http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/71316432/Flat-points-will-not-deter-Timarus-electric-road-tripper Flat points will not deter Timaru's electric road tripper NICK TRUEBRIDGE August 20 2015
[image / Mytchall Bransgrove http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/6/g/l/8/h/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.16gk40.png/1440055964770.jpg Despite expecting some hindrances, Martin Kane is determined to show what his electric car can do on a South Island road trip ] Martin Kane admits his electric-powered trip through the South Island could run flat at times. Kane, who recently acquired a Nissan Leaf, is taking his "around the town commuting vehicle" on one helluva road trip. The trip, a loop around the central South Island, is all about "testing the boundaries" of his new red rocket. "I'm starting in Timaru, heading down through Kurow, and Otematata will be the first night. Next night in Wanaka. Next night in Haast. Next night Franz Josef, Greymouth, and where we go from there is sort of up in the air, depending on how things go. "We'll either go through the Lewis or Arthurs Pass. They've got charging points all the way through there we can use, and then back home. "It is not designed to do a big, long road trip. So the people who are buying it at the moment are keen to test its boundaries and push its boundaries a little bit. So you've sort of got that 'oh, let's just prove that it can actually do the thing it's not really designed for'," Kane said. Assuring us driving into a few problems was part of the deal, Kane said he was resigned to making "friends with a couple of tow truck drivers on the route". "There's a lot of work in doing that. It's really quite hard, you know, a bit of a barrier for me will be Omarama to Wanaka. I will probably have to somehow find somewhere in Tarras where I can put two hours of electricity in. "If you're going to do something like that you've got to have time on your hands. I just realise that's going to be potentially part of the deal. I've had this coming on three months now and you start knowing its limitations," Kane said. He is trying to encourage small towns, including Timaru and Waimate, to install EV chargers, saying he wanted to prove the viability of electric cars. "I suppose to prove to my friends that an electric car is a viable thing one day. It's early days for these yet, and as I say, at the moment they are designed for commuting. "If I drive to Christchurch I have to stop in Ashburton for a few hours. What I've learnt is you time it so there's a good movie on and you plug in while the movie's on, have lunch and get a coffee," Kane said. He plans to set off on his journey later this year. [© stuff.co.nz] [dated] http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/64887614/Software-developer-Steve-West-leads-charge-for-electric-cars Software developer Steve West leads charge for electric cars NICK TRUEBRIDGE January 13 2015 [flash video] The average New Zealand driver spends $2500 on petrol a year when they could be spending $500 charging an electric car, a campaigner for the vehicles says. Auckland-based audio software developer Steve West has been travelling the country in his new Tesla Model S in support of the electric vehicles. The Tesla Model S is capable of travelling from zero to 100kmh in just four seconds and rivals many other vehicles in its class manufactured by companies including Audi and Mercedes. West said he purchased the electric vehicle for two reasons in particular. "Because it's awesome and it's the only way that I can stop buying petrol. We import oil from overseas to the tune of $8 billion a year and it kind of sickens me and I don't want to do it, and I don't want to be sending money overseas. "Seventy-nine per cent renewable power generation in New Zealand so I'd much rather be spending my money on New Zealand-made power than foreign oil," he said. West, who is on his way back north with fellow Tesla driver Carl Barlev, said the trip was all about showing New Zealanders what the vehicles could do. "Most Kiwis don't really know that electric cars exist. So part of this campaign, this driving the length of the country, is to raise awareness just to get people aware that EVs [electric vehicles] are available. "They are a real option and not just a real option, actually an appealing and genuinely better option," he said. West had attended events in various towns, including a "very popular" event at the Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin. He believes it will not be long before New Zealanders start realising the benefits of driving electric vehicles. "I don't think it's going to take as long as you think. You look at other countries that are ahead of us, like Norway, where 10 per cent of new car sales are electric already," he said. At this stage he said New Zealand was "not quite there" on the infrastructure front. "You do charge it up in your house overnight and it's full every morning and that's great but if you did want to go on a road trip what you need is somewhere that you can plug into at 3am without getting anyone out of bed," West said. He said charging stations were "quite a different model" which could see petrol stations shy away from introducing them. The base model Tesla costs $102,000 with the top model coming in at just under $200,000. - The Timaru Herald [© 2015 Fairfax New Zealand] For EVLN posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099563_japanese-hot-springs-maintain-serenity-with-nissan-leaf-electric-cars Leaf EVs Maintain Hot-Springs.jp Serenity, EV-sharing &Bullet eTrains http://autoomobile.com/news/2014-nissan-leaf-nobody-is-looking-at-the-numbers/10028258/ 2014 Nissan Leaf: Nobody Is Looking At The Numbers http://scvnews.com/2015/08/08/electric-vehicle-charging-station-added-to-canyon-country-plaza/ 24/7 EVgo dual-L3 &L2 EVSE @Canyon Country Plaza Santa_Clarita-CA + EVLN: Leaf EVer's planned 200mi 3hr L3 trip> turned 11hr L2-3kW saga {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Kiwi-keen-2test-push-Leaf-s-L2-3kW-boundaries-proving-viability-tp4677316.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
