Polestar Test Drive Event

A picture-perfect Indian summer day set the scene for an EV Club event sponsored by Manhattan Motors, the regional dealer for the new Polestar brand. Polestar is Volvo’s racing brand but has now been spun off as a standalone brand selling high-end EVs.

Polestar vehicles are manufactured by Geely, the parent company of Volvo. There are two Polestar vehicles, the Polestar 1, a plug-in hybrid, and the Polestar 2, a battery-electric vehicle with 233 miles of range and a 0 to 60 MPH sprint in under 5 seconds.

The Polestar 2 starts at about $60,000 with a performance version that sneaks past $70,000. The Polestar 1 starts at $155,000 and there are a few interior options that can add another $5000.

Both of the Polestar models have all-wheel drive. Delivery of these vehicles will begin within a month.

The Polestar distribution model is different than a traditional automobile company and different from Tesla. It sells through dealerships but only has 4 licensed dealerships in the country, 2 in the San Francisco metro area, 1 in Los Angeles, and one in New York City. The company has a “concierge”-style service model and the vehicle is delivered to the consumer’s residence. Unlike with Tesla, they can deliver a vehicle to a CT address because they are a dealership, meaning that Manhattan Motors buys the vehicles from Polestar.  For servicing, Polestar’s sister company is brought into the process. Volvo dealers will be able to service these vehicles. The concierge model extends to service. The car is retrieved from and returned to the customer, and a loaner is provided.

Polestar advises that there will be a subsequent version of the Polestar 2 with a smaller battery pack and without all-wheel drive at a lower price point. No ETA at this time.

Polestar 2 to Spend an Afternoon in Westport for Test Drives

A jazzy new entry in the luxury EV space, the Polestar 2, is being brought by Manhattan Motors to Westport on Saturday, November 7th at 12:00 PM. Test drives will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis.

Judging by the form-factor, it looks like a sport sedan. But it has a hatch and ample cargo space so that it feels like it is fitting in-between a sedan and a crossover. It is clearly targeting Tesla, along with the Jaguar iPace and the Audi eTron.

Location: TecKnow in Bedford Square, Westport

The location will be outside the TecKnow store at Bedford Square, 12 Elm Street in downtown Westport. If you come to the event, please leave the circle area for the Polestar. There is free parking across the street in the Baldwin lot.

Polestar is not exclusively an EV brand. The Polestar 1 is a sporty ICE vehicle Porsche competitor that starts at $155,000. The vehicles are manufactured in China by Geely, which is also the parent company of Volvo. The car shares some architecture with Volvo but is a more futuristic, high-tech brand.

A Polestar 2 base trim level will set you back $59,900, and a loaded vehicle gets to about $72,000. According to the manufacturer website, the EPA rated range is 233 miles delivered from a 78 kWh battery pack.

We have had one club-member do a test-drive to this point. His succinct evaluation: “Impressive.”

Center for Latino Progress presents Multimodal Transit Summit on November 23rd, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM

This worthwhile summit explores sustainable and equitable transportation policies for a post-pandemic world. It is a full-day deep-dive. Local leaders, legislators, transportation professionals, engineers, among others come together for this program. There will be some EV-related content, specifically a panel in the evening portion on the CT CHEAPR purchase-incentive program.

This is the link to register: Multimodal and Transit Summit – Registration

Individual registration fees are $45/professional, $25 student/non-profit.

Upcoming Meeting to Feature a Speaker From FreeWire

There is a virtual club meeting via Zoom scheduled for October 27th. John Erdman, Head of Strategic Accounts for FreeWire, will be speaking to us about their latest charging solutions. John joined FreeWire this past August after having spent 9 years with ChargePoint.

One of the new mousetraps developed by FreeWire is a level 3 charger with a self-contained 160 kW battery that continuously draws power at the rate of 20kW per hour. This avoids the power consumption spikes typical of level 3 chargers, which are what cause facility owners to be subject to utility demand charges. We have seen first-hand in CT how that has become a major obstacle to expanding EVSE infrastructure.

We will also be providing an update on the latest information regarding proposed changes to the CHEAPR EV purchase-incentive program. Some of the proposed changes, which we have blogged about numerous times, such as here and here, are controversial and, as of this writing, have still not been resolved. It is possible they will be by the 27th.

If you are interested in joining us and do not receive the club emails, please fill out the website contact form.

We look forward to virtually seeing many of you.

Numerous EV Models Appear in Parade

30 EVs participated in this parade, a joint effort between the EV Club of CT and the Sustainable Fairfield Task Force. Parade participation was capped at this number to avoid being overly disruptive to local traffic

There was one novelty vehicle, a 1903 Baker replica. In its day, the Baker was quite the speedster, topping at about 48 MPH. It is a reminder that electricity was the dominant mode of energizing cars around the turn of the previous century.

The parade followed a roughly 25-mile route, beginning at the Westport Metro-North Depot, where the proceedings were kicked off by Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe. The route headed north up Imperial Avenue, jagged over Jesup to then proceed up Main Street, looping around Avery and Myrtle, and taking a left onto the Post Rd. heading East. There it stayed until hitting downtown Fairfield, where it veered off to Old Town Hall and concluded with  a second brief ceremony with Fairfield officials.

Throughout the event, masking was required and social distancing was observed.

Escorting the parade was the Westport Police Tesla Model 3 that has been fully outfitted as a police cruiser.

