National Drive Electric Week
Drive Electric Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, MI
Sep 24, 2022
| Day: | Saturday, September 24, 2022 NOTE: this event has already happened, find current-year events on the Attend page. |
| Time: | 10:00 am - 3:00 pm EDT |
| Location: | Midtown Fresh Market 412 Howard Street between Westnedge & Park Kalamazoo, MI 49006 |
Event Report
In addition to a wide variety of plug-in passenger cars, Kalamazoo Public Schools displayed the only fully electric school bus that it operates. KPS obtained the full-sized yellow bus about 4 years ago and it has been running daily routes ever since. One of its regular drivers stayed for the whole event, and took attendees on several rides around the neighborhood. Many families and school-aged children attended the event because KPS spread the word ahead of time.
The Sunseeker solar car racing team brought their latest race car over from nearby Western Michigan University. Their display was very popular with many. Another popular and somewhat rare vehicle that appeared was a Rivian R1T truck.
Live music was provided by Ginger Miller and Al Baker.
State Representative Christine Morse came and stayed a while, learning a lot about the latest electric vehicles now available. She has sponsored a bill in the Michigan house to encourage more electric school buses. The mayor of our city, David Anderson, also attended, and helped present the award for the EV which traveled farthest to get to our event.
We are very grateful for the help of our site host, Midtown Fresh Market, the great support of all the NDEW sponsors, and the KPS Transportation director and information office for providing the school bus and promotion in the community. We also want to thank Consumers Energy for providing lots of great info about their EV charging incentives, and all of the local EV drivers who generously showed their vehicles and answered questions all day.
The report by the local TV news station can be seen at https://wwmt.com/news/local/what-you-should-know-before-you-buy-an-electric-vehicle-checy-consumers-energy-karl-bloss-electric-vehicle-education-and-outreach-coordinator-kalamazoo-governor-whitmer-mobility-plan-2030-electric-cars-chevy-push-for-electric-cars
photo by: Glenn Griffith KEVA coordinator Paul Pancella (left), assisted by Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson (right), presents the award for longest distance traveled to the event in an EV to Pete DeMoss (center). Pete and his wife traveled over 113 miles in their Tesla Model S to come to Kalamazoo for our show, and shared water for the participants from their open frunk. Visible behind mayor Anderson are a Volkswagen e-Golf and a brightly colored Chevy Bolt. The DeMosses received two passes to the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana. |
Event Description
Free Drive Electric Event in Kalamazoo
Public welcome! Great opportunity to see what all the excitement is about the latest Electric Vehicles. Cars, trucks, bikes, buses,... EVs are the new wave in transportation. See a variety of EVs up close and in action. Drivers and other knowledgeable folks will be on site to answer any and all questions. Representatives from Consumers Energy will also be there to share info on home charging incentive programs. No
schedule, just come any time between 10 and 3 and stay as long or as
short as you like.
In addition to the usual giveaways, we'll make an award to the EV which travels farthest to get to the show, and random drawings for two pairs of passes to the National Studebaker Museum in South Bend, Indiana. Need not be present to win, but do sign in at the registration tent on site.
Fully Electric School Bus!
Kalamazoo Public School district will have their LION Electric school bus on display during the entire event. A KPS driver will be present to answer questions.
We'll
be easy to find in the SE sector of the parking lot of a locally owned
grocery store. The store includes a cafe, but there are other places
nearby to get food and refreshments, and we are only about 5 minutes
south of downtown Kalamazoo. See updates on this page and at
/KalamazooEVA/ on Facebook. This should be a great event, if the weather holds. Big 'thank you' to our hosts at the Midtown Fresh Market.
EV Drivers:
Be sure to check in when you arrive, and be prepared to give us a good estimate of how far you came. It is your choice whether to take people for rides or just do a static display. For safety, we will try to segregate the display vehicles from the ones that may be going in and out of the parking lot, so let us know your preference when you arrive. Thanks for spreading the word.
Registered Attendees
There are currently 34 attendees registered.
Owners of These Vehicles Have Registered To Attend
| Vehicle | Registered |
| Chevrolet Bolt | 4 |
| Nissan Leaf (2011-2017) | 2 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 2 |
| Tesla Model Y | 2 |
| BMW i3 | 1 |
| Chevrolet Bolt EUV | 1 |
| Chevrolet Volt | 1 |
| Chevy Spark EV | 1 |
| Chrysler Pacifica Plug-in Hybrid | 1 |
| Ford Mustang Mach-E | 1 |
| Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid | 1 |
| Kia EV6 | 1 |
| Kia Niro Electric | 1 |
| Mitsubishi i-MiEV | 1 |
| Tesla Model S | 1 |
| Volkswagen ID.4 | 1 |
| Volkswagen e-Golf | 1 |
| Volvo XC40 Recharge twin | 1 |
| 18 Models | 24 |
Registered attendees report 905,013 electric miles driven.
