Mar Vista Eco Car Expo

Are you thinking about purchasing or leasing a plug-in vehicle? Wondering which plug-in is the right choice for you? Check out the info from last years Mar Vista Eco Car Expo below. 

We had a wide variety of electric vehicles on display, not by car companies or dealers, but by your neighbors. They showed their own plug-ins and talked about their EV experience. We had questions. They had answers. 

We hope to hold another Eco Car Expo at a future date. Follow the  Mar Vista Community Council Green Committee on Facebook or subscribe to our weekly eblasts for updates! 

Are You EV Curious?

Mar Vista Eco Car Expo at MV Farmers Market -- April 10, 2016

Are you EV curious? Have you wanted an electric vehicle, but been too swamped to do the research? Come to the Mar Vista Farmers Market on April 10, from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. and ask eight EV & plug-in hybrid drivers all your burning questions. We’ll have real live owners of the following vehicles: Nissan Leaf, Fiat EV, Ford C-Max Energi, Zero S Electric motorcycle, Chevy Volt, Tesla Model S, Toyota Rav 4 EV, and the newest addition to the EV arsenal, BMW i3.

We’ll also have “car-free living” representatives on hand offering alternative transportation options including Santa Monica’s bike share program, an electric scooter, a bamboo bicycle, demonstrations of several car-free ridesharing apps, and a hover board.

Want a preview? See each presenter listed on the side bar to the right - click on each link to read about the presenter.

Join us for the fun right in the middle of the Farmers Market, at the Grand View / Pacific intersection. Look for the Green Tent and the MVCC tent and a bunch of really happy EV drivers. 

Bike Share

You've seen the bright green bikes pop up throughout Santa Monica. But how does it work? What does it mean to us? Will we get them in LA?

CycleHop is joining us at the Expo to answer all of our questions! They operate Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and WeHo's bike share programs.

Just think about it - with the Metro opening the line to Santa Monica in May, bike share means you can spend time in Santa Monica car free! Let's have some discussion about these bikes becoming regional and integrating between these systems and serving Los Angeles neighborhoods like ours with their flexible technology.

Toyota Mirai

Mar Vistan  Julia Greenberg works at Toyota and has had the chance to spend a lot of time driving the Mirai. She's excited about sharing the new technology at the Expo.

The Mirai runs on a fuel cell, which uses hydrogen stored in a carbon fiber tank to produce electricity to drive the motor. The car uses oxygen from the air--scooped up through the extra large front vents--and combines it with hydrogen from the tanks to create water, generating clean electricity in the process. It’s a clean, efficient, powerful drive--and the only tailpipe emission is pure water.

The most interesting thing about the Mirai, to me, is that I don’t have to think about driving any differently. On a full tank, I still get just about 300 miles. Filling the tank works exactly the same way as filling a gasoline-powered car--I attach the hose to the filling port, wait five minutes, and I’ve got a full tank. I don’t have to retrofit the electrical system in my home to plug in the car, and I don’t have to worry about how long it takes to charge. I can make the road trip from LA to San Francisco in a single day!

The only obstacle for Mirai owners right now is the number of hydrogen fueling stations. Fortunately, there’s already a lot of hydrogen infrastructure in place--there are a lot of industrial uses for hydrogen, so hydrogen is being shipped around to a lot of major cities already. Retail hydrogen fueling stations are popping up all over Southern California, and the Mirai has a built in mapping app that helps you find the nearest one.

The Mirai is an eco car for people who don’t want to have to change the way they drive. Can’t wait to show it off!

Visit us at the Mar Vista Eco Car Expo on April 10th at the Mar Vista Farmers Market . We'll be on Pacific and Grand View. See the Toyota Mirai, meet the owners and learn more!

Tesla 90s

A Two Tesla Family!

