Other than those times when we’re driving our electric vehicles, standing near them or finding a way to bring them up in conversation, we don’t have a chance to spread the word, to continue the revolution. As you may know, I’m a Texan and no, I don’t have any oil wells or interest in an oil company. I’d like to see license plates in Texas, celebrating the electric vehicle. Hey, Texas! How about something like this:
Texas has five, count ’em, FIVE NASCAR-related license plate patterns. How many celebrating this major advancement in American technology? Uh, none.
Having an EV plate would even make it easy to allow these vehicles in High Occupancy
Vehicle (HOV) lanes, should that become possible. Note: It should be possible. My Volt’s per-person MPG is higher than almost any car driving in HOV today! Want to see our air quality improve quickly? Follow California’s lead and allow clean, electric vehicles in your HOV lanes, even if only manned (or womanned?) by a single occupant. The impact on the environment is less than a Prius with two passengers or a Ford F-150 with eight! California saw a definite uptick in EV sales, once this was allowed there.
Next, we need a conversation starter with us everywhere, like a sports team’s or superhero’s logo on shirts, caps or jackets. How about this?
We could even have different charge levels shown, with catchy phrases like, “Charged,” or “Ready.” It could show a half depleted battery, “I charged for this?” or “Am I half charged or half empty?” or even one completely drained with “Put me to bed,” “Plug me in,” or “Time to recharge.” Anything that would start a conversation would be great.
I bought printer paper that actually is a magnetic sheet, sort of like a refrigerator magnet.
On this, I printed a QR code of the URL for this blog. I have a couple on my Volt, so if someone has a question, and I’m not around, they can find out about my story, instead of just another advertisement from a corporation.
Bon, on the other hand, refuses to put one on her fancy-shmancy white Volt. I guess there’s no accounting for taste (or the lack thereof, I’m sure she would add…). The image file is available by clicking on the code to the right, in case you want to print some and hang them around your town. (just a thought)
Bumper stickers are problematic for several reasons:
- I am leasing, rather than buying and don’t want to have to scrape the sticker off at the end of the lease.
- The entire rear end of the Volt’s body appears to be non-magnetic, so I can’t just use a magnetic sign.
- I hate bumper stickers, unless they’re very, very witty.
- I only like witty bumper stickers on other people’s cars.
Of course, we could start a comic book… okay! ‘graphic novel…’ about a new superhero, EV Man or Volt Guy or Volt Gal for that matter…
What would their weakness be? Their secret identity? Who would the supervillains be? This, of course, could be spun off into Saturday morning cartoons or even a Hollywood blockbuster!
Okay, maybe not.
But, anything we can do as owners to counteract the “nattering nabobs of negativism,” surrounding EV’s in the media would be beneficial, both to EV’s as a product, our environment, and our country. It would be nice if politicians (and news media types) could see the growing popularity of electric vehicles.
Of course, I’d love to see owners’ clubs spring up around the country. In my area, the only way to reach out to other owners is through your Volt salesperson. If you have a website or Facebook group created, they can at least send them there to make contact. That’s what I’m working on currently, trying to get a local owners group started. Everyone I know who has purchased a Volt or Leaf wants to share that experience with others. It’s a HUGE, untapped advertising medium!
I’d love to hear your ideas. How are you growing visibility in your area? Started a club yet? If yes, how did you start? What pitfalls have you seen?
How do you share your EV-ness?
