Celebrating #200 with EV News, Announcements, and more...

Together with Jon Hurst and Andy Cooper, we dissect Dodge's transition from  V8 engines to its  new Dodge Charger Daytona EV.

Plus, get a sneak peek into some exciting upcoming projects like the EV ambassador certification and Oasis Charging installing a fast charger at Dominion Raceway.

Mentioned in the podcast:

Oasis Charging: https://www.oasischarging.com
Electrified Marina: https://www.electrifiedmarina.com
Upside App: https://www.dpbolvw.net/click-100760369-14471479
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Director Tier - Rajeev Narayan, Andy Cooper
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Chapters

• 0:00 Dodge Charger Daytona EV Discussion
• 9:58 EV Performance Comparison and Pricing
• 24:37 The Politics of Electric Vehicles
• 31:56 EV Advocacy and Resource Expansion
• 40:31 EV Ambassador Certification Discussion

Transcript

Zack Hurst: 0:00

This episode of the EV Resource Podcast is brought to you by Oasis Charging, offering commercial and residential customers comprehensive EV charging solutions with a consultative approach. For more information and to schedule a free consultation, go to OasisChargingcom. Instead of 496 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, that brings it to 670 horsepower and 627 foot-pounds of torque. Andy, yeah, you will never use that. Well, hello friends, and welcome to episode 200 of the EV Resource Podcast. I'm Zach Hurst and each week, I bring you the latest EV news, information and interviews with industry experts. This week, I am joined by John Hurst and Andy Cooper. Hello, and we have some of the latest news stories to cover for you a couple of announcements and, naturally being the 200th episode, talking about what you can expect with the future of the podcast, because it's going to be somewhat the same, naturally, but we do have some plans. So, welcome to both of you and I'm really excited to dive into this.

Andy Cooper: 1:21

Thank you, congratulations on 200, by the, by the way thank you, thanks for having us.

Zack Hurst: 1:28

I am very excited. Naturally I like round numbers, so 200 is kind of a thing and I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to do and having the both of you on for this episode, just it made sense getting into the news. Uh, there, there have been some interesting things going on. One of the first things I wanted to talk about was dodge and their charger, daytona ev. They just unveiled, uh the pricing and some details and the trim levels, so I'd love to get into it and kind of uh discuss what we think, yeah, I, I'm glad that, uh, they're getting into the game.

Andy Cooper: 2:12

Um, I've always been kind of worried about the stelanthus offerings, um, so it's good to see something a full ev come out and um, it's not technically the first, but I think it's a major release for them.

Jon Hurst: 2:25

So yeah, yeah, it's not the first for parent company, um, but it is really the first for dodge and I've always felt that dodge is going to be a very difficult brand to shift to electric because of how they've branded themselves, their halo vehicles are the Hellcat models and you know 800 horsepower charger and challenger, you know stuff like that, and so when you, when those are your halo vehicles, the demographic that you're going for is the, you know cars that are going to put hair on your chest and traditionally EV, that's been a tough market for EVs to get into.

Jon Hurst: 3:08

But if Dodge having a full EV model means that people are going to be test driving this car and the media is going to be especially automotive journalism is going to be testing these cars side by side, because that's going to be especially automotive journalism is going to be testing these cars side by side because that's going to happen. That's what it's there for Then it's going to be really interesting to see the comparisons between these and how they pack up in terms of performance, because performance is what Dodge is selling these days.

Zack Hurst: 3:43

Yes, and that, of course, with an electric car, is not something you have to give up. What traditionally you do give up with an EV is what makes many Dodge vehicles now so exciting, not only for the driver and those inside the vehicle, but also for people outside the vehicle the sound and the feel. Yes, I had a challenger drive by me the other day and of course you hear the exhaust, but as it was like right up on me then, I heard the whine of the supercharger and it put a smile on my face Like I couldn't help it. It was just like, hmm, that sounds so nice. So Dodge has done something with with this EV.

