Drive Sustainable!

Drive Sustainable!
Our club members drive all kinds of EVs (Teslas, BMWs, Jaguars, Leafs, Bolts, Fords, Audis, electric bikes...)

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Want to be in a parade on July 4?

From the Denver Electric Vehicle Council:

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July 4 Park Hill Parade DEVC/CSEVC Participation

Visit: http://parkhillparade.org/ for detailed information.

Please contact Jill Bishop ( jbanounou@gmail.com -- 720-320-2541) if you would like to drive your electric vehicle in the July 4 Park Hill Parade, representing the Denver Electric Vehicle Council.  

Hours  1 pm to perhaps 3 pm.   (Parade starts at 1:30) 

This Monday, July 4.
Thanks,
Jill
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Denver Clean Cities showcase - July 13

I received (and forwarded) an email from the Denver Clean Cities organization (below). They would like a Tesla for exhibit on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 in Denver. I've suggested they consider two cars, but that's up to them. Please consider showcasing your car, and contact Janna directly (not me!) using the information below. Please take photos if you decide to go!

-Wilson Hitchings

(message below)

Hi Wilson,

My name is Janna and I am the Denver Metro Clean Cities Coordinator and a co-worker of Kyle Lisek. I am reaching out because we are looking for a wonderful Tesla owner to participate in an EV ride & drive at Xcel Energy’s knowledge fair on July 13 in downtown Denver. They could either drive people around, put the vehicle on for display only, or let people test drive – 100% up to them. Do you know of anyone in your Electric Vehicle Club that would be interested? Here are the exact event details:

Xcel Energy
1800 Larimer St., Denver, 80202
10am-1pm
July 13, 2016

Please let me know if you’ve got someone who would be just perfect for the job J.

Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you!

Cheers,
Janna

Janna West-Heiss
Denver Clean Cities Coordinator
American Lung Association in Colorado
303-847-0276
5600 Greenwood Plaza Blvd. Suite 100

Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Monday, June 27, 2016

A weekend with a Senator

I spent this past weekend in Santa Fe, NM with the Tesla Club of New Mexico. They had a Tesla-friendly state representative, Peter Wirth, at their club meeting. They arranged a private room at the Four Seasons Resort in Santa Fe, very nice.

While the discussion went on longer than I could stay and more than I can type, it was quite interesting to hear the Senator's take on getting a pro-Tesla bill sent through the state government when the Automotive Dealer's Association is so powerful. Much discussion also took place about other disruptive technologies such as local energy production and ride sharing...did you know there was a taxi lobby? And that it was very powerful and trying to defeat Uber?

Talk to me at a later date about the details of the weekend. I would hope our club, and other Tesla clubs in Colorado, take the steps the New Mexico club takes to improve their car's serviceability.

-Wilson Hitchings, Tesla Traveler






Sunday, June 26, 2016

New members - two of 'em

Thanks to a club member handing out our business cards, we have two new members: Jing & Rob Hoyer from Colorado Springs. Jing has a 2016 Tesla Model X 90D, white, and Jim has ordered a Tesla Model 3. Give them a CSEVC welcome when you meet them!

Thursday, June 23, 2016

CSEVC Leadership has abdicated for July!

We're big enough and busy enough to earn a Summer Break. The management team of CSEVC is sitting by the pool and reading the paper for July, so no monthly meeting.

The DEVC wants cars for their event the same day, so feel free to attend (see the Club Calendar page for more details).

Well, OK, here are the details:

Feel free to attend the Grand Opening for the Sustainable Smart Home to be held at its location in Superior, CO (Original Town) at 202 W Maple Street. From Noon to 3:00 PM. the DEVC would like CSEVC members to participate. Members could arrive earlier to check out the activities from 10:00 AM to Noon.

Tesla 21" Turbine wheels for sale in Santa Fe, NM

A Tesla Club of New Mexico member sent me the following message:

Greetings from Santa Fe. Wonder if you might pass this on. I have a set of (4) 21" Tesla Silver Turbine wheels with like- new Michelin tires for sale. They came off of my 2013 P85+ and are stored here in Santa Fe. These are a staggered set. Fronts are 245/35/21, rears are 265/35/21. Price is $2,750.00. 

Thanks! 

Robert
email: spressoman [space] @ [space] gmail.com

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Thanks for participating at the Ability Connection Concours car show!

Over 15,000 guests attend the Ability Connection car show in Littleton, CO this past June. The charity event generated over $147,000 for the organization and there were 410 cars on display.

The gallery showing our club's cars is now available. Somehow blue cars were excluded from our club's vehicle photos...

New Trip Data Page

One thing many EV owners do is track their energy usage vs. actual miles (nav miles vs. battery miles). This helps plan your next trip and estimate your charging needs.

If any of you keep track of your usage data, feel free to send it to me and I'll try to publish it. Thanks to Mark Holzrichter for supplying us with his most recent trip data. We have a new web page dedicated to helping plan a long-distance EV trip, please visit.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

We have a UK visitor!

No, not University of Kansas but the United Kingdom!

Mr. Andy Beadle, a Tesla owner from across the pond, will be at the Park Meadows Mall and at the Tesla Showroom when it opens at 11:00am on Sunday, July 10, 2016. I've said I would meet him there to say hello and am inviting any of our club members that would like a trip to the Tesla Showroom on that Sunday to attend.

I look forward to meeting another Tesla owner and perhaps having lunch at the mall (I like the food court there). If you'd like to meet a UK owner, please consider visiting.

-Wilson Hitchings

New member from the CSU Open House - again!

We met Todd Dorpinghaus while at the CSU Conservation Open House. He owns Triton Roofing & Solar in Colorado Springs, CO and has a 2016 Ford Fusion Energi he uses for company business. He's looking forward to seeing us at our next club meeting (I'll include a photo of his company display at the show), so make him welcome!


