Past Meetups (53)
What we're about
People excited about the development of electric cars and other vehicles powered by electrons in the Las Vegas Valley.
Electric cars are nothing new, they have been part of US transportation technologies for over 100 years. If you think in terms of "What if", if you care about Sustainability and Green Initiatives, if you want your driving experience to connect with your life, if you can create something great from nothing, then you need to be here !
Group activities focus on educational awareness about electric car technologies, recharging station infrastructure, test drive experiences through local dealerships, and lots of fun!
The international Electric Auto Association has been spreading the word about electric cars for 50 years, since 1967, but gained more interest after a 1973-1974 OPEC oil embargo that created long gasoline lines at local gas stations due to refinery shortages: http://www.electricauto.org
Since then, the organization has grown to over 60 international chapters across the country, including the local Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association, that spun out of meetings between scientists at the Desert Research Institute during 1992: http://lasvegaseva.org
Before there was a Tesla Gigafactory in northern Nevada or a proposed Faraday Future factory in North Las Vegas, there was Lectra Motors. The electric car company produced over 1000 electric cars and trucks based on Datsun converted vehicle chassis at a factory on Valley View Drive in Las Vegas. The cars were converted by hand on an assembly line that ramped up to 60 electric vehicles a month from 1979-1982.
Many early members of the LVEVA also converted existing classic gasoline-powered cars to electric, including a 1965 Mustang Fastback, DeLorean DMC, Fiat Spyder, Pontiac Fiero, Mitsubishi Mighty Max trucks, and other lightweight vehicles that could also accept a lot of lead-acid battery cells.
Some members of the local LVEVA raced their garage-builty electric hot rods alongside gasoline-powered race cars at "The Strip" dragstrip within the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. They sponsored events at LVMS during the late 1990s and early 2000s, as part of the National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) annual circuit, that was affiliated with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA): http://nedra.com
After 25 years of active innovation, the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association continues to explore new EV technologies, as well as Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) infrastructure like the "Nevada Electric Highway", in order to encourage the use of electric cars and other vehicles throughout the state.
Come join us and be part of an electric car revolution. Its fun, adventurous and exciting!
