More Bay Area EV1 Event Impressions

Greg has already given a good run-down of the event. In addition to Greg's pictures, there are more at http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/1758/gmti1.jpg

I haven't seen an index for the above pix. There is actually 1 photo at ..../gmti1.jpg, then more at .../gmtin.jpg, where n ranges up to about 10 or 12.... but there are some missing in the series. gmt1 shows the whole lineup in front of the building, with the yellow Impact in front.

One thing Greg didn't mention was a short speech by one of the new SF owners, Steve Dibner (yes, GM gave them all official OWNER badges).... a basoonist from the San Francisco Symphony, I think. This fellow gave a very moving talk about how he had been waiting three years for this day, and you could tell he was really extremely excited and enthused about the car..... and really could hardly wait for delivery. Talked about pollution around the world that he observed on Symphony tours, and how he felt he could contribute to a better environment and preservation of natural resources without giving up ANYTHING, and having a blast doing it! Very inspirational!

The speech by Greg Harper from the Bay Area Air Quality Mangement District was good, too.... He was careful to start out by saying he did not represent GM or Saturn.... then he said.... "But I've got to tell you.... you just have to drive this car! It is FUN!....."

Yes, obviously I was there. It was good to meet Greg after all the e-mail exchanges. Also Gloria Quinn, Pat Ward, and many others. My brother, Terry, and Mary, his wife, were there, and took "ceremonial delivery" of their new red EV1. Terry and Mary live in San Jose. My other brother, Mike, from Petaluma, was also there. He's a holdout at present.... too many new cars in the garage already.

I was also asked if I drove my EV1 down from Folsom. NOT! Actually, I thought about doing that, or flatbedding it down... but I didn't have time to pursue it. Still need to get another charger or two up and running in order to make the rally trip from Folsom to San Jose..... but I'll do it one of these months... I might be able to make it from Folsom to Fairfield, and I know I could make it from Fairfield to Concord, and from Concord to SF.... etc. If there was a charger in Vacaville, I could certainly make it.... It would be like the LA to San Diego escapade....

I recorded the VINs of all the cars I saw.... I'm keeping a "sightings" file on my Palm Pilot, and I'll add the 19 new ones I saw at TI to the list.....I don't know for sure if I saw all the ones that were there. If anybody is interested in such trivia, I'd be glad to post an e-mail of my "sightings" file.... Let me know....

Besides the 19 real EV1s, there was yellow Impact speed record holder 4G5PG23AUSB5008EX. There is a sign inside "Do not exceed 190 MPH in first gear!". (Hey, that must apply to reverse as well!)