Saturday, June 18, 2016

New member from the CSU Open House

Our participation at the CSU Open House today got us a new member, Chuck Hendrick. He owns a 2012 Nissan Leaf SL, make him welcome when you see him.


CSU Open House a rousing success

We almost needed overflow parking at the Colorado Springs Utilities Conservation Open House today. We had seven vehicles on display, five Teslas, a Leaf and an electric bicycle. Thanks for all who participated, we spoke to a lot of folks about conservation and sustainable travel. We also got a new membership application from a visitor!










Friday, June 17, 2016

Fourth new member in 2 days, Terry Ziemek!

We're just growing by leaps and bounds...Terry Ziemek has joined us from Broomfield, CO today. He has a 2013 Tesla Model S, and is on his third new Tesla key fob. The T, S and A are the buttons. Ask him to show it to you when you welcome him.


Thursday, June 16, 2016

Third new member in 2 days, welcome Patrick Williams!

Our latest addition to the Colorado Springs EV Club is Patrick Williams. He has a Currie Electric bike with custom Li-Ion. Make him welcome when you see him!


Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Second new member today, Scott Cink!

Our group just keeps growing! Welcome Scott Cink from Colorado Springs, who has a 2015 BMW i3. He's our first BMW owner and we're happy to have him. Please say hello when you see him next.

New member, Erik Strait; welcome!

Please welcome our newest member, Erik Strait, when you see him. He just took home a Tesla Model S90D, Pearl White. Congrats!


Tuesday, June 14, 2016

CSU Open House full

Thanks to everyone who has offered, all 5 slots for cars at the CSU Open House are reserved.

Morning exhibitors (maybe until 11:00am?):

Nicholas Brace, Heath Smith, Dan Rosenblatt, Ricardo Gutierrez, Mac McCauley.

Afternoon exhibitors (after 11:00am?):

Dan Rosenblatt, Wilson Hitchings, Mac McCauley, Ricardo Gutierrez(?)

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Imitation is the best form of flattery

Many of our club members know that we distribute our club cards at the downtown Colorado Springs Supercharger. We replace about a dozen cards every two weeks or so (see below).

It looks like the Tesla race car folks involved in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb like our idea of Supercharger advertising...they've left some of their business cards at the least-used charger (4B).

While replacing the cards today I was able to get a photo of the Tesla car that's registered for the PPHC. On a previous meeting of Blake Fuller (driver), he asked I not publish a photo of his car so I'll wait until after the PPHC.



June's meeting

We had some new folks at our June club meeting, Nicholas & Rebecca Brace. They've had a Tesla for 3 weeks now and we're glad they came - I hope they'll fill out a membership application (well, it's just an email) to get on our mailing list.

We discussed the upcoming CSU Conservation Day (June 18) where our club has pledged to exhibit cars throughout the day. Please see our Calendar page for details, several members said they'd be at the event.

David McNeil talked about the Pikes Peak Hill Climb event and the Drive Electric Week scheduled for September...if you can participate, please do so.



Wednesday, June 8, 2016

CSU Open House Event - Saturday, June 18, 2016

Our club will be participating in the CSU Conservation Festival & Open house on June 18. We need all brands of EVs to show to the public. Similar to the UCCS Sustainnovate Summit, our club helps spread the word on sustainable transportation.

We will have 4-5 parking spots at the front of the Mesa Road building (2855 Mesa Rd., Colorado Springs, CO) starting at 8:00am - 8:30am (see photo below). We can come and go as we need, and we need 4-5 vehicles at various times during the day. Please contact Wilson Hitchings or Mack MacCauley to volunteer...thanks!


Monday, June 6, 2016

New member, Stephanie Buchholtz!

Many club members met Stephanie Buchholtz this past Sunday when she displayed her 2015 Red Tesla Model S at the Concours Car Show in Littleton. She had her car judged and won a blue ribbon. She has decided to join our group and hails from Windsor, CO. When you see her, make her welcome. Her husband kindly took a photo of club members at the show, Stephanie is in the center.


Sunday, June 5, 2016

Tesla Roadster for sale

One of our members at the CP of Colorado Show this past Sunday discovered a person wants to sell their Tesla Roadster, $80,000.  Call Jan, 719/641-8100 if interested.

CP of Colorado Car show a success!

We had 3 1/2 CSEVC Teslas at the show today (1/2 came from a Tesla owner who promised to join). The Teslas had many visitors asking questions, and there were club members that didn't have their Teslas in the show talking about the cars. Thanks to all the members that participated, and we look for a special EV section at the car show next year.





Some non-Teslas were nice cars, too!











Friday, June 3, 2016

So I met the two Blakes!

I went to the Colorado Springs Superchargers to replace our CSEVC club business cards on each of the charging stations and guess who I meet? Blake Fuller, the race car driver that will be piloting a Model S90D during the 2016 Pikes Peak Hill Climb. He was there with his race car, charging. I was not allowed to take photos of the modified Model S, but I got a selfie with Blake Fuller and his co-pilot, Blake. Blake Fuller promised to send me official photos after the race.

Here's my selfie with the two Blakes, Blake Fuller on the far left, co-pilot Blake in the middle...


And here's Blake Fuller's official racing photo that you may have seen online...


Both Blakes were very friendly, and even talked with me while taking 5,000 phone calls in 10 minutes. His Model S was stripped to a minimum weight, had a roll cage bolted in and was FULL of data acquisition hardware. His biggest problem is battery overheating on the Model S, it's not designed to be a track car. I wished him the best and offered to be his backup driver.

Here's the article about his racing this season... http://www.carscoops.com/2016/05/tesla-model-s-to-compete-for-first-time.html