Zack Hurst: 4:38

Um, it's making an exhaust sound and it's not pumped through speakers like you might expect. It's an actual like muffler with air flowing through it. It's just they are pumping air through it with an electric pump. Personally, I think that's important for Dodge specifically, but also important for people that want to have a smoother transition from internal combustion engine over to ev. And dodge isn't the only one that's putting sound as a part of the experience of driving their ev. Hyundai does that with the Ioniq 5N and John, actually, when we were at the Expo, the BMW. Of course, that was a experience of an EV that has more performance than most of the cars that might be driving around it on the roads.

Andy Cooper: 5:53

Yeah, I've never been a muscle car person, so the sound to me it's never been an appealing factor for me. So I'm probably one of the worst people to ask about this. I love the quietness of EVs myself, but I do understand that some people like that sound and certainly as far as a performance racing and all that stuff, if it's tuned in to how you're driving around, it's another input factor that you can use to know what to do in that kind of sporty driving. So I mean there is a legitimate purpose for that kind of thing. But I've never just been one to say, drive around the neighborhood and rev my engine to let everyone know I'm around. So to me personally it's not a big appeal, uh, to other people it it? You know that's a legitimate appeal to someone and uh, and you know it's, it's what gets them going. So that's a good thing. I guess it certainly appeals to a whole new audience, I mean potentially I agree with.

Jon Hurst: 7:01

I agree with a lot of what you're saying there. Um it. It doesn't really appeal to me. When I hear something with a super loud exhaust, be that two wheels or four wheels, my immediate thought is, okay, you're compensating. But on the flip side, when we drove that BMW, having that audible signal as to what the RPM was was super helpful. I could see on a track saying, okay, I am now, if you're trying to spot the apex and you don't want to be looking at the speedometer, knowing how fast or slow you're going in order to start turning the wheel to turn in towards the apex can be super helpful. I know we had a when we were at the the event I had a discussion about how useful that sound is, but I I'm. I didn't think I was to be for it because traditionally I'm a huge fan of authenticity. It's like why create a sound or some part of the experience that isn't normally there in the first place? But it turned out that I liked it because I could use it as a tool.

Zack Hurst: 8:19

First of all, andy, you are the perfect person to ask because of all the reasons why you said you might not be.

Zack Hurst: 8:28

Generally, I feel that you represent probably the largest group of people that are EV owners, in that most people that are just buying cars in general are not going to care necessarily about these things.

Zack Hurst: 8:44

So knowing your perspective, I think brings a lot to the conversation and, just like John, I agree with most of what you said. It's it might not be real or authentic, to use your word, john, but reality is perception and what we perceive and if it influences the experience that we have when driving the car and we enjoy it more, or, to use your point, it's a practical tool to give feedback in a different way so that we don't rely only on touch and sight. I think for all of those reasons I mean it's something that, especially with Dodge, as we've mentioned, you know, I genuinely believe Dodge couldn't make an EV that was silent and sell it very well, so for them it's almost mandatory. Now, whether their traditional buyer will accept the fact that this is generated or artificial in some way and not directly tied to a big performance V8, I think that's a valid criticism until you get in the car.

Jon Hurst: 9:58

Sitting in the car is going to make a huge difference. Being able to take that for a test drive and being able to see those comparisons, I think it's going to make a big difference.

Zack Hurst: 10:07

The base model RT, the gas-powered Dodge Charger RT. That has 370 horsepower, which is a decent amount, but in terms of comparing to other EVs or performance vehicles it's okay. The EV is 496 horsepower and 404 pound-feet of torque for the RT and that's standard. They call that their direct connection stage one upgrade, which okay, but that is significantly more. And even if the car did weigh a thousand pounds more and I'm just pulling that out, that amount of power, especially with the torque, I mean, andy, you drive a car that basically is in those numbers, you know, kind of in that range, and never use that and this is the gv60, right?

