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Test drives and a preview of "Pump" documentary featured at 9th Annual AltCar Expo

by Jason Rzucidlo

americajr@americajr.com

WATCH: Test Drive of the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf with interview

WATCH: Interview with Dean Taylor from Southern California Edison

WATCH: Interviews with attendees at the 2014 AltCar Expo

WATCH: Highlights from the panel discussions

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- The 9th Annual AltCar Expo returned to the Santa Monica Civic Center on Sept. 19 and 20. Attendees had the chance to get behind the wheel of alternative energy vehicles such as the Toyota Prius plug-in, Petersen electric motorcycle, Mercedes-Benz B-Class electric, Honda Accord plug-in and the Ford Focus electric, among many others. This was the very first time car lovers could lay their eyes on the Nissan Blade Glider concept car and the Toyota Fuel Cell Vehicle. The expo also featured panel discussions and a keynote by Stanford lecturer Tony Seba, who argued that every U.S. vehicle will beelectric by 2030.

I had the opportunity to test drive the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf electric vehicle two months before it will hit the market. Upon getting behind the wheel, it reminded me of the Nissan LEAF. The e-Golf offers a similar range as the LEAF (84 miles) and the Ford Focus Electric (76 miles). It was very quiet to drive and had enough power to fit my everyday lifestyle. I wasn’t going to have to give anything up by owning this car. The SEL premium model will go on sale this year with an entry-level version hitting showrooms a year from now.

“It will be the most roomy, spacious compact on the market when it comes to the market in November," said Darryll Harrison Jr., Manager of Brand Public Relations for Volkswagen of America, Inc. “In addition to that, most people will probably see range of 70 miles in real-world driving. But the really cool thing about the car is that it has three driver selectable profiles meaning you can drive as efficient as you’d like. We have normal, eco and eco plus. Each mode impacting the top speed, the amount of torque that’s available, the amount of air conditioning that you use to help improve or reduce the amount of efficiency.”

Now that southern Californians have been driving electric cars for five years now, I wondered what the impact has been on the power plants. I met up with Dean Taylor, the senior program manager of electric transportation at Southern California Edison. He says the electric company is doing just fine with there being very little chance of a brownout or blackout in the future.

“The power network is so huge and so vast, we only have about 30,000 electric cars on the California Edison system,” Taylor explained. “As far as impact on power plants and transformers, the impact is essentially negligible. The grid is constantly evolving, constantly being modernized to prepare for solar and other renewable energy that’s coming. We’re literally spending $4 billion a year in modernizing the grid. We’re checking people’s transformers when they’re buying cars to help make sure that those are sized properly.”

While most of the manufacturers brought 2015 models for test drives, Mercedes-Benz had a different approach. The German automaker showed off its 2011 model of the B-Class F-Cell. It is a fuel cell vehicle that was ahead of its time when it first debuted. The F-Cell received a new paint scheme and I actually thought it was brand new.

“We wanted to support the infrastructure build-up and our next vehicle we anticipate as early as 2017, “ said Lora Renz, senior communications specialist at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development. “Right now, we have a cooperation with Nissan and Ford and are building a fuel cell platform. We’re hoping that with that cooperation, we can bring costs down and allow us to bring a sizable number of vehicles to the market as early as 2017.”

Loki Efam from Torrance, Calif. purchased a B-Class F-Cell and was kind enough to share his experience with driving it and re-fueling around southern California. He refuels at one of five hydrogen stations near his house.

“I love the car, i’ve had it for three years,” Efam explained. “It’s great fun and I enjoy participating in various events—auto shows, marketing and things like that. Basically, we don’t use any petroleum. I use it to go to work and I can refuel twice a week and it meets my needs. I get 260 miles on a tank. My favorite part is running and my only exhaust is steam. I get to go in the FastTrak lanes without any additional passenger."

Attendee Louis A. Wolf came to the AltCar Expo all the way from Seattle. He flew in Saturday morning, test drove a few alternative energy vehicles and then returned the same night. Wolf is a member of the Seattle Electric Vehicle Association.

“I’d have to say the Hyundai Tucson fuel cell is my favorite,” Wolf said. “All three of the fuel cells, top three, followed by the Mercedes B-Class F-Cell and the Honda FCX Clarity. It’s been a long day, but a fun one. I’m going to convert a Lincoln Mark V Continental into a fuel cell hydrogen vehicle. Right now, I’m kind of looking for funding. If you want to learn more about it, go to SeattleFuelCell.com or you can follow me on Twitter @FuelCellLincoln.”

This year's AltCar Expo wrapped up with a preview of the documentary “Pump.” Pump shows us how through the use of a variety of replacement fuels, we will be able to fill up our cars – cheaper, cleaner and American made - and in the process, create a cleaner environment and more jobs for a stronger, healthier economy. Director Joshua Tickell was in attendance for a panel discussion with attendees.

The dates have already been announced for next year’s 10th Annual AltCar Expo. Join us on Sept. 18 and 19 in the city of Santa Monica.

For more information about the AltCar Expo, visit www.altcarexpo.com.