorcycle, as well as Mark W., Mark S., and Audrey S. from Electric Avenue Scooters on a trio of lithium powered scooters.
Larry S. sharing donuts and his Volt-inspired oil free (s)miles! (photo from Larry S.)
We had a (greatly appreciated) representation of local dealerships, including BMW of Austin, Capitol Chevrolet, Covert Cadillac, Leif Johnson Ford, and representing the national sponsor of National Drive Electric Week, Town North Nissan.
Special thanks go to our local sponsors BMW of Austin, SunPower, Capitol Chevrolet, Smart Charge Residential (event organizer Joseph Barletta), Covert Cadillac, and REVOLT (event organizer Aaron Choate). Also special thanks to event organizers Stacy Neef and Diego Lopez of Lone Star Clean Fuels Alliance, and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Other exhibitors represented at the event included Austin Energy Plug in Partners, Circular Energy, the EVLove Club, Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), Eco Network, and Electric Car Insider Magazine
Many attendees were seen sporting beautiful face (and arm) paintings thanks to Tami of Paradise Face Painting, and Kathy and the Kilowatts played both amped (pre-rain) and acoustic (post rain), proving once again that Austin is used to all kinds of weather.
If you have photos of the event that you’d like to share, we’d love to post them! We will add a few here, but you can see the complete 2014 National Drive Electric gallery on our Facebook page.