Andy Cooper: 11:11

yeah, you think the performance, performance, yeah, um I never use that boost button, I just drive it around as it is. I do drive it in sport mode and that just goes so easy, like I I've used it once, like there was a time where I was at a stoplight and I needed to get over in a lane so I used it once and you know it put a smile to ear to ear. That worked better than I thought it would. But yeah, having that amount of power is just uh, I don't know if I could drive around that all the time with that level of power going on.

Jon Hurst: 11:47

Yeah, so is there going to be a performance version of the ev?

Zack Hurst: 11:53

yes. So, um, they haven't, as far as I can see, released anything that is like hellcat comparable. But after you have RT, then you've got the SCAT pack, which the gas-powered SCAT pack is 485 horsepower. So from the RT to the SCAT pack that's 115 horsepower boost. That's pretty significant Like clearly you're going to notice that difference Pretty significant, Like clearly you're going to notice that difference, you'll feel it.

Zack Hurst: 12:25

With the EV, it's what they're calling the direct connection stage two upgrade. And that, well, instead of 496 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, that brings it to 670 horsepower and 627 foot of torque. Andy, yeah, you will never use that. Um, basically, that puts it in line with the performance straight line performance specs of the model 3 performance uh well, the older model three performance, not the highland. Refresh uh so zero to 60 in 3.3 seconds, quarter mile, and 11 and a half faster than a ferrari f40. Oh yeah, you know, I I am gonna have to, john, I hate to say this because it breaks my heart too um, we need to stop comparing to a 40 year old car. Um, and I'm guilty of it recently because it I mean, it's such an icon, but exactly, yeah, it's a benchmark and a lot of people are aware of it, I think it's so easily used.

Jon Hurst: 13:47

But it holds a special place in people's hearts. So if you compare to that, then it sounds more impressive.

Zack Hurst: 13:54

Maybe we need to pick McLaren or Porsche or Bugatti within, like I don't know, this century to compare.

Zack Hurst: 14:03

Okay, I'm very on that like I don't know this century. Uh, to compare, okay, they were on there. I mean, in all fairness, andy's luxury suv out, accelerates an f40 um, and you don't have to be a special race driver to like you could be anybody off the street and do that um, except the thing is with especially with these super like, high performance models of EVs, is that it just adds fuel to the fire that, oh, evs can't take care of their tires.

Jon Hurst: 14:36

You're going to wear down your tires super fast in the EV. Well, that's because you're pushing down the happy pedal and turning your tires into tomorrow's weather report.

Andy Cooper: 14:50

I am stealing that um. I just did a quick look up here um the dodge charger, daytona ev. Two electric motors, 250 kilowatts each, that's, that's nuts. Minor is 160. Think front and back the Mustang GTs is like 200s.

Zack Hurst: 15:07

I think Dodge needs to do that. Any other numbers or any lower numbers for both the RT and the Scat Pack. I do not think that they would be able to justify the pricing. And the pricing is where, naturally, with EVs generally, when you compare an electric model to a gas powered model within the same brand so same car, just one's electric, one's gas the EV is going to cost more in terms of its sticker price.

Zack Hurst: 15:40

Of course, all three of us are EV owners and anybody else that's an EV owner that's listening to this, we know, unless you're paying cash up front or have another reason where that is affecting your financial life, most people finance their cars. They pay monthly payments, so you can't really focus on sticker price. You've got to break it down to what are you actually paying? What is your cost of ownership? And obviously the EV is going to cost less over time. I don't know how long you would have to own the Dodge Charger Daytona EUV in either trim level to recoup the premium or the sticker price. The RT is starting at $61,590, but the gas-powered Charger RT from 2023,. Mind you, that's fourteen thousand dollars less fourteen thousand dollars. When you look at maintenance, repairs over time with an ice vehicle. That's many years like that might be four or five years before you kind of get to that point let me add to that.

Andy Cooper: 17:02

I don't know if you guys have experience with it. I'm not too familiar with uh, stelantis or dodge specifically, but um, as you go into those more performant uh engines and stuff like that, is there an implied higher level of maintenance or ongoing cost with that kind of thing?

