2017 EV Rally

Our 2017 EV Road Rally was enjoyed by all participants this past Sunday, May 7. The rally covered roughly 30 miles, beginning and ending at the Westport/Saugatuck Metro-North Train Depot with a mid-point stop at the Wilton Go Green Fair.

These were the EV models spotted in the rally:

Tesla Model S

Tesla Model X

Chevrolet Bolt

Chevrolet Volt

VW eGolf

Mercedes S550e

BMW i3

Ford C-Max Energi

Mitsubishi i-MiEV

Joining us as a sponsor was Pedego Electric Bikes.

Videos from older rallies.

The EV Club began doing EV Road Rallies in 2013, which, at the time, was the first EV rally to have been held in Connecticut. Below are links to videos from the 2014 rally:

Rally overview

Time-lapse video of rally route

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.