In December 2014 I purchased my first Tesla.  She was a holiday gift from my husband Ken and I named her “Big Red.” Although I really liked my previous car, a 2004 Lexus coupe, it was beginning to rattle and I was tired of constantly fueling up a car that only got 15 miles per gallon.  My husband and I were happy to be decreasing our carbon footprint, but honestly the idea of no longer having to pay more than $3.50 per gallon for gas was my primary consideration.  Big Red is a 60s model and it can get up to 200 miles per charge. 

Fast forward a year.  In December 2015 my husband’s Audi was coming off lease.  We have been so pleased with Big Red that we decided another holiday gift was in order.  We have now added “Black Beauty” to our family.  Black Beauty is a 2 battery Tesla 90s model that can get up to 300 miles per charge.  We are now a two Tesla family!

There are a number of exciting features about the Tesla - 

- It drives practically silently

- The sound system is terrific

- The displays are very impressive but also highly intuitive

- There are periodic updates that automatically improve aspects of the car          while we sleep

- Our electric bills have hardly increased

- And the most amazing feature is that it can both drive itself and park itself!

Visit us at the Mar Vista Eco Car Expo on April 10th at the Mar Vista Farmers Market . We'll be on Pacific and Grand View. See the Tesla 90s, meet the owners and learn more!

BMW i3

, 

Hi, my name is Sara and I'm driving the BMW i3. I must confess I drive a lot of different BMWs. I work for the company! But one of my go-to cars and one of my favorites, is the All Electric BMW i3.

Why do I love this car when I could drive any of the BMW lineup? 

1. First off I'm a sustainability/environmentally-minded person. I love the car because it is not only electric, but has many other incredible sustainability features. Such as the interior materials are made from recycled plastic bottles. The dashboard is made from renewably farmed eucalyptus. The entire line at the factory is run on 4 wind turbines; 100% wind energy fuels the production. And, the body/chassis is made from carbon fiber that is created using 100% hydroelectric power.  The car itself is recyclable, according to German law. It's a true, mass produced environmental concept. 

2. Speaking of carbon fiber, outside the car business, I don't know how well known this material is. It is far lighter and stronger than aluminum. The i3's entire core is carbon fiber, just like the brand new BMW 7 Series. For me, that means I feel safer. I have a long commute and often drive to Orange County 4 times a week. I have watched the crash videos and the way the i3 holds up vs. other cars is incredible. I've seen higher speed crash videos showing the car bouncing off surfaces when crashed, with the main cabin completely protected. Very few mass produced cars use carbon fiber because it has traditionally been more expensive, and we are the only one at this price point, and in an electric vehicle. 

(I saw a photo last week from an accident in the i8 which is the sports car hybrid electric also with a carbon fiber core. It was one of my dealer's clients. A cement truck landed ON TOP of her i8. Other than a broken bone in her shoulder, she suffered minor injuries. The cabin was protected by this high tech material. And she was incredibly fortunate)

3. Car pool stickers. The i3 BEV (all electric) gets the white sticker, and the i3 REX gets green. As I said, I have a long commute. 

I guess for me, the fact the i3 is electric is just the starting off point for why I love this car. It drives like a dream with 50/50 balance, corners tightly, and accelerates like a BMW. 

I love it, but I know I'm a bit biased. Come by the market and see for yourself!

Visit us at the Mar Vista Eco Car Expo on April 10th at the Mar Vista Farmers Market . We'll be on Pacific and Grand View. See the BMW i3, meet the owners and learn more!

Electric Scooter

ELECTRIC SCOOTER

I was looking for a way to get from a public electric charging station to a destination that was more than a few blocks away. I found this folding electric scooter that travels at up to 18 mph and can brake by transferring some of the lost forward energy back to the battery. It’s also a nice plus that it fits perfectly in the back of my Volt and is easier to take on public transportation than the electric bike.

Join us for the fun right in the middle of the Farmers Market, at the Grand View/Pacific intersection. Look for the Green Tent and the MVCC tent to meet the presenters with car free options - near a bunch of really happy EV drivers