Electric car show rolls into Cranberry
CRANBERRY TWP — An electric armada of vehicles wheeled into town Saturday afternoon for a mostly quiet car show.
Gone were the roaring engines and billowing fumes of typical, combustion-engine powered car shows. At the sixth annual Go Green Electric Car Show, visitors walked down rows of cars taking peeks under their hoods — but in this show, many of the cars only had storage space beneath the hoods.
The event arrived at the tail end of National Drive Electric Week. It's come a long way since its first year, according to organizer Lou Hancherick, when only two cars were on display.
This year's show featured 47 registered vehicles, plus several cars and drivers, who showed up to display.
Hancherick, a member of Marcellus Outreach Butler, said he supports electric cars in large part due to environmental reasons.
“It uses less fossil fuels,” Hancherick said. “We're trying to fight climate change here, and transportation is a big driver of climate change.”
Within the crowd of car owners showing off their vehicles, some echoed Hancherick's concerns, while others simply possessed a strong appreciation for the technological advancements in electric vehicles.
Ed Komoroski of Zelienople is just a fan of the technology.
“This thing is just a big computer on wheels,” he said, gesturing toward his Tesla Model S.
He said he's had minimal problems with the vehicle, although he believes current tires aren't properly designed for the cars, which tend to be heavier than traditional vehicles of similar size.
Marc Svaline, of South Fayette, said he appreciates his own Model S as a piece of engineering, but he also prefers a vehicle with lower emissions.“I honestly have disdain for combustion engines now,” Svaline said. “You sit in traffic and can just see the carbon going up into the air.”His electric car is the best vehicle he's ever driven, he swears. He goes to area car-lover events, and has grown less impressed with traditional super cars.“All the Lamborghinis and McLarens make a lot of noise when they leave, but these are like a rocket,” Svaline said.Jim Butchko decided to buy an electric car after one fateful day on Interstate 279. He was driving along in his Acura, he said, when the vehicle starting shaking and rattling.After a series of expensive repairs, he broke down and made the switch.From there, Butchko kept pushing toward clean energy. His home now holds 28 solar panels and he has two Tesla power walls, which are large home batteries. The system powers his home and provides solar energy for his car.“I have not had a utility bill since February,” Butchko said. His system went online in March.Both Svaline and Butchko point to the car's autopilot modes as positives for their vehicles. Driving home in stop-and-go traffic on I-279, Butchko said, the car does nearly all the work itself, leaving him free to reminisce on the time his old car broke down on the same road.
