GCEA's Electric Vehicle Story

-

Hello, 



As some of you might know, over the past couple years, Gunnison County Electric Association in Gunnison, Colorado developed an electric vehicle (EV) program. In 2015 we started providing public EV charging. In 2016, GCEA bought a used 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV (Spark-e) to provide a driving experience for members. Studies suggest that exposure to electric vehicles increases acceptance. Over the last two years, GCEA introduced the electric vehicle concept by sharing the Chevy Spark within the local communities. We held an EV rally, attended the local car show and simply drove it around town.  Our most recent idea, and as a way to further introduce and educate people about EVs, is to loan Spark-e out for a week at a time. This has been such a hit with our members that there is a waiting list. 



In March of 2018, GCEA bought a 2018 Chevy Bolt to continue growing the electric vehicle program. The Bolt program will be different from our Spark-e program because we will only give test drives. We will also be studying the bolt and recording our trips. This is where the blog will come in. We will record all trips in the bolt and then put all the information on the blog for people to study.



We hope this blog will inform and hopefully help our members to determine if an EV can work for them. 



Please stay tuned for more of GCEA's Bolt experience story! 

Below: (left to right) Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt, Chevy Spark EV, Ford Fusion PHEV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy EV Loan

-
Image
  Richard and Sherrill Stenson – EV loan January 10-17, 2019 We had such a good experience driving the Chevy Spark for our EV loan.  We were amazed at how quiet it was and convenient to drive.  We took it up to Crested Butte and left it charging at the station by the tennis court while we caught a movie, and it gave us plenty of juice to make our trip back home to Gunnison.  We took it out cross country skiing, and the skis fit just fine in the car.  We would love to own one of these little EV’s and would like to explore the option of creating a local co-op of potential EV owners who would like to go in together on a vehicle and share in the use.  Thank you so much GCEA for the opportunity to change our thinking about EV driving and ownership!
Read more

Another Satisfied Member

-
Image
Another member is satisfied with their EV loan! Krista Hildebrandt had some great comments to say about her week with Spark-e! I had so much fun driving the little Spark – I called it my “meep meep” car all week since it was small, cute and zippy.  I mostly drove it around Crested Butte, from my house to the mountain where I work for CBMR Ski Patrol.  In my free time, I loaded up my dog and my cross country skis to head out for some adventure and everything fit just fine inside the EV.  Even with the cold weather, I was able to keep the car plugged in at night and fully charged for me to drive the next day.  I fully enjoyed my EV driving experience, and hope I can get one of my own someday! If you are in GCEA's area, please give us a call to get on the loaner list!
Read more

Excited but Realistic

-
Image
JASON LAKEY (Leaf) -   It felt similar to our Prius.  It was intuitive and easy to drive.  I love the idea of an electric car.  However, the Leaf is impractical for our family at the moment since it is not capable of leaving the valley without significant inconveniences. If one of us was a commuter to and from CB everyday it would be a bit more realistic. I know there are other EV's with longer range that are quite a bit more expensive. Once the price comes down on those of the range on a car in the price range of a Leaf goes up we would consider buying one.  MATTHEW BIRNIE (Spark) – I drove a hybrid for years and at low speeds this was similar.  It was fun to drive around town, quiet and easy to park.  I think it would be great for an urban commuter.  It would work here for that also as long as you had access to another vehicle.  The range is a significantly limiting factor.  Probably not considering an EV purchase yet.  Perhaps as range continues to improve.
Read more