Zack Hurst: 17:20

I don't know, so I I don't know about Dodge with this either that dealerships will often include maintenance packages where you don't have to pay for the maintenance for a set number of miles or set number of years. So that's also something that kind of plays into the mix and that's for the RT. For the SCAT Pack, the EV is $20,000 more Than the scat pack. Than the gas-powered scat pack. Yeah, oh, okay. So now your scat pack is starting at $75,185 versus $55,000, and some change for the gas-powered.

Zack Hurst: 18:03

These are expensive cars change for the gas powered. These are expensive cars, being that Stellantis does have experience building EVs, and they make some good ones. The Fiat 500E, especially the refreshed one, is amazing. Asking your customers to pay $20,000 more for a product that generally the impression that I would have is that you'd have to push a little bit further to get them, like to entice them, to buy it. Like it's not, like there's a line of Dodge traditionalists that are going to be standing in line waiting for this car. I don't know if the pricing is because they have to or because they figured they're not going to sell many anyway, so they might as well get what they can to justify the production and R&D and all of those other costs. There's a lot of variables that I don't know about, but, oh my God, 20 grand difference is that's no joke.

Jon Hurst: 19:09

Maybe it's a situation where they end up selling a bunch and then say, all right, well, uh, we're gonna or selling more than they thought they would, and and then they can reduce the price for the 2026 maybe I hope so are these now that twenty thousand dollars isn't just for more power.

Zack Hurst: 19:33

It does come standard with the track package, which is an additional upgrade that they're offering, which I believe you could get if you had the RT, but it adds six piston front and four piston rear, brembo brakes.

Jon Hurst: 19:52

Are they going to end up having brake issues because of the brakes not being used as much as they would on an ICE car, because those are decent-sized brakes, even for an ICE car? You?

Zack Hurst: 19:59

can tune things where at a certain point it will engage the friction pads and basically be a blended use of the brakes between the motor regeneration, like Porsche does with the Kaikons and Macans a lot of uh evs are are doing that now.

Zack Hurst: 20:18

Yeah, but also I would imagine I hope that they're not going to put you know your standard brake pad in this that, as I've mentioned in a number of episodes, can have corrosion issues from not being used. But also it's the track package. So I really would hope and I would imagine that people that are going either for the more expensive scat pack option or adding the track package as an option to the RT, I would expect that they're going to want to take it to the track.

Jon Hurst: 20:56

As long as the battery management system has. Well, not the BMS specifically, but the battery has some decent cooling. Shout out to your last podcast.

Zack Hurst: 21:09

Yeah, so it will be interesting. Cast. Yeah, so it will be interesting. Um, this is one vehicle that not only because I I want to get more eds around the track at dominion, but also this it seems like it would be one of the very few eds that is specifically designed for that environment that you could also drive out and about. So this is definitely something that I almost want to say. I want to like wait and get in it and drive it and test it and get that impression of it before really being my. I tend to be critical when I see things on paper and go you know why do you do that, but then when I drive the car it's like, oh, okay, now I get it, so we'll see. Um, the styling is very much a futuristic styling, but retaining this similar body shape of the challenger that that is for sale now. Two door.

Jon Hurst: 22:10

I kind of feel like that, the styling, that angular, futuristic kind of thing, like similar to what Hyundai and Kia are doing. More so the i5. But I feel like that's kind of where the industry is going for this decade. I feel like there's a lot of automakers that are kind of going down that path, so I don't think that's going to look particularly out of place in, you know, five years.

Andy Cooper: 22:35

I would agree with that I I kind of like styling that does give homage to its heritage. I've always enjoyed and appreciated that kind of thing, so I think it looks good in that regard. Um, like, there's no complaint for me on that kind of thing, it's a good looking car regardless.

