The Roadmap conferences have developed into one of, if not the largest annual EV interest gathering in the country. This years Roadmap 11 was held in Portland June 19-20. Many of the speaker presentations are now available here. Click the pdf symbols to view them. They are both a goldmine of information, and a snapshot of the current states of EV’s.
It’s here: National Drive Electric Week. Round 1 was Falls Church, at Coleman PowerSports. This time, the numerous EVs included the underpromoted Ford Focus
…and the far more rare (here, at least) Kia Soul EV- brought from the West Coast by a recent “immigrant.” This being Coleman, though, many of the numerous EVs were Zero motorcycles, as the manufacturer was having a demo day.
The big news, is, of course, the DC Auto Show, now underway. Ron got us underway at seven, with immediate pizza and drinks. We then put out the call for volunteers- now through Feb. 1, including (especially) weekdays. Sign up at the signupgenius.com link we’ve already posted. If you volunteer for more than a four-hour shift, we get you in for 
free (for the whole show) as an exhibitor. No, you don’t have to have an EV, we could use warm bodies to hand out flyers.
We introduced new faces (hi again) and recapped the Baltimore Auto Show. Our area was well-placed and high-traffic; we had display EVSEs and plenty of literature. We had representation from the Maryland Department of the Environment and EVIC (EV Infrastructure Council). Lots of Volt owners in Baltimore, apparently. All our stuff is now in the DC Show.
Charlie and others attended the Montgomery County Council meeting, discussing charging in multi-unit developments. California already has legislation prohibiting EVSE bans or excessive restrictions, though of course you would supply your own EVSE. Even an ordinary 120-volt outlet would be great, though of course 240 volts would be better. We’re still waiting; neither the state nor counties and municipalities want to take the lead.
Last Sunday’s Washington Post had an article that was surprisingly pro-EV. Club members wrote back, and agreed that there’s a lot more to electric vehicles than just the savings at the pump… though we’re STILL saving versus the pump. Continue reading
…or at least, several local Drive Electric days. A great time was had all around our area. The Frederick EVent, on Friday by MOM’s Grocery, had man cars rotating through the day. Besides the usual Volts, Leafs, and Teslas, there was a Smart ED and Honda Fit EV. A Nissan dealer also made an appearance, and gave test drives. Thanks, Ron!
Saturday saw EVents in Baltimore and Bethesda. In Baltimore, at the Maryland Science Center, there were not only owner cars for show, and test rides in our overflow area, by the three solar arrays. Delegations from GM, BG&E, and the Maryland Energy Administration also came along. The Chevy Spark EV and Cadillac ELR were not on the list for test rides, though.
One vendor even had his “son-of-segway” personal EV! Mark was brave enough to hop on. Thanks, Mark! 
Great outing, great weather, great crowd. We showed several EVs at the packed Mini Maker Faire this Sunday, at the Silver Spring Civic Center. Attendees were tech-savvy, or at least tech-curious, and very eager to see the latest advances.
Amber and Jeff from Riide even gave an e-bike presentation, inside the Civic Center on their stage.
Let’s hope our streak continues through National Drive Electric Week– EVents all around the metro area (multiple Virginia and Maryland locations) and around the country, leading up to the EVADC one on the Mall next Sunday the 21st.
