Charge Across America Home Page

Travel along as Kris Trexler drove his GM EV1 electric car on a 3,275 mile cross country trip without burning one drop of gasoline! The trip began in Los Angeles, California on May 12, 1998 and ended June 2 in Troy, Michigan (just outside Detroit). You'll learn more about the transportation technology of the 21st century and monitor Kris's progress with frequent updates as he made this pioneering journey. Check his day-by-day maps, logs, and diaries, and view snapshots of the EV1 in picturesque settings as he headed east from Los Angeles to places like Phoenix, the Grand Canyon, St. Louis, and Indianapolis. There are plenty of interesting experiences to share as his EV1 made this Charge Across America. Someday long distance trips in electric cars may be commonplace, but for now there are new challenges to deal with. Kris was determined to "never run out of juice!" He accomplished his goal, and his EV1 "never skipped a beat," performing flawlessly every mile of the trip.


Kris took along a Macintosh PowerBook laptop computer and QuickTake digital camera courtesy of Apple Computer. The DAILY DIARY page was updated daily with trip info and photos. A calendar with links to each day's report makes it easy to follow Kris's progress.

Here's how the site is organized:

The ABOUT THE TRIP page explains why the trip was made and introduces the driver

The EV1 FAQ's page answers many frequently asked questions about the EV1

The DAILY DIARY pages has photos and stories about each day's drive. Includes maps and route details

The GOODIES page has EV1 resources like the incredible TV commercial and links to other related sites

The PHOTO ALBUM is a scrapbook of favorite images taken during the trip

The ROUTE MAP page shows the 3,275 mile route

Send me an EMAIL with your comments

The ACKNOWLEDGMENTS page recognizes individuals and organizations who helped me along the way

See a COMPILATION OF TV NEWS STORIES about my Charge Across America trip

See a CNBC STORY about my trip (broadcast June 2, 1998)

See a TEST DRIVE OF MY EV1 and listen to the unique sound of the motor (December 1996)

See the 90 second EV1 TELEVSION COMMERCIAL broadcast only once on NBC's "ER" - December 6, 1996

See a 1997 EV1 on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Deliveries of Generation II EV1's began November 9, 1999

PRESS RELEASES:

 

Visitors to Los Angeles can see the EV1 I drove on this Charge Across America
at the renowned Petersen Automotive Museum.


On a sad note...
As of April 2003, General Motors has discontinued its battery powered electric vehicle program in order to focus their development efforts on hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles. At the end of leases, all EV1's were returned to GM and most were destroyed.


This is a non-commercial website and is not affiliated with General Motors

Charge Across America has no affiliation with General Motors.

This site was created with Apple Macintosh computers
Apple Computer


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