Commendation from City of Santa Monica

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We have been honored with a commendation from Terry O’Day (Mayor Pro Temp) on behalf of the City of Santa Monica for our dedication to Volts Wattson which debuted last month . This recognition commends us for the hurdles that we had to overcome and how we used this electric vehicle to raise awareness about climate change and ocean acidification. We were ecstatic to have received this great recognition from the City of Santa Monica because it shows that real scientific research and hard work pays off and our message is being heard! We shall continue advocating about our car conversion and look forward to more projects that are to come.

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Team Marine on CNN Latino!

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After unveiling our gas-to-electric car conversion project at Alt-Car Expo we were invited to go on CNN Latino on a news show called “Sin Limites con Elizabeth Espinosa”‘.  We were able to get the word out about our car at a Television network that gets millions of views daily and that positive media outreach surely helped us expand our audience level to a more well-rounded one.On that 2nd day of October, team marine members: Patricio Guerrero, Kimberly Fuentes, and Jazmin Carvajal went and spoke about our car in the hopes of reaching out to the Latin community. Our goal at this event was to explain the benefits of driving electric (monetary, health wise, and environmental) and showing the audience that this is something that the youth is extremely passionate about. It was very exciting to see our members on television thanks to Alberto Henriquez (Producer/ Booker), Claudia Bautista (Spanish teacher at Santa Monica High School), and Elizabeth Espinosa . We are all so grateful to have been granted this amazing opportunity and it will hopefully be one of many more to come! Check out the interview below!

 Direct Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5-M00DlzsI

Santa Fe Springs Car Show

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Last saturday, October 5th, We displayed “Volts Wattson” at the 6th Annual Classic Car show in Santa Fe Springs.  Although we rode up in our silent vehicles with no rev, we wound up being a huge hit! We really stood out and were able to educate many classic car enthusiasts about the effect of combustion engines on our environment. The people at the event were really happy to see that we were conserving the uniqueness of our classic 1971 Volkswagen Super-Beetle by converting it to an EV. Electric cars are our future and we were able to convey this by combining this classic car with today’s sustainable technology. We were also able to encourage high school students from Santa Fe Springs who are in the process of converting their own car. Thank you Kevin Jamero the principal of Santa Fe Springs High School as well as Sam Smith and Bill for granting us the opportunity  of participating in this wonderful show.

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National Plug In Day!

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On Saturday, September 8th, Team Marine had the honor of presenting our finished electric 1971 Super-Beetle at National Plug In Day. Electric engineering chief Patricio Guerrero and Left Coast Electric sponsor Gadget drove the car to the event from the Left Coast Electric garage in Inglewood to the event in Long Beach. All Team Marine members arrived at the event around 9a.m, and waited for the car, named Volts Wattson by the team and Gadget, to pull into the parking lot around 9:45. Upon its arrival, Volts received a fantastic round of applause from team members and some surrounding electric car owners. We set up immediately, pulling out free-standing posters, and brochures printed by Jason Vasquez (our sponsor at Wells Fargo), as well as hundreds of copies of our team card– printed on recycled paper. The back seat of the car had been left out so that those wishing to see the conversion process could see each individual battery pack with ease. Both the hood and trunk of the car were pulled out as well, so that the motor, motor controller, DC-to-DC converter, the throttle, the fuse box, the charger, and the additional lithium iron phosphate and lead acid batteries could be seen.

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At the start of the event, Team Marine members moved to a central area of the event to listen to various speakers talk about the event. The speakers were preceded by a video conference call with representatives in Amsterdam, who were holding their own National Plug In Day event. The crowds in Long Beach and the crowds in Amsterdam waved at each other through the video, and excitement was shared all around for the growing international popularity of electric vehicles. Viewers clapped and smiled as Plug In Day leader Paul Scott spoke with the event leader in Amsterdam about the day’s success. The event had already ended there, and the representative in Amsterdam recalled that the day had shown how quickly the number of electric vehicles is increasing everywhere. Following the video conference, numerous speakers expressed their gratitude to all those who support alternative energy, and all those who have given endless time and energy to the fight against combustion engines. Chancellor White, and Len Pettis from the Cal State University Chancellor’s Office and Vice Mayor Robert Garcia each spoke eloquently about the day’s significance for the future of electric cars.

For the remainder of the day, Team Marine received a constant flow of curious visitors to the car, as well as some media representatives. We were excited to share our project with numerous students of Santa Monica College, as well as many electric car owners presenting their own vehicles at the event. Most people were surprised by the car’s durability and distance range, which matches that of a Nissan Leaf. By the end of the day, all of our cards were gone, and we had collected a pile of cards from people and organizations interested in partnering with us, or writing a story about our project.

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The team left the event at 2 p.m, with renewed hope for the future of alternative energy, and many plans for partnerships with other electric vehicle supporters. Team Marine would like to thank Kitty Adams from Adopt-A-Charger for hosting the event and organizing the press conference as well as the raffle its prizes. We would also like to thank Zan Dubbin and Paul Scott from Plug In America for their support in our project as well as their warm welcome towards us in their event. It was fantastic to see eco-celebs Chelsea Sexton, and Ed Begley Jr. at the event, as always. And, last but certainly not least, we would like to thank Roy Persinko, who photographed the team, and fed us as soon as we grew tired and hungry.

Alt Car Expo

IMG_1318For the past four years we have been working on the conversion of a 1971 Volkswagen Super-Beetle (donated to us by the Poon-Fear family in 2009) from a combustion engine into an all-electric vehicle. On September 20th and 21st we had the debut of our car “Wattson” at the Santa Monica Civic Center for the Alt-Car Expo. This two-day event was filled with entertaining interaction and education. Alt-Car Expo gave us the opportunity to turn our car into a “lesson plan on wheels”. We were able to teach people about the effects of combustion engines in our environment and health as well as showing our conversion process and techniques. We also got to learn a lot and share thoughts with the other electric car companies that were in the event. It was very pleasing to see how thrilled everyone was to learn about our car and the benefits of electric cars. Even toddlers liked our car (image below)! Thank you to all the supportive people at the event including Christine Dzilvelis for coordinating, Rick Sikes for managing the City of Santa Monica,and Roy Persinko, Fabian Lewkowicz, and Valerie Macon for their beautiful photography. A very special thanks to Alt-Car Expo for giving us this wonderful opportunity to debut our all-electric car.

 

 Additional Press:

Huffington Post

Santa Monica Lookout

Power Systems Design

World Team Now Blog

Teen Nick

Santa Monica Daily Press

Santa Monica Close-up

The Corsair

Electric Car Conversion Complete!

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This past Monday, Team Marine completed the gas to electric conversion of a 1971 convertible Volkswagen Super Beetle. The project started in 2009, when the Poon-Fear family donated the car to Team Marine for a conversion project.  The car will publicly debut at the Santa Monica Alternative Car Exposition, which takes place today and tomorrow (September 20 and 21). We hope to see you there!

Full Press Release:  High School Students Convert Classic Combustible into EV

Teen Nick Post on Car

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