Charge! Electric-car drivers connect at Capitol

WASHINGTON – Dozens of lean, clean driving machines were on display in front of the Capitol on Sunday morning, as the owners of electric cars showed off their rides as part of National Plug In Day.

Curt Harpold, of Rockville, Md., says he plugs his 2008 Tesla Roadster into a regular outlet every night. The car costs him less than 4 cents a mile to operate, and he says he can get from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds.

And, he says, “The only reason I stop at the gas station is to buy a Coke or use the men’s room.”

Dennis Dineen charges his plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt every night and by morning, he says he can drive 40 miles for about 70 cents. And the engine is totally silent.

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Look under the hood of the Tesla Model T – nothing there! (WTOP/Jamie Forzato)

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Another shot of the Tesla. (WTOP/Jamie Forzato)

Sunday’s event drew many kinds and brands of electric vehicles, including three wheeler vehicles, electric motorcycles, e-bikes, conversions, solar paneled vehicles and more. It was sponsored by the Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington D.C.

They say electric car sales are growing by 200 percent a year.

WTOP’s Jamie Forzato contributed to this report.

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