Tri-Town Teachers Credit Union

Members of the Westport Electric Car Club are now eligible to join the Tri-Town Teachers Federal Credit Union and receive the full array of banking and insurance services offered at rates generally below standard bank rates.

The National Credit Union Association has modified its regulations to allow community organizations to become members. The partnership between the TTTFCU and WECC is a particularly good fit in light of the credit union’s Go Green Initiatives, which include the installation of solar panels on the roof of their historic 1882 carriage house location at 61 Jessup Road in downtown Westport. In addition to generating clean electricity for the building, they also power two Level 2 EV charging stations which are open to the public for no charge, and which were installed courtesy of a contribution from Karl Chevrolet.

The TTTFCU also offers discounted auto loans to purchasers of plug-in vehicles.

To quote from the credit union:

“We hope to find other like-minded organizations whose members are interested in maintaining the rich historic heritage of our area and that support green initiatives to preserve the beauty and environmental health of our planet.”

2015 Recap

2015 has been a great year for our EV Club. From our third annual EV Road Rally to winning multiple awards to the productive relationships that have been developed with other environmental organizations, local officials, and businesses, a lot has been accomplished and provides us with a running start toward 2016. These are some of the highlights:

                                     THIRD ANNUAL EV ROAD RALLY

Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe waves the green checkered flags signifying the start of the road rally.

The third annual Westport Electric Car Club Road Rally was held under crystal clear blue skies on May 3, 2015. This year the club partnered with the Wilton GoGreen organization and the rally finish line was at their Green Festival. The rally for 2016 has been scheduled for Sunday, May 1. It will commence at the Saugutuck Metro North Railroad depot as in the past. Other details will be forthcoming early next year. SAVE THE DATE! 

                                                                   AWARDS

Our EV club was given three awards this year and we are grateful to have been appreciated by these organizations.

Lime Rock

In August, the club participated for the second consecutive year at the Lime Rock Historic Fest and was given a Best in Show Award.

 Award given to the WECC for its exhibit at Lime Rock Park. (Photo: Barry Kresch)

WeGreen Westport Award

Our EV Club was one of the recipients of the 2015 WeGreen Westport awards, given by the Westport Green Task Force.

The presentation of the award by First Selectman Jim Marpe to club president Leo Cirino, pictured here with club member Barry Kresch. (Photo: Westport Electric Car Club)

Text of the certificate (Photo: Westport Electric Car Club)

The WeGreen awards go to community organizations that contribute to the sustainability efforts in our community.

Green Coast Award

The WECC was given a Green Coast Award from the Conscious Decisions organization for its role in promoting environmentally responsible transportation.

Leo Cirino is pictured above holding the certificate for the Green Coast Award at the Taylor Park Green Festival. (Photo: Barry Kresch)

Gen 2 Chevy Volt

The club continues to work with local businesses and organizations.

One of the major EV introductions this year was the Gen 2 Chevy Volt. The club was invited to see a prototype at the Karl Chevrolet dealership in New Canaan, CT. The arrow points to one of the innovations of the Gen 2 Volt, which is an indentation along the side/top of the body to improve aerodynamic flow.

Karl Chevrolet offers club members a discount on the purchase of plug-in vehicles. Contact us for details.

In 2016, club members will be eligible to become members at the Tri-Town Teachers Federal Credit Union and their offerings of numerous no-fee banking services. The TTFCU is located on Jessup Road with two solar-powered level 2 charging stations adjacent. More detail on that coming in January.

The town added one additional public charging station in 2015, a second unit in the back of Town Hall on Myrtle Avenue. Both are level 2 and are free to use. There are now a total of 10 public charging stations in town. Aside from the TTTFCU and Town Hall, the others are at the Saugatuck Metro-North depot (four solar-powered level 1 chargers) and the Green’s Farms Metro-North station (two level 2 chargers). At the risk of repetition, all of these charging stations are free, though railroad parking regulations apply at Saugatuck and Green’s Farms.

We look forward to an exciting and productive 2016 and wish everyone a healthy and happy Holiday Season. Cheers!

Lime Rock Gathering of the Marques

The Westport Electric Car Club is poised to participate for the second successive year at the Lime Rock Historic Fest and the Gathering of the Marques on Sunday, September 6. The club will again exhibit the 1898 Riker electric car from Dragone Classic Motors, along with EVs owned by club members.

Miggs Burroughs did a great poster for us this year. We hope to see EV owners and other interested people at Lime Rock!

EV Club Sees Pre-Production Prototype of Gen 2 Volt at Karl Chevrolet

The showroom at Karl Chevrolet (New Canaan, CT), featured, for a short period of time, the Gen 1 and Gen 2 Volt side by side. The latter had been trucked to town for a press event that occurred at the dealership during the afternoon of July 28 to promote the Connecticut EV purchase incentive program CHEAPR. That evening the WECC paid a visit to the showroom to see the new Volt before the freight truck came to cart it back to Michigan.

Club members were able to look and touch, but not drive. This was a pre-production prototype and was not street-legal. Actual production begins in August. The first tranche of cars will be sent to the West Coast. Deliveries locally are expected in late October or November.

The aerodynamics of the vehicle have been further refined in the new model. There are strategically placed nips and tucks in the bodywork, including where the arrow is pointing in the photo. A small ridge has been molded along the side of the roof so the air is channeled over the back of the car rather than washed over the side.

