By Kev Kurdoghlian
Signalstabs author
Don’t let the silence fool you. Electric vehicles (EV) don’t make a lot of noise, but they are a lot of fun.
That is according to David Jay. The Canyon Country resident started driving his Tesla Model 3 three years ago after waiting two years for his new car to arrive.
“It was worth the wait,” Jay recalled when he received his first electric vehicle in 2018. “I mean, this car is amazing.”
Jay said the Model 3 is fast – a point he uses to explain the benefits of driving an electric vehicle to others.
“All I have to do is take them in my car and they are sold,” he said, noting that his passengers are impressed with the car’s torque. “There are some people who say, ‘I like the growl of an engine’ and then I drive them in my car and they’re all, ‘Damn the growl of the engine’.”
Maintenance, said Jay, or rather the lack of it, is another benefit.
“The only maintenance it has is like wiper fluid, tires, and brakes, and that’s it. There (are) no oil changes, there (are) no smog controls. It’s maintenance free, ”he said.
The transition to sustainable transportation is also important to Jay. He said he has solar panels and Tesla batteries in his house that allow him to charge his Tesla without relying on a polluting, non-renewable energy source.
“I grew up around a time in the 70s when I was in elementary school and … they actually canceled a break and they took a break because of the third level smog warnings in Los Angeles,” he said.
He remembers a brown sky that makes breathing difficult and blurs the view of the downtown Los Angeles skyline, and says he’s glad emissions standards have improved.
“Over the years emissions have gotten a lot better, but zero emissions are a lot better,” he said.
Achieving zero emissions has recently attracted attention at the national level.
President Joe Biden announced in April this year “a series of first steps towards the President’s goal of building a national network of 500,000 chargers to support convenient and affordable travel for zero-emission drivers across the country.”
Sales of hybrid electric vehicles, which use both gasoline and electricity for power generation, rose from 9,350 cars in 2000 to 400,476 cars sold in 2019, peaking at nearly 500,000 cars in 2013, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy .
Plug-in electric vehicle sales have now increased from 17,763 cars in 2011 to 326,644 in 2019, with a peak of 361,315 cars sold in 2018. California alone accounts for 42% of all electric vehicles registered in the country (as of December) . January 31, 2020.
Jay is part of this growing community that has local support in Santa Clarita. He is a member of the Santa Clarita Electric Vehicle Group, a Facebook community that answers questions and information about electric vehicles and is working on adding more electric charging stations.
On August 1, the Tesla Owners Club of Santa Clarita Valley became an officially recognized club of Tesla thanks to Jay and six others. Jay said the group is hosting its first EV and coffee event on September 18.
“It won’t be just for Teslas. We welcome all electric vehicles because our main goal is to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles and accelerate the transition to sustainable energy, ”he said.
Frontier Toyota has played a significant role in this transition since the first Toyota hybrids arrived at the Valencia dealership in 2000.
“We were early adapters, if you will, and it was great to see,” said Frontier Toyota general manager Bob Corson. “It’s an amazing technology.”
Corson said he currently carries several hybrid models including the Prius, Corolla, RAV 4, Camry, Highlander, Avalon, Sienna and Venza.
“So far, the demand for the hybrid seems to be the predominant desire of customers, as they are not solely dependent on electricity,” he said. “But now the demand is shifting a little more in the direction of fully electric vehicles.”
Corson said that all-electric vehicles had become more acceptable, noting that Santa Clarita was ahead of the curve in adopting hybrid and electric vehicles.
“We expect – hopefully more than just a few options – to have fully electric vehicles within the next year,” he said.
Nationally, the hybrid Toyota RAV 4 accounted for nearly a quarter of hybrid vehicle sales in 2019 alone, and the Toyota Prius plug-in electric vehicle was only second in sales to the Tesla Model 3.
“The technology is very well tested and real Toyota was the first to develop hybrid technology,” said Corson. “It is extremely safe, extremely reliable and extremely efficient.”
Learn more about the Santa Clarita electric vehicle community by searching for Santa Clarita Electric Vehicle Group (EV) on Facebook. The Tesla Owners Club of Santa Clarita Valley can be found on Facebook @TeslaSCV and Twitter @TeslaOwnersSCV.
Frontier Toyota is located at 23621 Creekside Road, Valencia, CA 91355. They can be reached online at FrontierToyota.com or by calling (877) 599-9961.
