The Denver EAA chapter is still dedicated to its core mission nearly 50 years after its founding

J. David McNeil first joined the Denver Electric Vehicle Council (DEVC), a chapter of the Electric Auto Association, soon after its founding in 1974, but he’s never owned a Tesla, a Chevrolet Bolt, or any other likely suspects. Instead, his collection of electric vehicles (EVs) has included a converted Yamaha motorcycle, a converted 1971 AMC Hornet, and several electric scooters.

McNeil, DEVC Secretary/Treasurer and now the sole member who hails from the early days, represents the technical core of this chapter.

“Fifty years ago, there were no EVs available commercially. Most of us just did our own conversions. Either that, or we’d buy one from someone else who did,” he said. “Now, most chapter members come to meetings interested in the bells and whistles on their LEAF or their i3.  They want to know what their car will do. But there are others of us who still have an interest in the conversion aspect and the more technical end of things.”

As a result, DEVC meetings reflect both perspectives. “Different people come out to different meetings depending on their interests,” he continued.

Started with two wheels 

McNeil’s first experience in converting EVs came in 1976 with a 1967 Yamaha Big Bear he found in his hometown of Colorado Springs.

“I cut the frame and extended it, and then a guy from the DEVC donated a golf cart motor,” he explained. “I ordered a controller from a company in California, which used a single power Darlington transistor, and 4 deep cycle 12-volt batteries.”

Subsequently, McNeil traveled to Seattle to purchase an already converted AMC Hornet  4-door sedan, and then towed the car back to Colorado.

“I felt like a real pioneer because I was the only one in town who had an electric car,” he said. “The Hornet was considered a luxury EV because of its size. Most other EVs at the time were much smaller. I gave a lot of rides to people… it was their first electric car experience.”

McNeil continued his outreach with other members of the DEVC, a chapter committed to education as a  primary goal. 

“We began with displays in shopping malls. Of course, for many years we just got ‘deer in headlights’ looks. When folks would find out the car had a 40-mile range, that was the end of discussion. It wasn’t just range anxiety, it was range phobia.” 

Technology front and center

Like other aspects of the chapter, EV education has often taken on a technological bent. Recently, DEVC Education Outreach Coordinator Dave Pence established an EV Club at the Horizons K-8 School in Boulder, where students are given hands-on experience converting the internal combustion gasoline engines of scooters, minibikes, bicycles and tricycles to electric.

“This has been a highly successful program in giving interested students an opportunity to participate in learning technical EV basics,” McNeil explained.  

The technology emphasis has also influenced DEVC member gatherings. “We like to do in person meetings when we can actually visit something,” he continued, describing chapter trips to battery manufacturing plants, wind farms, and the solar array at the U.S. Air Force Academy. “We did a tour of the Xcel Energy power plant in Denver where we got to see the different generators. They had created two new natural gas units to replace the older coal-fired units. That brought a pretty good turnout of our chapter members.”

The chapter’s annual participation in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb also speaks to EV technology. Held annually n the last week-end in June, the century-old event has included EVs for 38 years, and the DEVC has supported the effort for most of them.

“This race is the second oldest in the country after the Indianapolis 500,” said McNeil, a member of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Historical Association. “In 2013, the fastest bike was a Lightning Electric. In 2015, the two fastest cars were both electric, and in 2018, EVs completely dominated the race. We’ve had quite a few chapter members over the years enter the competition, and of course, many of us are there to cheer-on the electric entries. In 2019, it snowed on the peak the night before the race and we had to wait for the sun to come up and melt it.”

Important presence in the legislature

 The DEVC has stepped-up to the plate on numerous occasions when it comes to supporting EV legislation in the Colorado General Assembly, comprised of the Colorado House of Representatives and the Colorado Senate.

“The legislators are not educated on everything and the only way you’re going to get decent laws enacted is if you go to their committee meetings to testify and educate them on whatever the subject happens to be,” McNeil said. “Even with climate change, they’ve had to be educated.”

The DEVC has been involved with legislation regarding tax credits for EVs, imposition of fees to compensate for loss in state gas tax revenue, regulations on e-bikes and neighborhood electric street vehicles, and many other issues. 

“Lately, things have been going well for EVs in Colorado, so we’re more on the sidelines now,” McNeil explained. “We’re watching what’s going on in the legislature, and if we see something where we need to put our two cents in, we do.”

Presently, the chapter is supporting a bill to create a special license plate for EVs in order to promote their use to the general public.

“Colorado has special license plates for everything… for national parks, for every purpose and cause. It should be easy enough to get one for electric cars,” McNeil said. “What’s interesting is that we’ve been through this before. We got the same thing passed in the late 1970’s.  We had a special plate for all EV drivers… EV-1, EV-2.. my Hornet was EV-24. But they imposed a 5-year limit, so it ended a long time ago.”

Protecting the legacy

McNeil, who has been the chapter’s very prolific newsletter editor since 2012, has made sure to do his part to enshrine EV history. This past October, he led the chapter in coming to the rescue of a 1981 Jet Electrica 007, an electric car built in Texas that was scheduled for crushing in Southern California.

With the support of fellow DEVC members, McNeil negotiated a two-week reprieve from the crusher while the chapter searched for a “museum, government entity, organization, or individual who would step up to save this piece of history,” he wrote in an article published in the October issue of the newsletter.  Alongside this plea for help, he re-ran a second article originally published in the August, 1980 issue of the newsletter that featured a write-up of the Electrica, its technical specs, and its connection to Colorado where it was first created.

“I’m probably the only one in the chapter who remembers the Electrica from back then,” McNeil concluded. “So I took it upon myself to help keep its memory alive. I try to do that whenever I can.”