My sojourn from grease monkey to EV advocate

By TERESA PORTER; PRESIDENT, HEART OF TEXAS ELECTRIC AUTO ASSOCIATION

I’m probably the last person you’d expect to be passionate about electric vehicles (EVs). My earliest memory is the smell of Chem dip and the sound of a ratchet clicking. I grew up under the elbow of a mechanic, and spent more than half my life either in a garage or in the pits at a race track. Some of my friends swear that if you cut me, I’ll bleed gear oil. From dirt track racing to slab crawlin’, I live and breathe the car culture.  

My father taught me how to turn wrenches, and ignited a lifelong go-fast fetish. My grandfather taught me many things, including respect for Mother Earth. Neither of them taught me that the two were connected to each other. I spent years in blissful blindness, never thinking about tailpipe emissions unless I was trying to tune an engine. As I’ve grown older and wiser, it’s been increasingly difficult to admit that what I love is destroying what I respect.

An always unfolding journey

Coincidence and curiosity led me to take the leap into the mysterious world of EVs. I didn’t know a thing about them. The day the key fob hit my hand, I immediately began seeing, sensing, and exploring this new thing with an open mind, open heart, and open will. 

As I continue on this path, I continue to operate from that open place and hold the space to allow whatever happens to happen. I have random moments of presencing that move me to do crazy things like start an EAA chapter.

While holding the space to allow future chapter leaders to emerge, I am beginning the work that needs to be done. Am I making progress? A little. My attentiveness to Waco and Mclennan County has led to deeper and more informative discussions concerning fleet and transit vehicles, as well as my appointment to the city of Waco’s Sustainable Resource Practices Advisory Board. 

Who would have thought?

When I launched our chapter 19 months ago, you could count the number of networked EV charging stations in the area on one hand. Now there are more than 40 locations that have applied for Texas Commission on Environmental Quality VEMP Level 2 grants, and I know of a few more that are still discussing plans in committee. I won’t even try to take credit for the progress. All I did was provide information and offer my 24/7 availability to help out and answer questions. 

In this part of Texas, it’s a mix of a few big cities and a lot of small towns. In the seven counties I have chosen to serve, there are oil fields, windmills, solar farms, and even a hydroelectric dam. In some towns, farm tractors outnumber cars. Most folks don’t care about air quality, and roll their eyes if you even hint at climate change. There are a lot of very conservative Republican voters, some already sporting T**** 2024 flags and bumper stickers. 

Every month I visit a different county. I take a day off work, gas up my old school Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) queen and ride out for in-person visits with as many chambers of commerce, economic development entities, fleet managers, city and county staff, and car dealerships that I can squeeze into a day.

I meet a lot of resistance, misinformation, confusion, curveballs, and screwballs. In two of the counties, I am often asked if I’m part of “that climate group.”  No, I’m different, I tell them. Climate groups focus on overall sustainability. My focus is on things that go zoom. 

Playing to the audience

When I advocate for EVs, I start with things that folks care about, like tourism, jobs, or economics. For example, when a historic downtown area is undergoing a revitalization, I make sure it’s widely known that EV charging stations bring more tourism to town and provide economic stimulus. 

When they look at me like I’m nuts, I point to my queen and tell them, “I had to drive this gas car out here because there’s no charging station for my EV. It takes 4 hours to charge my EV. Imagine how much money I could spend while I’m waiting to charge-up, and then multiply that by 50,570 EV owners in Texas.” This gets their attention.

Sometimes I talk about the advanced energy sector job growth and explain how the town’s proximity to trade routes can attract industry jobs. When we talk about fleet vehicles, I tell them that even though the initial purchase price for an EV is higher, the overall lower total cost of ownership will demonstrate fiscal responsibility to taxpayers. 

