Sunday, May 22, 2011

Warbirds, Wings and Wheels 2011

The Estrella aviation and car museum in my town has begun to host a car show every spring.  I attended for the first two years, but this year I decided to enter my in-progress car to enjoy the experience and talk with people about electric cars.

I had to re-attach the wheels, drop the car off the jackstands, winch it up on the trailer, drive it over, maneuver it into position, winch it off the trailer and roll it into position with no steering wheel.  Setup officially opened at 7AM but I didn't get there until about 8, and the place was virtually full.  I had to park way out at the end, but it was a good location because people seemed to do a loop down the main road and back again, and I was at the far end of the loop.

As you enter the grounds, they were taking pictures of each car.  Here's mine, not the most glamorous shot, but you can see the potential...


This was the main row, with the limit of 300 cars packed into the airplane display area.


Here is the car in position, with an informational sign I made and had laminated and the battery boxes sitting in place.  The electric motor was in plain view and was a good conversation starter.


I really lucked out later in the day when this rare and beautiful Jaguar XK120 parked next to me.  The restoration was impeccable and both cars had nearly the same dark gray metallic paint color.


I talked with at least 50 people about the car and electric cars in general.  The most popular question was, of course, how far can you go on a charge.  Most people seemed happy with the expected 60 mile range, only one person said they needed to go further than that each day.  I think that's a pretty good statistic for the potential for widespread adoption of electric cars.  Most people were very surprised that the car can go 85+ miles per hour.

Next year I'll definitely enter the car again and get it there and back under its own power.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by and took the time for great discussion.  To the person who stole my car polish, microfiber cloths, winch gloves, car exhibitor goodie bag and $40 quart of POR-15 - I hope you die of syphilis.

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