I've had the chance to compile the latest video of life with the Tredia. It's just a simple video of everyday driving and events throughout the small town of New Plymouth here in New Zealand. Check it out by pressing play!
I've had a few interesting occurrences while driving the car, especially in underground car parks where you just can't hear the car when it's coasting at low speed. The controller makes that "interesting" whining noise when you're applying power at low speed, but as soon as you take your foot off the gas it goes into stealth mode! You have to keep your eyes open as people actually walk right in front of the moving car! It's happened a couple of times so I've learnt to coast with my foot right above the brake pedal just in case!
Last week after getting some groceries we "started" the car and reversed out of our parking space. It was a quiet evening so the lack of noise was pretty obvious. The couple next to us stopped loading their groceries and watched us reverse out silently, stop, and move off all with a quick whine and no fumes. They were both still staring as we left the underground carpark, giving them ample time to read "Electric Vehicle" on the rear - although they figured it out way before then! :)
With the publicity in the paper it seems that everyone here knows about the electric car which is great. They know that EV's aren't mythical, impossible dreams - they're real and they're easy to convert. Even when transferring the money for the charger to EV America, the woman asked "You're the one who made the electric car aren't you?". I've got my 15 minutes of fame - though I still haven't made any money out of it!
There's one thing I must confess though: I been known to watch my rear-vision mirror when cars pull up behind me at the lights. I feel guilty doing it but the reactions are worth it! Most of the time (if there are two people in the following car) then someone will point at the sticker and I'll see them start to talk about it. Some have almost broken their necks to watch the EV as I turn away at an intersection! That's my daily cheap thrill. My other thrill is driving past the many gas stations in our city. Gas has finally reached $1.96 a litre here, which equates to $5.60 USD per gallon.
All these little experiences shed light onto what it's actually like owning an EV. I know I'm biased but let me say it's just bloody marvellous. I still get the "EV grin" almost every time I drive the car, and anyone else that drives the car says how badly they want one!
