About

The People
My name is Mike May, and I started Electric Route 66 in 2018 as a way to educate electric vehicle owners, small businesses, and travelers about using EVs to take classic American road trips, especially on the most classic road of all: Route 66.

I have only been an EV owner since late 2017, but I have been a road-tripper all my life. From childhood vacations with family, to solo trips starting at age 18 in the early 1990s, all the way to the present, I've always liked to visit interesting places and my preferred method of travel has always been by car.

My wife Jessica is my partner in road-tripping and all other ways, enthusiastic through our travels and patiently enduring my flaws through all the years of raising our two children, building a home in Las Vegas, Nevada, and hitting the road whenever we get the chance, across hundreds of thousands of miles. We are a team, and I couldn't dream of adventuring without her.

Along with a new generation of electric vehicles, there comes a new set of challenges for travelers on the leading edge of this revolution, and a new set of opportunities for destinations to attract these drivers. As I learn how to integrate EV travel into my own life, I want to use Electric Route 66 to share my experiences and help others who are interested in the exciting new era of car travel that EVs represent.

In order to give back to the Route 66 and EV communities, we volunteer when we can, and Jessica and I are currently on the Board of Trustees of the California Historic Route 66 Association. I am also on the Board of Directors of the Historic EV Foundation, while Jessica is President of the Route 66 Chapter of the Electric Vehicle Association, and also Co-Chair of Drive Electric Arizona - Route 66 Kingman Chapter.

The Cars
We own two electric cars - one short range and one long range. Our 2018 Tesla Model 3 is our road-trip EV and our 2014 Chevy Spark EV is our around-town EV. Both have been named for characters in the Nickelodeon animated series, "Avatar: The Last Airbender," a favorite of our entire family.

The Blue Spirit
Our 2018 Tesla Model 3 was delivered in September 2018, and since that time it has been a daily driver and road trip car. It is all-wheel drive, with an AC induction motor powering the front wheels and a permanent magnet motor powering the rear wheels. The interior seating is white, and the exterior color is matte blue, thanks to XPEL Stealth paint protection film. In 2022 we added metal skid plates, a lift kit from Mountain Pass Performance, and pearl white chrome delete wrap by MADHouse Detailing & Customs.

The Blue Spirit in Kingman, Arizona
 
Specifications:
Body type: 4-door sedan
Seating: 5 persons
EPA Range: 310 miles
EPA Efficiency: 116 MPGe
Peak Power: 497 HP (371 kW) combined:
                      235 HP (175 kW) front motor, 296 HP (221 kW) rear motor
Peak Torque: 416 lb-ft (564 Nm)
Battery size: 75 kWh
Wheelbase: 113.2 inches
Curb weight: 4,072 pounds
0-60 MPH: 3.7 seconds
Top speed: 145 MPH
Made in USA (Fremont, CA)
 
 
Sparky Sparky Boom Car
Our silver 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV was purchased in December 2017. It is front-wheel drive, with a permanent magnet motor. With an official EPA range of 82 miles, it is not well suited to road trips, but it has fast-charge capability: the Spark EV was the first car in the US to use the CCS fast charge connector now used by nearly all cars other than Tesla. Horsepower is at the high end of normal for a car of its size, but in torque it is a tiny monster with 400 pound-feet. In 2023 we enhanced its looks with a green-and-purple wrap by MADHouse Detailing & Customs. When Sparky is ready to retire, it is destined for the Route 66 EV Museum in Kingman, Arizona.

Sparky Sparky Boom Car: A mild-mannered city commuter with 400 lb-ft of torque.

Specifications:
Body type: 4-door hatchback city car
Seating: 4 persons
EPA Range: 82 miles
EPA Efficiency: 119 MPGe
Peak Power: 140 HP (105 kW) front motor
Peak Torque: 400 lb-ft (542 Nm)
Battery size: 21 kWh
Wheelbase: 93.5 inches
Curb weight: 2,967 pounds
0-60 MPH: 7.6 seconds
Top speed: 90 MPH
Made in South Korea (Changwon)

 


Popular posts from this blog

Road Closure info: Route 66 in California

Image
As many Route 66 travelers will know, there has been a long-term closure of a section of Route 66 in the eastern Mojave Desert in California. Due to the abundance of questions about this area on Route 66 Facebook groups, I decided to write up a summary of what is signed for travelers on the affected roads. Our October trip to the Road Runner's Retreat provided the opportunity to photograph all of the road signs that have been placed to deter travelers from the closed area. Two segments of Route 66 between Needles and Amboy have been closed for a couple of years, and there is no timetable for reopening. Many bridges were washed out in flood conditions and San Bernardino County has not finished repairing them all, as they are an enormous county without a lot of funds. After having a chance to photograph all of the signs, the source of travelers' confusion becomes clear: the signs are a jumble of contradictory and often wrong information. I will try to lay it all out here, ...
Read more

Join us at DEED and the Fun Run in April and May

Image
It's been pretty quiet here at Electric Route 66, but coming up soon are two (count 'em!) events that will likely be just the beginning of a very busy road-tripping season. If you are in the vicinity of Kingman, Arizona, we'd love to see there!     Drive Electric Earth Day On April 29, Kingman will be hosting their second Drive Electric Earth Day event at the Powerhouse Visitor Center. Hosted by the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation , EV owners will bring their cars for display, and to answer questions from the public about owning and driving electric. It looks like it will be a small gathering this year, but the Powerhouse is a busy place: in addition to the Arizona Route 66 Museum, visitor information and gift shops, the Route 66 EV Museum will be open to all for free.   The Powerhouse Visitor Center is Kingman's biggest Route 66 attraction. Last year's Drive Electric Earth Day in Kingman had a great turnout for a first event. If you have a plug-in vehicle and ...
Read more

EVA 2024 annual meeting

Image
Coming up this weekend in southern California is a host of activities surrounding the Electric Vehicle Association's annual meeting, and Electric Route 66 will be there, as we were last year. Please join us if you are able!   Like last year, this year's meeting will be held at the headquarters of Aptera, the innovative company that is in the final stages of readying their 3-wheeled, solar-powered EV for production. We have a reservation for an Aptera and we're rooting for their success. We're eager to see the progress they have made since last year.   Get a closeup look at Aptera's vehicles this weekend! EVA membership is required to attend the EVA meeting. If you're not a member you can join today at MyEVA.org - a yearly membership is just $55 and goes to support education and electrification efforts nationally and through dozens of local chapters in the US and Canada, including the chapter we belong to, the Route 66 EVA . How can you resist a view like this? ...
Read more