When I visit marinas and resorts, I ask about their watercraft, and then mention that electric boat motors don’t require winterization. Uri (the February freeze) is still in the forefront of many minds, so I tell them it’s now clear that going electric—and therefore using more battery power—stabilizes the grid, and that this is based on testimony given in the Texas State Legislature by the Advanced Power Alliance and the Texas Solar Power Association.

I tell everyone about vehicle-to-grid technology, and remind them that diesel fuel gels when they forget to add the anti-gel.

Playing with the noisy boys

When I talk with folks who like to rattle windows with their gas pedal (old school muscle car boys, new school muscle car boys, diesel dummies), I let my EV do the talking. A few years back, we could have a little run-what-you-brung fun at a small drag strip in Limestone County, but the owners let it go to the cows, so now we take it to the streets on Saturday night. 

We line up three wide at the red lights and go on green. My right foot is like a sledgehammer and I have a really quick reaction time. Once I leave the line, the others stay well behind me until the next red light. Every light it's the same thing. When we return to our starting point parking lot, sometimes I tease them: “Man, that thing is slow. You need to sell it and get something with instant horsepower.” It keeps me laughing...especially when some kid gets mad because he just dumped a bunch of money into his car and I STILL beat him every time.

Some might see our racing activity as irresponsible and dangerous, but most of us know and obey the rules. The cops let us bend some of them, but not break them, and they will shut us down for the night if there’s a wreck. For example, a little tire chirp is okay, but a deliberate burnout is not. Going more than a few miles over the speed limit will get you pulled over and handed an expensive certificate of participation (ticket). 

A great fit into car culture

I have always loved going to car shows. The car culture is strong here, and very diverse. We have it all: antiques, hot rods, gassers, tuners, lowriders, slabs on swangas and vogues, etc. We even have some of those squatter trucks that look like they’re riding around with busted springs and missing shocks. 

Until October 2019, the only thing missing at these shows was electric cars. In a way, they’re still missing. I’m usually the only one with an EV. I have met a couple of other EV attendees. They do love their cars, but they’re not enthusiasts like I am. They tend to drop by the show for just a few minutes, almost never for the duration.

Car show attendees are as diverse as the show entrants. Some are looking for a fight. You can tell by the way they stroll up, saying something like, “How do you like driving your coal-powered car?” I have fun with those guys…might as well be snarky. They ain’t gonna listen anyway. 

Some visitors are the shy-but-curious types. When they first walk past our display, they’ll keep a distance and glance at us out of the corner of their eyes. The next time they walk by, they’ll be a few feet closer and turn their heads a little. Some are skittish, like a wild animal. 

The trick is to be patient and remain quiet. Read a book. Hang out at the back of the car. They will eventually stop to look at the display boards and handouts. Give them time to take it in. Sometimes they grab an EV guide and stuff it in their pocket as they quickly walk away. Sometimes they’ll peek in the car windows. 

I make sure to let them make first contact. Then, I encourage them to get into the car and touch things. I offer to take them for a ride after the show. I answer their questions honestly, and if I don’t know, I tell them I don’t know. 

I’ve had many curveball questions thrown at me in the past 23 months. I’ve brushed up on a little bit of everything from Distributed Energy Resources Management Systems to basic electrical engineering. Some of the webinars I’ve viewed are way over my head, but fascinating enough to keep me intrigued. It’s kinda weird…ICE owners aren’t expected to know a thing about their fuel, but I’m expected to know everything from the current Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid mix to the well-to-wheel efficiency of EVs vs ICE cars, not to mention which lithium mines are sustainably managed. 

Motorsports will be the key to many hearts

The news about the exciting world of electric motorsports is quieter than the cars, but we need to shout it from the rooftops. I talk to so many motorsports enthusiasts who have no idea that Formula E exists, or that Steve Huff broke 200 mph last year. 

Next year will be the debut of the E1 series electric boat racing, eGTs, and an all-electric class in the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment series. It’s just a matter of time before NASCAR includes electrics. Can you imagine Grave Digger as a BEV? That would be so awesome.