Zack Hurst: 22:54

I love the way it looks and one of the things that at least here in Richmond if you go to like Carson coffee or any car meet. That's a little bit bigger. It's full of challengers and some I'm sorry chargers and some challengers. This could sit in a row of other Dodge performance upgraded, modified vehicles and be very well right at home. One thing I would love to see directly from the company is aftermarket mods and options that not only change the aesthetics but also, uh, for performance related upgrades and knowing that dodge is dodge right like. I think it's only a matter of time before we see a version of this or maybe another model that's well over a thousand horsepower. That is going to compete, you know, go toe-to-toe sub 10 seconds, because the hellcat, the red eye that they said, will do like around nine second quarter miles fairly consistently. So I think we'll see an ev version of that, or at least I really hope we do. I would, I would like that. Just to know that that exists in the world would be enough for me.

Andy Cooper: 24:16

That is something I'm very much looking forward to, just kind of aftermarket for any brand in general. I'm hoping that picks up because I think that's really important, actually because from that you get longevity, from that you get longevity. So if you do end up like having a 10 year old EV where the battery is actually failing, there's opportunity there to, you know, rejuvenate that vehicle, bring it back into, you know, usability and probably the frame is well. I let's just assume that a frame doesn't rust away. But if that's the case, then if you can say one, either put a new battery pack in there or put an upgraded battery pack. So a car like mine or something, it has a range of 235. But 10 years from now maybe I can put a better battery pack in it and get 250, 270 out, pack in it and get 250 270 out.

Zack Hurst: 25:16

I would expect that for a lot of the vehicles that are going to have well one, a brand that is easy to work with from a software side of things, that's going to be um, that's key the nissan leaf, the first generation leaf. There are so many battery upgrades, even aftermarket, that you can do, because it's like you can even take the larger Nissan Leaf batteries and put them in the cars that originally came with the smaller ones. So that is something that we have an example of that already, but it's going to come down to how the computers in the car respond, where maybe you'll need to have an aftermarket software.

Andy Cooper: 26:00

Yes.

Zack Hurst: 26:02

And that's possible, you know, but it's. You're going to have brands like Tesla that are going to be more similar to Apple computers, that they don't really want you messing with it, like, leave it alone, we've made the best thing and you just need to deal with what we give you. And then you're going to have other brands that are like PCs, that the people that want to upgrade and modify and screw around with it, like I really think that will be there, because one, uh, right to repair laws exist, um, but two, as we get further into this, the people that are going to adopt evs are going to be more of. There are going to be more people that want to modify them from a performance aspect, yeah, so, transitioning then to another news story, because we want to cover more than just one, um actually, somewhat maybe, relates to the traditional buyer that would go for a dodge performance vehicle. Not all of them are going to be Republican. I know that. You know, performance is kind of crosses the aisle, but generally, john, I think you had said, like the cars that put hair on your chest, like when I envision that I see them as being on the Republican side of things. On the Republican side of things. Well, there's no question that when the leader of the Republican Party says something or continues to say something over and over and over again, that many of the Republican citizens of the country will agree with that or at least be paying attention.

Zack Hurst: 27:58

So a lot of people have been very concerned about Trump and his position on EVs. I find it personally very difficult to know what Trump's position actually is on anything, regardless of what comes out of his mouth, because he's much more strategic and mindful behind the scenes of what he does and how he does it, where, when he's in front of a microphone, I don't think you can put a lot of weight on on his words. Um, so all of the stuff like that's anti-ev. I I haven't really believed it. Um, I think it's pandering in many ways. So so now I'm even more confused because just within the last week or so, trump, at a campaign rally in Atlanta, georgia, basically, has said that he's not against electric cars, he's for them and has no choice but to back electric vehicles. Uh, because of elon musk and the endorsement that that elon gave trump. I've always found that electric vehicles shouldn't be a political issue, but it seems like I'm one of the few people that thinks or says that, because everybody makes it a political issue. So now what?

