- April 25, 2024
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Orlando Pubill shows his Tesla Model Y at Sustainable Flagler's Electric Vehicle Showcase. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Nick Klufas drives his Tesla Model S Plaid. Photo by Brent Woronoff
People look over the cars at the EV Showcase. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Mustang Mach E GT. Photo by Brent Woronoff
People look over the cars at the EV Showcase. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Children and their parents checked out the electric cars after attending Egg'stravaganza at Central Park in Town Center. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Elaine Bailey, left, who brought her BMW i3, poses with Sustainable Flagler co-founder Kevin Saint and Jenny Jaegal, sustainability coordinator for Orange County Schools. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Joe O'Shea, left, talks to Paul Eiseman about his 2019 Audi e-tron. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Jenny Jaegal with her 2017 Chevy Bolt LT. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Michael Fonte, right, discusses his 2013 Chevy Volt. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mayor David Alfin attended the Showcase. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Dylan Long stands in front of the his 2013 Nissan Leaf. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Arcimoto FUV utility vehicle has a range of about 100 miles. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Nick Klufas had a full car at the Sustainable Flagler’s Electric Vehicle Showcase.
The Palm Coast city councilman showed off what his 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid can do. Riders got to see the autopilot in action, as well as the acceleration speed.
The Model S Plaid does 0 to 60 mph in just under 2 seconds. It’s the fastest 0-to-60 production car on the market, and the experience from the backseat feels like taking off in a rocket. Klufas takes the car to the drag strip, and he also notes, it’s the safest car ever built. The cost? About $140,000. He could afford it, he said, because he put all his money in Tesla stock seven to eight years ago.
Flagler Palm Coast High School senior Dylan Long stresses that not all electric vehicles have price tags out of reach for the average person.
Long started Sustainable Flagler with FPC computer science and math teacher Kevin Saint early this school year.
The April 9 EV Showcase in the City Hall parking lot was the club’s second event of its kind.
Long, an International Baccalaureate student, said he paid $5,200 for his 2013 Nissan Leaf. The car has thermal management issues, which causes battery degradation, but it still has a range of 65 miles, Long said, only about 10 fewer miles than when it was new.
“The Leaf is a very good first car for teenagers or a second car,” Long said.
EV owners brought a variety of models to the Showcase and talked about their experiences. Three dealerships — Napleton Volkswagen of Sanford, Fields BMW of Daytona and Volkswagen of St. Augustine also brought EVs to the event.
Napleton’s Connor Dickson showed off the Mercedes-EQ EQS 450+ with a starting price of $102,310.
Jenny Jaegal, the sustainability coordinator for Orange County Schools, paid about $17,000 in 2020 for her 2017 Chevy Bolt. It has about 58,000 miles on it.
“I don’t think the miles matter,” Jaegal said. “Everybody knows about Teslas, but they’re not affordable for everybody. I want people to know there are affordable EVs.”
Michael Fonte of Palm Coast has 112,00 miles on his 2013 Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, which he’s had for eight years. The gas backup provides a range up to 400 miles, he said.
“It seemed like something new and interesting at the time,” he said. “I could go to St. Augustine and back for a little under a dollar. There’s no degradation at all that I can see on the battery.”
Joe O’Shea’s 2019 Audie e-tron with Prestige trim has all the bells and whistles and cost about $75,000 new, he said.
“The torque is unbelievable, a very quiet ride and safe,” he said. However, a limited range of 200 miles can cause anxiety, he added.
Orlando and Lynn Pubill own a 2021 Tesla Model Y. They drove it to Texas and back, stopping at 10 charging stations along the way.
Klufas said he drove his Model S Plaid to New York and only had to make five 30-minute stops to charge. On a trip to Charlotte, he said he intervened on the self-driving function only once. As for maintenance, he said while driving 18,000 miles he’s only had to add windshield wiper fluid and rotate the tires.
FPC senior Raquel Acevedo, a member of Sustainable Flagler, said they are trying to eliminate some of the myths of electric cars, like they’re all too expensive or they blow up.
Saint said although the batteries may degrade a small amount over time, they never stop working.
Saint met Long when he took Saint’s computer science class as a self-study course. A 15-minute meeting turned into a 2-to-3-hour discussion.
“No matter what your political beliefs are, 0 to 60 in two seconds is exciting.”
KEVIN SAINT, Co-founder of Sustainable Flagler
“We discovered our mutual love for EVs,” Saint said. “Dylan invited me to go to an Orlando event in his Leaf, and on the way back we said, ‘We are doing nothing in our county.’ We started it as a school club because it provides us with some advantages. Part of why we’re doing this is to accelerate the advent of sustainability in the county.”
Long has been active in driving community sustainability since he was a freshman. He said he’s been assisting the Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee to revamp its Green Building Incentive Program. He’s trying to get the school district to apply for grants for electric school buses and the Sheriff’s Office to look into a pilot program for electric police vehicles.
“A lot of counties have had success with it,” Long said. “They’re a lot safer and quicker, and there are no harmful emissions.”
Saint said it’s unfortunate that electric vehicles have been politicized.
“We’ve never tried to be an environmental club,” he said. “No matter what your political beliefs are, 0 to 60 in two seconds is exciting.”
