Kern county California EV Tehachapi electric vehicles cars car club clubs auto association hybrid battery powered green power near bakersfield, ca.
Tired of paying through the nose for fuel?

Tired of high vehicle maintenance costs?

Want to help stop climate change?

Welcome to the Tehachapi chapter of the Electric Auto Association. This site is always under construction and is frequently updated, please check back. We TCEAA members are especially drawn to EV's because of the tremendous wind energy economy our town enjoys. The turbines lining our hills not only provide clean energy, but careers for many residents.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, March 7th, 2012. We Meet the first Wednesday of every month at 6pm in the Central Park Gazebo, weather permitting. During cold weather, or for special events, we meet at Les's hangar on the glider airport. Find it at Google Maps. Les's hangar is number 23, the last one to the east on Harris road. The business name on it is "Working Design". Look for our chapter's banner hanging on the wall.

All attendees are encouraged to join the association by going to the parent EAA web site. Just click on the EAA banner at the top of the page. All members are also encouraged to email their input about what they want this web site to display to Mike. This web site needs to reflect the goals and accomplishments of all EV enthusiasts in this group.

Contact information:

Mike Degrood, President

Jonathan Barraclough, Vice President

Our organization is open to the public, and our goal is to assist in the building of, and guide the purchasing of electric powered vehicles. We can help you convert a vehicle, as well as give you information about EV's that are available. We are a non-profit organization committed to EV's and the promotion of a charging station infrastructure here in Kern County. There are currently NO EV charging stations here in Kern County. Why? Perhaps someone in Oildale can tell us.

One of our immediate goals is to get a charging station (or two) here in Tehachapi. After working with the Tehachapi city coucil on this for the last couple of years, we now have a public charging system at the city hall building. It is an old Avcon unit and will soon be updated with a Clipper Creek charger using the new J1772 plug. Stay tuned for an announcement about a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the very first public charging station here in Kern County. We hope this will set an example for other communities. As more charging stations become available, more people will choose Electric Vehicles.

As our EAA chapter grows, it will spread to other nearby communities.
Here's where Jonathan started
Here's his completed vehicle
Jonathan sold his white Electric VW beetle so he could build a faster more efficient vehicle. He now boasts a 72 volt AC system with Lithium Polymer batteries and solar panels on the roof. It drives great, and his PDA interfaces with the system nicely. His dash gauge lets him know how much power he is using or regenerating.
Check out Mike's EV conversion
Mike's old beat up V-dub has been up to 70 mph (very dangerous!) The beast still runs great and Mike uses it for all his around town trips, saving a small fortune in gas money!
Paul bought a new Volt!
Paul recently purchased his shinny black Volt and loves driving past gas stations. He has only had to rely on the "Range Extender" (gas engine) on return trips from Bakersfield. All his other driving is on electricity alone.
Terry is building his motor and controller from scratch!!
His design is proprietary, so we can't divulge too much. However pictures and updates to come.

Thanks for checking out our web site! Other members vehicles and storys to come!

This is a good time to be thinking "Electric". Even the folks at Car and Driver have come to grips with the inevitable shift from petroleum based to electric based transportation. With several really nice hybrid vehicles currently on the market, and many more to come, go to Hybrid Buyer's Guide to check out some of the choices we have. I look forward to the day when an all electric car is on the cover page of Car and Driver magazine!
Check out the original "Think" electric video.
And here is Mike's favorite EV, the TANGO:
For more information about the Electric Automobile Association, Please click HERE.