Andy Cooper: 29:37

well, uh, to your point about making evs a political thing, um, I think I mean it's. It's not unique to you to evs. Uh, everything's been made political. If there's any level of controversy, and EVs are just among those things and I don't know, it riles the right people up or something. But yeah, I, to me, I still am highly skeptical, even if he does change how he says. Or you know, week one he'll say EVs are gone. Week one, he'll say EVs are gone. Week two, he says okay, I have no choice but to accept EVs, I guess very reluctantly. So in general, I still think that he just goes to the highest bidder in the end. So he'll say whatever gets him the votes. One thing he is consistent on is selfishness. So if it comes to that, if it comes to affecting him negatively, then he won't like it.

Jon Hurst: 30:47

So that's probably the biggest or best barometer you can go by of what direction he would take. I think that's one thing that I'm hoping is that if Trump warms to EVs regardless of the reason and regardless of who ends up in an office after next January if Trump warms to EVs because Elon is supporting him or whatever, and that influences folks on the political right to at least warm to EVs, if not embrace them and you have the left already embracing EVs, and maybe that makes it so that it's not a political issue as much anymore. It's just technology. Technology doesn't care where you fall on the political spectrum. You know, for some reason you have people that are, you know, anti-environmentalism or pro-environmentalism or whatever. But regardless, if people on both sides of the aisle are embracing EVs, then you know, I can't see that as a bad thing are embracing EVs, then you know, I can't see that as a bad thing.

Andy Cooper: 31:56

I had a similar thought too, actually, when I first heard the news about this is like, hey, you know, it's a good thing. Maybe we can kind of not worry about the political stance of an EV and just let it be like you're saying something that's neutral and if you like them, great, if not, you don't have to get one. Yep.

Zack Hurst: 32:16

It's that last part that gets lost and in some cases, like when you have a mandate to have all new car sales all electric by a certain date, yeah, that's where what is heard is, and you don't have a choice, you have to have, yeah, um, that being said, the used car market is still very, very strong and cars are lasting longer and longer these days, so it'll probably be maybe 2050 before we see very little when it comes to gas-powered or diesel vehicles driving on the roads.

Jon Hurst: 33:01

Yeah, I don't think ICE vehicles are going anywhere anytime soon, which is fine, yeah um, well, and it's.

Zack Hurst: 33:07

It's only fine if you aren't strongly, for all of the reasons why you might strongly be for evs. Uh, in terms of the air quality or climate issues and environmental stuff. Um, and I, I'd like to actually separate air quality being its own issue versus the environmental climate stuff, because there's tons of reasons why you want clean air and it also depends on what you're using the vehicle for.

Jon Hurst: 33:37

You know if it's commuting or if it's like uh, weekend. You know track time or something like that too.

Zack Hurst: 33:48

So I find it very interesting and I mean there are many things that the conservative right says that echo things that I say as reasons for EVs or for clean energy as a whole, like reducing costs. So you have the economic reasons, you have the energy independence reasons, the jobs reasons, like so many reasons why EVs are a good thing. I don't know if you guys looked, looked at you know some of the things that vance has said where I'm like, looking at it going okay, you're saying that those are all the reasons why you don't want to have evs. Five out of six of those things are applicable to evs. So I think it's a lot of talk, a lot of positioning, a lot of politics that when we strip that away, the reality that I believe we can expect is that things will continue in many ways like they have been. No-transcript. People are realizing, you know, this is probably a good thing for my life and we're going to have more and more situations that pop up where consumers want EVs. We're going to take a quick break and then we'll be right back at it. Hello friends, it's Zach here and I want to share with you something truly special Electrified Marina, norfolk's best kept secret for unforgettable adventures on the water.

