SEVA Meeting Minutes – November 2021

Seattle Electric Vehicle Association

Nov 9, 2021 meeting minutes

The November 2021 meeting convened at First Church of the Nazarene in Wallingford. Vice President Grace Reamer issued the call to order at 7:02 p.m..

Updates – President Jay Donnaway reported that Tesla stock prices crashed when CEO Elon Musk sold $124 million worth of shares in order to meet a tax obligation.

Ford Eluminator Project Report – Treasurer Charlie Tsai reported on the Specialty Equipment Market Association, SEMA, event in Las Vegas. Ford contacted Charlie’s group to work on electrifying an F100 with a crate motor. The product is called the F100 Eluminator. Former President Stephen Johnsen also is working on this project, which uses batteries from a Mach-E. Jay said that actually obtaining the crate motor with its needed additional parts such as the controller has so far not proven possible. Charlie showed a slideshow of the truck’s production. Other companies present at the SEMA convention included Cobra from Spain.

Events – Ron Easley reported on the Holley High Voltage event which will be Nov. 13-14 at Sonoma Raceway. A Ford F100 will make an appearance there. Ron will participate in the autocross and drag-race events.

Charging policy – Andrea Tousignant reported on Governor Inslee’s executive order directing that the state vehicle fleet be electrified by 2035. Andrea also described the Mapping and Forecasting Tool, which is for planners and policymakers to better understand the requirements of, and needs to be met by, EV infrastructure buildout. This package aids planning for EV impacts on the electric supply, and it provides data for policymaking addressing social-equity concerns. Andrea also reported that the West Coast Electric Highway will get upgrades, including converting Chademo-only DCFC stations to combo. Chris Royalty said that the federal infrastructure bill has an additional $71 million for EV infrastructure in Washington. Andrea solicited opinions as to what the Planning and Forecasting Tool should collect.

DEWA report – Grace reported about Drive Electric Washington’s policy survey. Respondents want to see better purchase incentives. Maybe the incentive should be extended to all vehicles, eliminating the $45,000 cutoff. The survey also brought a lot of discussion of the Road Usage Charge proposal. Clean Cars 2030 was less emphasized; California’s 2035 policy might be an alternative. Fuel cells were not favored, except for niche uses such as storage of excess hydroelectricity. Direct EV sales were important.

What EV should you purchase? – A big part of SEVA’s mission is to provide advice and assistance to drivers interested in purchasing their first EV. New attendee Stan led a discussion of EV purchasing. He recounted the several-month delay in delivery of new Teslas and others. Due to its recall, he wasn’t considering a Chevy Bolt. Stan’s leading candidate is now the Ford Mach E. Jay and Grace suggested that Stan could request help from SEVA members with ride-and-drive opportunities through the SEVA e-mail list..

Next meeting – Members agreed to revive the Annual Holiday Party that was canceled last year because of the pandemic. The event will occur at the regular Dec. 14 meeting time, and the venue will be The Vine Baptist Church, 7750 21st Ave. NW in Seattle. Special guests will be leaders from Nobe, the Estonian maker of a three-wheeled, retro-designed EV that is preparing to launch in the U.S., with the help of Sandy Munro & Associates.

Fund-raising raffle – Chris Royalty won the raffle. Brian Grunkemeyer won the toy Tesla.

Jay adjourned the meeting in the vicinity of 8:40 pm.

Minutes prepared by Secretary Billy Kreuter and edited by Vice President Grace Reamer

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Zoom Meeting Recording(s):
: Did Not Stream Meeting