4 years ago I thought the EV industry needed to host an EV Rally in below freezing weather to eliminate talk about "Range Anxiety & Cold Weather issues", and since no one had hosted that below freezing EV rally, I had to make it happen. The thought came when I read an article describing the 1st auto race in the USA, the 1895 Times-Herald race, the purpose of which was to prove to the public that the automobile was a better and less polluting way to move goods and services to market compared to the horse. 18" of snow fell two days prior to the event and below freezing weather settled on Chicago, which helped the public understand how superior the autos were. The parallel to today's discussions of moving to electric & electrified vehicles was too much to ignore, combined with modifing the course to roll past the President's southside home, made it impossible to resist hosting, so The 101 Celsius Electrified and Alternative-fueled vehicle Rally was created and held 15 February 2013 and fifteen 2013 vehicles recreated the 1895 course
It didn't hurt motivation that I needed publicity for a Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign, but the EV Rally would have rolled regardless.
Participants in the first below freezing EV Rally:
Chevrolet Volt(s) -2
Fisker Karma
Ford C-Max
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid - first release to the public
Nissan Leaf
Mitsubishi iMev
Tesla Model S
Tesla Roadster
Toyota Prius C
Toyota Prius V
Toyota Prius PHev
Volkswagen Passat TDI
Via Motors Silverado
Testa Produce's Delivery vehicle by smith electric
The 1895 Course
The original 1895 course was roughly 51 miles and that was enough to prove to public that the automobile was better than the horse.
The 2013 Course
I felt 51 miles wasn't enough and I wanted to add a loop by President Obama southside home, to help make a point. We started at McCormick Place, recreated the course and added the loop around Jackson Park past the President's home and back to McCormick Place for a total of 55.25 miles.
We left Chicago's McCormick Place at 10am, up to City Hall to drop off City Hall staff
The 30 minutes stop in Evanston was amazing. More than 100 citizens, the Evanston mayor, staff and Press braved single digit windchill to look at the 2013 vehicles. Testa Produce's delivery truck was an amazing hit with everyone, as was the Fisker Karma- photos just don't do this vehicle justice. We were lucky to have a Representative from Chevrolet to handle everyone around the Chevy Volt and their questions.
The route then took us past the Chicago's "Center for Green Technology" where we stopped to refuel ourselves and the vehicles. We brought a charger for the Testa Produce truck and were fortunate to plugin to 240V outlet at Christy Webber Landscaping located next to the Center for Green Technology. Other vehicles plugging in to 120V outlets Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf, Toyota PHEV.
The Mitsubishi IMev was crowded out from pluging in at the Center and so drove to the DC Fast charging station at Illinois Institute of Technology. The vehicle came into IIT at under 5 miles of range, in 15 minutes the vehicle had 80% charge of its' 62 mile range and continued on the course.
The Rally rolled across Chicago’s west and south side across the Midway plaisance and around Jackson Park and President Obama’s Rally. Our return loop was blocked by Chicago’s finest and so the Rally rolled north on Lake Shore Drive to 47th Street exit, so we could turn south again and roll past the President’s Hyde Park home. The Rally then turned north on Martin Luther King Drive and finished at McCormick place.
The original purpose of the 1895 race was to prove vehicles were less polluting and ultimately a less expensive way to move people and goods compared to the horse. An electric vehicle, the Morris & Solam "Electrobat" motocycle of Philadelphia PA won the Gold medal. The 1895 race is credited with advancing the US auto industry by 5 years. Adding the historic perspective to today's discussions about CO2 pollution by comparing those discussions to the pollution discussions of 1895 were part of the overall theme.
The 101 Celsius Electrified and Alternative Fueled Rally vehicles traveled 55.25 miles in below freezing weather with a maximum of 45 minutes of recharging for any vehicle. At twice the distance of the normal commute and on frozen snowy streets, it is hoped that the 101 Celsius Electrified & Alt-fueled Vehicle Rally shows the public the vehicles are more than capable of moving them the distance needed in all seasons.
You can see photos taken during the Rally at the 101 Celsius fb page or my Google+ page