Zack Hurst: 35:49

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Zack Hurst: 36:32

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Zack Hurst: 37:03

So we do have a couple of things to talk about outside of the news, maybe four or five of the last podcasts. At the very end I've changed what I've said, where I haven't been saying that this podcast is a production of EV Resource anymore. I don't know how many people have picked up on the subtle change, but this podcast is a production of EvoSpark Media Group, which is now a company that is the parent of the EV Resource brand, as well as a few other brands and the events. So that is a change and along with that, within the next six months somewhat near future there are plans of adding even more podcasts or other news outlets that focus on EVs and clean energy to the group. That will be something to follow. Now that means that EV resource will be a little bit more narrowly focused Generally, unless it relates to China, as an example, and how that influences what's happening here in North America.

Zack Hurst: 38:17

Ev resource is primarily going to focus on EV side of things with passenger vehicles here in North America. Generally. That's kind of what it's always been, but now it's going to be that way on purpose, because there is so much going on all over the world that there's no way we can keep up with that but compensate, there will be other uh outlets or brands or podcasts that focus on other areas around the world. Yeah, trying to expand and not be the one thing for everybody, because you can't do that anymore, um, but to be the everything for everybody. So that is exciting, along with that EV resource specifically, actually, andy, because of your thoughts and encouragements, is going to be focused a lot on being a resource for not only consumers and people that are purchasing passenger vehicles and EVs here in the US, but also to support the EV advocates.

Zack Hurst: 39:36

In many ways, people like myself but, andy, I know you go to a lot of events and talk to a lot of people as well, and we're not alone. The people that are at the ground level are still very much the ones that, in many ways, can be most influential for affecting consumer efforts and consumer behavior and the outcome of what to expect efforts and consumer behavior and the outcome of what to expect. So, andy, I'm actually going to let you kind of announce the idea that came from your brain, which I love, that we are going to finalize and have fairly soon. A lot of it's already been worked through, so last minute details need to be tied together. A lot of it's already been worked through, so last minute details need to be tied together, but why don't I shut up and let you tell everybody what?

Andy Cooper: 40:29

I'm talking about. Okay, so I work in the security industry and we have these certifications that essentially there are some letters next to your name, but what it symbolizes is you can talk like a standard language, and so the concept that Zach and I came up with was essentially an EV ambassador, and so this is probably a person who would and this would be like based on a standardized test, like any certification is, as well as a ongoing education that you would have to maintain. But the idea is this person, the EV ambassador. If you approach them, you can feel pretty comfortable that they would have like a base level of knowledge about EVs. We're not talking like a technician.

Zack Hurst: 41:26

You know someone who can get under the hood, or something like that.

Andy Cooper: 41:28

But they have enough knowledge, both kind of on an industry level, about EVs in general probably like EV offerings and general knowledge about all the companies that offer EVs to. Essentially you can go to them and they can answer questions for you and guide you through getting used to the concept of owning an EV. So it's kind of yeah, that is the idea behind this certification.

Zack Hurst: 41:57

And that is one of a number of certifications that is being worked on, of certifications that is being worked on Now. The reason that this would be important is mainly because there's a lot of misinformation that circulates. I have people tell me things all the time that I'm going. I know exactly where they heard that and it's so wrong. So EV Resource as a brand, as an entity, has some credibility. Where we know EVs, we know the right things about EVs. But also because of some of the partnerships that I've been working on in terms of how to communicate effectively with anybody you talk to, books like this one, like those, have influenced oh no, and for those that aren't watching, that was talking across the divide.

Zack Hurst: 43:03

Yeah, my mugs. Oh well, it was lamenting the idea that it wasn't a black mug. Well, that one, no, that one, the handle broke. It's the Voltage Velocity Games. Oh, the green's not showing up. Uh, this is all green, which was the genesis behind the uh electric vehicle festival, which is what this one was.

Zack Hurst: 43:39

Oh well, anyway, um, moving on. Uh, so there, there will be a number of certifications, but basically, ev Resource is perfectly positioned to be the body, the certifying body, both with the curriculum that we've put together and are finalizing Now, the reasons that somebody would want to have this certification is because they want to signal to maybe other people, members of the public, but then also, um, andy, one of the things that I thought would be quite valuable is, even internally within the industry, if somebody, as an EV advocate, uh, was certified through the process and then tested to provide basically that third party verification of what their knowledge is. Now you can go to dealer associations, you can go to dealerships, you can go to dealerships, you can get involved in training groups or businesses, so much more than just talking to people at events, there really are a lot of applications for a certification like this.

