2024 Oregon Electric Vehicle Association Drive Electric Earth Month
Test Drive and Information Expo

The 2024 Oregon Electric Vehicle Association Drive Electric Earth Month Test Drive and Information Expo event on Sunday April 28th was a great success! In spite of some rain showers that may have reduced attendance somewhat, we had great Test Drive participation from dealers and guests, with an estimated 500 test drives given. New for this event, there were car display areas for dealers next to the test drives to give people vehicles to look at while they waited for their turn for a test drive. Thanks to the dealers, and their sales folk, and to the many OEVA volunteers who kept the test drives running smoothly all day.

We had dozens of owner display vehicles, including some of the latest in-demand models, like a couple of Cybertrucks. It's not just about answering questions for people who are thinking about buying their first EV. A big part of the OEVA experience is owners talking with each other, sharing their experiences using their EVs. There were several unique EV conversions, and even antique EVs. Our thanks to everyone who brought vehicles, and we hope everyone had a fun and interesting day.

We were a bit concerned that guests wouldn't find the Expert Presentations, off in the Daimler Headquarters building, but all of the presentations were well attended. Brian White of YouTube channel FutureAZA recorded the presentations (and recorded other interviews from our event) and has put them up on his channel along with his regular prolific content. Those will be added to the Videos page soon. Thanks to the presenters Gary Exner and Rob Grove, and to Brian White for two presentations.

Tony Ackerman and the other volunteers from the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum in Hood River again brought their 1914 Detroit Electric to our Expo and gave guests the electric ride experience of 110 years ago. It's a hoot! Our thanks to Tony and the WAAAM volunteers!

Did you get to the Information Tents in the back row of the event? OEVA Premier Sponsors PGE and Pacific Power had tents where they had great information about charging incentives and plans to help you save money charging your EV. All our sponsor tents had information that can be helpful to EV owner's and are worth checking out at our events. Our thanks to all our sponsors, and particularly to our site host, Daimler Truck North America, and Diego Quevedo at Daimler who made all of the arrangements for use of the facilities.

Thanks to all the people who have contributed photos from the event. I tend to focus on the people at the event because I want to convey the enjoyment expressed by the guests who are there, but some folks really just want to see pictures of cars. So in the photo carousel below I've included some of the photos people have sent to me, which tend to be of the latter type. I hope everyone will find some photos here that they like!

About the Oregon electric vehicle association

The Oregon Electric Vehicle Association (OEVA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit all volunteer group of EV Enthusiasts, EV Evangelists, and EV Owners of all makes and models, and an independent chapter of the national Electric Vehicle Association. If you are intrigued by the EV revolution and want to find out more about us, check out our Membership page.

See what we're planning on our Events page. We help organize and staff the Electric Vehicle Showcase (Part of Electric Avenue) at the Oregon International Auto Show each winter, and we host a Drive Electric Earth Month (DEEM) event in the spring and National Drive Electric Week (NDEW) event in the fall. At these events you can talk with experienced EV owners who can answer your questions from their personal experience. At DEEM and NDEW we all have our personal EVs present. Some of us have basic, economy EVs. Many of us have technically advanced vehicles, computers on wheels, and we can invite you inside and take the time to show you how this new technology has made driving safer, more reliable, and less stressful. It's like how the smartphone changed cellphones, but for cars. We also have meetings every month where we talk about EVs, learn about EVs, and generally have a pleasant time.

We are all about sharing our EV knowledge from our own experience. Check out the Stories pages, where our members tell their stories of living with an EV instead of a gas car.

You will be amazed at the number of fully electric vehicles available. Extensive information about them is compiled on the Cars page.

Have questions about EVs? See our Ask page where you can submit questions for our EV experts to answer, and eventually browse a collection of the best questions and answers.

Would you like to talk with an owner of the type of EV you are thinking of buying? Our Mentor page connects you with an OEVA volunteer who can dialog with you to answer your questions from their actual experience.

The About page has information about the 2024 OEVA Board and members doing Special Projects for the association.

Want to find out about upcoming OEVA events and activities? Join the OEVA announcements email group at this link: Keep informed - Receive Announcements.

Consider joining our EVTalk Discussion Group. It's a great way to connect with knowledgeable EV owners, participate in interesting EV related discussions, get local service recommendations, and buy or sell EVs, parts, or accessories.