Elecric car road trip to stop in Las Vegas

Growing up during the 1960s, one of my favorite TV shows was "Route 66." It featured two men driving a classic Corvette sports car across this fabled interstate highway system. The TV show captured the diverse spirit of the vast American highway as well as the excitement of driving an American sports car to discover what lay ahead on the open road.

Owners of Tesla Motors Roadsters are finding similar adventure in planning road trips for their all-electric sports cars.

Michael Craner and Madushini "Maddy" Gunawardana will drive their Roadster from New York to California this summer to draw attention to electric cars and renewable energy. Their Renew America Roadtrip is scheduled from July 15-31, with a stop at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve on Monday, July 27.

Craner and Gunawardna will stay overnight at the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified Element hotel in Summerlin before participating in an Electric Vehicle Fiesta from 9 a.m. to noon on July 28 at the hotel. Afterward, the two will view the Amonix solar power station at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus in the afternoon, before heading on to Barstow. As they cross the country, they will be joined by a caravan that includes a Nissan Altima Hybrid chase vehicle, a plug-in Toyota Prius hybrid and other Tesla Roadsters.

Adding to the adventure, the Renew America Roadtrip will employ the latest social communication tools and mobile electronics to aid them in their cross-country journey, including e-mail, texting, Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Docs, YouTube video, blogs and a Garmin GPS system for navigation. The team also subscribes to the Coulomb Technologies ChargePoint network, a GPS-related service that shows the status, location and access to the company's network of electric charging stations throughout the country.

The two-seat Tesla Roadster employs a lithium-ion battery pack consisting of 6,831 cells that are monitored and controlled by a power electronics module to drive the Roadster's electric motor. The Tesla Motors' Web site touts the range of the Roadster as 220 miles between charges but most drivers stay within shorter recharge distances to protect the life cycle of their battery packs and shorten recharging times. Nominal roadtrip ranges are usually planned to allow about 140 to 160 miles between charges for each leg of a journey, with 196 miles the absolute maximum. This gives Roadster owners about 35 miles of reserve battery power in case of unexpected difficulties.

Fortunately, most recreational vehicle camp sites across the U.S. are equipped with 240-VAC, 50-amp outlets for the large RVs that also travel cross-country. The planning team for the Renew America Roadtrip has estimated that there are approximately 700 RV campgrounds located within 30 miles at points along the planned route of travel that have 50-amp resources, which allow for a seven-to-10-hour recharging time.

Despite these limitations, Tesla Roadster owners are a dedicated group of trailblazers that are determined to help reinvent the automotive industry. Tiny Tesla Motors continues to defy the odds by overcoming technical, financial and political adversities. The turbulent growth of the company has been well-documented, but, after several years of struggle, the first production models of the Roadster began rolling out of its Menlo Park, Calif., salesroom floor in 2008.

Earl Cox is credited by other Tesla Roadster owners as being the first pioneer to make a historic cross country trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and back in his Roadster during 2008. He was later followed by Dr. Geoff Kinsey, who made a round trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas later that year while blogging about his experiences. While in Las Vegas, Kinsey recharged the Tesla Roadster at the Circus Circus RV park.

In the last three months, the company has strengthened its technical, financial and organizational footing while expanding its efforts to introduce an all-electric four-door sedan called the Model S. This new version of Tesla Motors' technology will be larger than the Roadster; cost about $50,000 instead of $110,000; carry more passengers; have a range up to 300 miles; and have a QuickCharge feature that will recharge its battery pack within 45 minutes.

For more information on the Renew America Roadtrip, visit www.RenewAmerica Roadtrip.com

Stan Hanel has worked in the electronics industry for more than 30 years and is a long-time member of the Electric Auto Association and the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association. Hanel writes and edits for EAA's "Current Events" and LVEVA's "Watts Happening" newletters. Contact him at stanhanel@aol.com.