The center stack has been considerably reworked as seen in the photo below.

The old touch screen had that cool space-age vibe, but not the most user-friendly operation. It has been replaced with a more conventional set of climate controls in the lower section. The upper section is now an iPad size screen which will be fully integrated with Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto.

Volt drivers quickly become practiced, even obssessive, about squeezing out every last electric mile possible. For your squeezing pleasure is a new feature, paddles behind the left side of the steering wheel that apply regen braking. This places the drive more deeply into the regen spectrum than driving in “first” gear (EVs don’t really have transmissions). This was a feature originally introduced in the Cadillac ELR.

One of the cautions about driving in “first” is that the brake lights don’t go on and a driver behind a Volt could be surprised by the relatively quick deceleration. The paddles, because the drag is greater, will cause the brake lights to illuminate. One pedal driving is here, if that’s your thing.

The new Volt comes with sort of a middle rear seat. A (hopefully) limber passenger will need to sit with legs splayed to accommodate the battery pack hump which is still there. It looks like the main difference is the presence of a seat belt. Also, the pass-thru is gone, replaced by 2/3, 1/3 split fold down seats.

The more heavily raked style tapers down to the rear section of the hatchback, where the configuration of the small trapezoidal window below the spoiler is no longer present.

The numbers:

Rated electric range – 53 miles, up from 38

MPG on gas – 42, up from 37. Use of regular gas versus premium in Gen 1.

Total electric + gas range is 420 miles.

0-60 – 8.3 seconds, down from 9.0

The Volt remains an innovative design, a hybrid configuration where the gasoline engine acts as a generator for the electric drive unit, and with the greatest electric range of any plug-in hybrid. The Voltarians among us at the meeting approved.

Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe presenting certificate to Leo Cirino, President of the WECC.

From left to right: First Selectman Jim Marpe, Barry Kresch of WECC, Leo Cirino of WECC, and Clarinda Higgins, an awardee from the Sherwood Island State Park Nature Center.

Photo credit: Dave Matlow, Westport Now

The Westport Green Task Force named the Westport Electric Car Club as one of its 2014/2015 WeGreen Westport Awardees. The club was one of 5 recipients.

The WeGreen Award is given to those individuals, businesses, or organizations who contribute to making Westport a more sustainable community. The WECC was recognized for its work with the town to develop EV charging station infrastructure (9 charging stations to date), and for staging an annual EV Road Rally promoting the benefits of EV ownership.

The ceremony took place at Wakeman Town Farm as part of the Westport GreenDay activities.

For more details and a complete list of award recipients, our friends at Westport Now provide the full story.

2 new level 2 charging stations installed at NCC

The Westport Electric Car Club joined officials from Norwalk Community College, the State of CT and Town of Norwalk for the ribbon cutting marking the official unveiling of 2 new level 2 electric vehicle charging stations. In the photo, NCC President David Levinson is flanked by State Senator Bob Duff and Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling.

NCC President David Levinson announced plans by NCC for its campus to be carbon neutral by 2025. With that as background, two electric vehicle charging stations have been installed at the NCC West Campus. These stations were funded by a CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) grant that was obtained for the college by Eric Gribin, the Director of its Building Efficiency and Sustainable Technology (BEST) program.  The grant was supplemented by a donation from Karl Chevrolet of New Canaan.

These charging stations, as described by Tracy Babbidge, the Bureau Chief for Energy at DEEP, are 2 of 265 such installations across 55 towns throughout the state that have been funded by DEEP grants. Ms. Babbidge noted that transportation emissions account for 40% of emissions statewide. The efforts made by the state have earned it a 5th best ranking among all states for energy efficiency, improved from 9th three years ago.

These charging stations are open to the public, and per the terms of the DEEP grant, charging is offered free for 3 years. According to State Senator Bob Duff, 90% of CT residents should now be “range confident,” as opposed to being concerned about range anxiety.

Norwalk’s Mayor Rilling noted that this brings the number of public charging stations in the city to 7, and that Norwalk has accumulated credits to get another 3.

Members of the Westport Electric Car Club in front of the first EV exhibit at Lime Rock Part Historic Fest.

The 1898 Riker EV was situated front and center. Behind it were a Tesla Model S, BMW i3, and Chevy Volt, all part of the WECC exhibit.

Some impressions of a LIme Rock newbie:

Yogi Berra was right: Nobody goes there anymore – it’s too crowded! The crowds, combined with the country roads and one entranceway made for a king-sized traffic jam. Even the food vendors were surprised as they sold everything they had after a few hours.

According to track president Skip Barber, there were approximately 1000 cars lining the 1.5 mile track, every kind of collector car imaginable. Below is a Ferrari from the collection of Ralph Lauren, who was the honored collector.

Fortunately, among all those car buffs and the just plain curious, there were many who stopped by the booth to talk to us. Whenever we publicly exhibit, we note the large number of questions we get. Said another way, as far along as EVs have come, there is still a lack of awareness about the specifics of the various models available. This is a reminder that we are still very much in the early-adopter phase. Hopefully, not too much longer.

The Westport Electric Car Club salutes our veterans

Today marked the first appearance of the WECC in the Town of Westport Memorial Day Parade.

With our armed forces at home and abroad, and EVs in the parade, we can all breathe easier.