Deliveries of the newest Tesla Model, the “Y”, have been coming into CT, and this was one of 4 appearing in the parade.

This Toyota Prius Prime, a plug-in hybrid, is one of four plug-in vehicles currently in use by the Westport Police and it was the rear bookend of the parade.

EV Parade to be Part of Green Wheels Expo

The EV Club and Sustainable Fairfield Task Force have partnered for National Drive Electric Week events, including an EV Parade. (The parade is currently fully subscribed.)

Parade Details:

Date: Sunday, September 27th

Time: Check-in is at 9:30 AM. The parade begins at 10:00 AM. It will last for approximately 1 hour.

Route: It begins at the Westport Metro-North Depot, New Haven-bound side. The route goes north through downtown Westport, then east on the Post Road, and ends at Old Town Hall in Fairfield.

We wish to thank all of the public officials who are supporting this event. Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe will give remarks pre-rally at the train station. Fairfield Selectwoman Nancy Lefkowitz will speak at the parade terminus at Old Town Hall. Westport Chief of Police, Foti Koskinas, will provide the parade escort in the Tesla Model 3 police cruiser. Two other WPD cars, a BMW i3 and a Toyota Prius Prime, will also be along for the ride. WPD and the Fairfield PD have worked together to coordinate.

There will also be virtual events, including an interview with EVangelist Jay Leno (yes, that Jay Leno!).

EV Club president, Bruce Becker, will present to the Humanists and Free-Thinkers of Fairfield County

This is the text of the press release describing the engagement:

HFFC MOVES TO ONLINE MEETINGS – ELECTRIC CARS, APRIL 13

The program on the Future of Electric Cars has been changed from an in-person presentation to an online video presentation, as the host, the Humanists and Freethinkers of Fairfield County (HFFC) has changed all its meetings to online video.  Members of the public can get the link for free admission by sending an email to hffc@optimum.net with “EV” as the subject line, and with person’s name in the text.

The program will be Monday, April 13, 6:45 enter online, & preliminaries. 7 pm program. The number of participant devices is limited.

The speaker is Bruce Becker, President of the Electric Vehicle Club of CT, LEED architect, and president of Becker + Becker, an architecture and development firm focusing on sustainable projects (with low or net-zero energy use). In his talk, he will discuss EV infrastructure needs and how planning at both state and town levels can accelerate EV adoption. He will also answer questions about sustainable options for construction and development. Come hear the discussion about sustainability on our roads and in our towns.

Numerous Events Canceled

If you have looked at the event calendar, it becomes very apparent that due to public health precautions, all of our EV showcase events, at least through the end of April, have been canceled. We are in touch with local and state officials and will be following the guidelines that are issued.

April and May are normally the two busiest months for showcases outside of the National Drive Electric Week period in September. Hopefully, before then, we’ll all be back online. But at this point, hope is all it is. As of this writing on March 15th, there is still very little testing and, therefore, little hard data about the infection curve of COVID-19.

We offer best wishes to our EV Club colleagues around the country. Until then, bon chance.

Electric Vehicle Test Track at the New York Auto Show

UPDATE: This show has been postponed due to COVID-19 and is now scheduled for August 28 – September 6, with press days Aug. 26, 27.

Con Edison, the New York utility, is sponsoring the Electric Vehicle Test Track, as well as booth space for non-profit EV organizations from the tri-state area. Drive Electric Long Island is spearheading this, along with some of its coalition partners. The EV Club of CT has been invited to participate.

There will be a lot of EVs present and we look forward to the chance to speak with some of these companies about their plans and exchange experiences and ideas with other EVangelist groups.

A ticket to the auto show costs $17 for an adult. Club-members who volunteer for a shift at the booth will get a free ticket to the exhibition.

Tesla Model 3 Police Vehicle Appearance

The Tesla Model 3 police vehicle, as has been reported previously, has drawn an unbelievable amount of attention, whether at the CT Conference of Municipalities, inquiries from around the world, or local interest. It is safe to say that the Westport Police, supported by town leadership, have gotten way more than 75 kWh worth of mileage as a result of their innovative move. We have learned that the Police Model 3 will be making an appearance at the NY Auto Show. Tesla is covering the cost. We’ll publish more detail when available.

The show runs from April 10 through 19th, from 10 AM to 10 PM at the Jacob Javits Center on 11th Avenue in New York City.

Club president Bruce Becker was invited by Tesla to attend the Cybertruck reveal.

The event took place on Nov. 21 at 9:00 PM Pacific Time. The early reviews of the design have been somewhat divided. Elon Musk, himself, described it as “pointy.” It has a distinctively high-tech, angular, military look.

The vehicle is certainly capable. The top trim level will travel over 500 miles on a single charge. Tesla showed videos of the vehicle towing a Ford F-150 and beating a Porsche 911 in a drag race. Musk invited an employee to sledgehammer the vehicle and he was unable to dent the stainless steel exoskeleton. The windows were less successful with their torture test. As Musk said, “Room for improvement.”

Tesla is taking reservations now. A refundable $100 deposit is required. Production of the vehicle is scheduled for 2021. This post is being written two days after the reveal and there is a report in TechCrunch that Tesla has taken 146,000 reservations, which would translate to about $8 billion worth of orders if all are delivered.

These are photos of Becker at the event, held near the Tesla Design Center in Los Angeles.