AltCarExpo, Santa Monica CA, October 2 – 3

I’ll be moderating the “infrastructure” panel at the AltCarExpo in Santa Monica, CA this Friday. I already feel a warm connection with my panelists that I’m sure will make for a good presentation to the audience when we take the stage at about 3:30 that afternoon. And I’m very glad to be moderating; I’m happy to provide answers as I see the issues from my political and technological viewpoints, but I feel that asking good questions is probably just as important.

I’ve met one of my panelists, AC Propulsion CEO Tom Gage, several times. A man for whom I have the utmost respect, Tom describes himself as a “car-nut since childhood.” He took AC Propulsion’s helm from founder Alan Cocconi (designer of General Motors EV-1 — star of “Who Killed the Electric Car“) and leads a team of people here in a California and in Shangai in building the world’s most advanced drivetrains for electric vehicles, including BMW’s Mini-E. “It just rubs me the wrong way to start up a gas engine,” Gage says. I know the feeling.

I’ve also established friendships with panelists Paul Scott from Plug-In America and Enid Joffe of the Clean Fuel Connection – both magnificent people with huge stores of knowledge to share. Again, I hope anyone in the area will drop by.