Plug-In to the Future

Henry Ford’s gift to society was the bare-bones Model T, but his wife drove an electric vehicle, says Kim Tyrrell of the Denver Metro Clean Cities Coalition. “Women preferred them back in the old days because you didn’t have to crank them,” she notes. “They were the perfect car.” That might come as a surprise as you contemplate the pros and cons of buying a 21st-century Nissan Leaf. A little back history of the EV’s technological evolution will be provided today, however, when the DMCCC and the Electric Ride team up with the Forney Transportation Museum to present Electric Vehicles: Then & Now, a mini-history lesson wrapped up in a larger event celebrating National Plug-In Day. This is Denver’s second year of participating in the nationwide event.

“We’ll be showcasing some of the museum’s vintage EVs, along with the newest modern electric cars, including the BYD e6 from China,” says Tyrrell. “We’re debuting it here; it’s the first time one’s been seen in the states outside of California.” The museum pieces range from a 1916 Detroit Electric Opera Coupe to a 1976 Sebring Vanguard CitiCar; you can also kick the tires on more than a dozen new EV models and even take a test drive in the aforementioned Leaf.

Charging-station vendors will be on hand to answer questions, the jazz-fusion quartet Stephen Angus and the DNA Project will provide tunes, and the Basic Kneads pizza truck will be slinging dough from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. outside of the Forney, 4303 Brighton Boulevard. Admission is free — not a bad price to pay for the privilege of checking out today’s EVs without being pressured by a salesman — and the museum will be offering a $2 discount if you’d like to go inside and look around. Visit pluginday.org or www.forneymuseum.org for details.

Sun., Sept. 23, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 2012