The pride and joy of the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association (VEVA) is its 1912 Detroit Electric. Yep, you read that right, a 100-year-old electric car. Take that, Nissan Leaf.
The machine in question had a range of about 160 kilometres originally and was once stored in the basement of the Empress Hotel in Victoria, ready to leap into action at any moment to ferry its wealthy original owner about town without any of that tricky Model T pedal work.
Today the car lives in the Stave Lake hydroelectic dam, and the original nickel-iron batteries have been replaced with lead-acid ones, reducing the range to a still-respectable 60-80 km. The car was on display last Saturday at ElectraFest at B.C. Place.
Vancouver was actually once something of an electric vehicle hub as our unique hemmed-in geography makes the electric vehicle a much more practical proposition than someplace like Calgary.
The VEVA first officially formed in 1988 and has been spreading the gospel of EV machinery ever since. Their membership is highly active at any car show youd care to name, and theyre often out and about with that 1912 Detroit, as well as any of the numerous conversions and/or factory-built electric vehicles that members own.
Why? Its simple really. While the internal combustion engine still rules the road, the practical drawbacks of electric vehicles (availability, range, ownership know-how) are rapidly falling by the wayside. In fact, the only impedance to more widespread ownership is prejudice.
As with any other subject, the best weapon against prejudice is education, and VEVA is certainly all about that. Buttonhole any member and theyll happily explain the cost-benefit analysis of electric vehicle ownership, the clear advantages, and the minor annoyances. Theyll outline the increasing ease of finding charging stations (a database is maintained on their website), and the reducing cost of actually buying a commercially available, dealer-supported electric car.
And, whats more, youll be inducted into a club with an active, supportive membership thats as close-knit-yet and welcoming as the classic car association of your choosing. Its not all nerdy do-gooding either, most of these guys and gals are basically hot-rodders theyre just using lightning rods instead.
But thats not to discount the environmental advantages of vehicle electrification. Most of British Columbias power is cleaner than our eastern cousins, and with Vancouver rated the second most congested city in the world, a line of internal-combustion cars parked idling for blocks and blocks on Georgia Street on a hot Friday afternoon is just plain wasteful. I love the sound of a V-8 roaring as much as the next guy but the cruel realities of city traffic mean youre just burning dollars better saved up for a track day or a road trip up to Lillooet.
Not that the electric vehicle is a panacea, but weve reached a sort of tipping point, particularly with the Tesla, which has made battery-powered motoring seem cool again. The Leaf, i-MiEV and Focus EV make the electric car lifestyle accessible for the city dweller, the Prius plug-in hybrid and the Chevy Volt give you electric power without the worries of getting stranded, and as the consumers come around, so do the companies.
