Celebrating 10 Years of Showcasing the Future of Alternative Vehicles, AltCar Expo and Conference 2015 Explores What the Next 10 Years May Look Like
Santa Monica, CA USA (PRWEB) August 19, 2015 -- The City of Santa Monica will present the 10th Anniversary edition of AltCar Expo, the region’s first car show dedicated to alternative fuel vehicles and transportation. The two-day event will be held at the Santa Monica Civic parking lot and East Wing, 1855 Main St., Santa Monica, CA, Friday September 18 and Saturday September 19, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and is free to the public. The Expo will feature more than 35 retailers featuring alternative fuel vehicles that consumers will have the opportunity to test drive. On Friday September 18 a keynote address by best-selling author, thought leader, entrepreneur and Stanford lecturer, Tony Seba, will kick off the Expo. Seba, who believes the US will be driving all electric vehicles and totally solar powered in 20 years, will talk about what the next 10 years will look like in the alternative vehicle industry and discuss how technology will impact the way we live and drive.
Launched in 2005, AltCar Expo began as a grassroots exposition in response to a growing need for non-gasoline fueled vehicles. Back then most of the vehicles were conversions, neighborhood electric vehicles and prototypes and alternative fuel vehicles seemed like a fading dream. That was a time when bigger was better. Big SUVs were making big money for automakers and consumers could get a $6,000 IRS tax rebate for purchasing one. The Honda natural gas Civic was the only alternative fuel vehicle offered by any automaker at. There were very few natural gas conversions available, the only hybrids were the Prius, Insight and Escape and the major automakers had reduced or entirely dismantled their alternative fuel and electric vehicle programs.
The past 10 years has seen an explosion across the board in alternative technology vehicles for fleets and consumers and the infrastructure has grown exponentially. Today there are more alternative vehicle choices than ever before, but the goal of AltCar is the same: to provide a very accessible and comprehensive setting where both industry and general public can discover existing alternatives to the way they use energy and transportation and motivate everyone to take further action. And California is leading the nation in alternative vehicles, incentives and fueling stations. Many states are now following California’s example and implementing programs similar to those in the state.
AltCar Expo will present the most extensive array of across the board alternative technology vehicles in one place, including: electric, hybrid electric, natural gas, propane and hydrogen vehicles. Participating manufacturers include: Honda, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Smart, Toyota, Volkswagen, as well more to come. Cars on display and available for test drives include:
Chevy Bolt EV
Chevy Spark EV
Chevrolet Volt
Chevrolet Next Gen Volt
Chevrolets CNG-Capable Bi-Fuel Impala
Ford C-MAX Hybrid
Ford Fusion Plug-In Hybrid
Ford Focus Electric
Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell
Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL
Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric
Nissan LEAF
Smart Electric Drive
Toyota Mirai
Toyota Prius V
Via Motors eREV VIA VTrux
Volkswagon e-Golf
Since its inception, AltCar Expo has featured the West Coast debut of the Chevy Volt, the first worldwide glimpse of the Honda Plug In Accord, the Honda GX, the national kick off of the Nissan Leaf and Toyota RAV EV Tours, and the national reveal of the Ford CNG 150. Expo speaker sessions have featured some of the top decision makers from Federal and State agencies as well as directors of alternative technologies for all of the OEMs.
Notable speakers and participants at Alt Car Expo 2015 include:
Mayor Mike Antonovich
Rick Teebay, Sustainability for the City of Los Angeles
Rick Longobart – Facilities, Fleet and Stores manager for the City of Santa Ana
Chris Woodyard – writer/reporter for USA Today
Marco Anderson – Sr. Regional Planner – Southern California Assoc. of Governments (SCAG)
Tyson Eckerle – Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure – Governor’s Office of Bus. & Economic Dev. (Go Biz)
Ed Begley – actor
Susan Carpenter – Auto & Motorcycle Critic – OC Register
John Densmore – musician/actor
Chris Paine – Director & Co-Writer, Revenge of the Electric Car
Friday’s conference admission is $15 before August 31; $35 after August 31; and $50 on-site. Admission includes Conference, Breakfast and Lunch. To reserve your space click here.
Admission to AltCar Expo is free, and includes all public programming (excluding the Government, Fleet & Industry Conference). To register to attend, learn more about the vehicles and / or the Government Fleet & Industry Conference, visit http://altcarexpo.com/
AltCar Expo will take place at the Santa Monica Civic Center 1855 Main St., Santa Monica, CA 90401. For additional information, visit http://altcarexpo.com/ or call (310) 390-2930. Press inquiries; please contact Trina Kaye at TrinaKaye(at)tkopr.com or 310-915-0970.
TRINA KAYE, THE TRINA KAYE ORGANIZATION, http://www.TrinaKaye.com, +1 (310) 915-0970, [email protected]
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