Power of DC
June 8th, 2010
Last weekend I attended the tenth annual Power of DC electric vehicle gathering in Hagerstown, MD. This was my second time, and it was good to see some old faces, and some new. I counted a total of 20 vehicles in attendance. On the factory side, there were three Tesla Roadsters, a mini-E (#466), a Toyota RAV 4 EV, and a Zap Zebra. There were several conversions as well including a Pontiac Fiero, VW Rabbit pickup, VW Jetta, Porsche 944, Ford Escort, Hyundai Tiberon, and a DeLorean. Yes, that is the car featured in the movie “Back to the Future”. What a fitting thing to do to a DeLorean. Electric IS the future! In the motorcycle category, we had a bug-E, Vectrix scooter, and my motorcycle. Last, but not least, there were a few hybrids including two first generation Honda Insights, and two Prii.
Saturday saw some fierce competition on the autocross course in the Valley Mall parking lot. The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) came and set the course up for us. Everyone with at least three wheels (not me) got to take some runs. As the day wound down, I managed to thumb a ride in the mini, the Porsche, and the DeLorean. What a thrill it was to ride along. These cars handle surprisingly well with all of the battery weight.
Sunday was drag racing at the Mason Dixon Dragway. Things got off to a good start and most everyone got a run in. But then the rain started. After an hour or so, the track decided it was a lost cause and they closed. That was disappointing, but it didn’t dampen our spirits too much. There was still plenty of EV networking left to do.
Did I forget to mention that the guys from evnetics brought their new Soliton 1 controller along? This is a new DC motor controller which can operate at up to 340V and 1000A continuously. Once the sun came out they gave a short presentation on the controller. It looks like a really nice product. I am glad to see another high end controller on the market.
Once the ground dried a little, someone realized that we still had our cars, and now we had an empty track available. So why not do some racing? Several people took some unofficial runs, as the timing system was not operating. But a wave of the arms was all it took to get us started.
I am currently having an issue with the drive sprocket on my bike, so I did not take any runs on electriKAT. But Ken Barbour, the lessee of the mini-E was kind enough to let several people, including yours truly, drive his car. I made two 1/4 mile passes, hitting about 90 mph. I got a little nervous when I hit 88 mph, but then I realized I was in the mini, not the DeLorean. So instead of going Back to the Future, I just went back to the starting line ;-) As strange as it may sound, my first time running a quarter mile drag was in an electric car. Thank you Ken!
As the day wound down, we loaded the cars and packed up the equipment for another year. But the weekend would not be complete without one last attempt at silliness. An EVA/DC member who shall remain nameless took a quarter mile pass on his electric lawnmower! I don’t know if anyone timed it, but I am sure it was measured in minutes, not seconds. I didn’t get a picture, but you know who you are, Bryan!
Here is a link to a story that ran in a local paper.
See you all next year.
Vectrix and electriKAT
Forward to the future?
Grid power meant no diesel generator
Teslas - they look fast sitting still
The eighties return to Hagerstown
mini-E #466 and me