Andy Cooper: 45:07

So it's exciting and I love the fact that it's something that we can work on to add a little bit more value um to the space. Yeah, no, yeah, and that's exactly what this is meant to do. It. It adds a little professionalism, rather than, you know, kind of like the homegrown um approach a lot of us have been taking as EV enthusiasts amongst ourselves. It gives a new level of legitimacy to people who are interested in breaking out into the EV industry in some form or fashion.

Jon Hurst: 45:36

The EV industry is just growing. It's not going to stop growing, and if you have a certification on your resume, then that might add value to you as a prospective employee as well.

Zack Hurst: 45:49

I guarantee it If you I mean just like any degree or certification now if you have the ability to tell people without telling them. You know in very little words, I know this. You know, john, you work in the computer side of things Like there are certain certifications that all you need to do is say I am certified in this and it. That communicates so much more than that.

Jon Hurst: 46:18

Yeah, that could be worth $10,000 a year in pay, if not more.

Andy Cooper: 46:23

Yeah could be yeah as soon as it gets. If it gets recognized and people appreciate it, it's legitimate and maintained. Well, it adds that underpinning of potential. Essentially yeah, so yeah.

Zack Hurst: 46:42

Yeah, very exciting. Yeah, yeah, very exciting. Um, outside of that, I've mentioned probably a lot of the other updates, um, or uh, what I've got going on with the other sides of of the ev space that I operate in. Um, the event coming up in october naturally is a big one. Um, something that I haven't told, but maybe three people. This is exciting actually. This week I ordered a fast charger and it needs to be put together and the software obviously loaded onto the charger, but that is going to be shipped to dominion raceway and very nice, congratulations, I'm permitting, is going to be the. The timeline, that is still questionable, but the intention and there might still be a possibility of having it installed at the racetrack to be used for the event. So that's a big milestone moment, for not only will it be available to the public of people coming up and down i-95, should they need it, uh, during dominion raceways business hours, but then also we can do a lot more at the track, which of course gets me excited.

Andy Cooper: 48:18

So it should get the track excited too for evs that location there's not a very convenient location.

Jon Hurst: 48:27

It's EA in Spotsylvania.

Zack Hurst: 48:30

Yeah, like 10 to 15 miles, depending on whether you're Tesla or CCS, but then it's more the time. Yeah, where if you're running around the track and you want a fast charge, well, now you got to drive 15, 20 minutes up the road. Yeah, charge for however long you decide to charge, but then not only are you taking another 15 to 20 minutes to get back, you're using electricity that you just charged with in order to get there. So, yeah, like it. It's one of those spots that, for the very first charger of many that are coming, it made a lot of sense, so it's exciting that it is in the works. I don't know official timelines, so I can't promise that. Yes, it will be available, but I'm doing everything I can to make sure that the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted to make sure that it will be available. And there are a number of other sites that we're starting to work on and other partnerships. There's a lot going on and actually, with two sites in particular that we're working on, there is some opportunity. I don't ask for money usually, but I do like to offer opportunities. So anybody that is interested in reach out let me know, because we should talk and there could be some really, really significant potential.

Zack Hurst: 49:59

Hey everybody, I just want to thank you real quick for watching, listening to and supporting the show. Your support is what keeps this podcast going. To get all of the URLs, codes, deals and discounts from our partners, you can go to eb-resourcecom slash deals. So please consider supporting those who support us. All right, that's pretty much all I've got, so I want to thank you both for hopping on episode 200. I think this did it justice in terms of, in many ways, covering the news, which is a a very significant nod to the origin of the podcast, but also being able to make a couple of announcements and for the future of the podcast. Essentially, we're not going to do the news without having multiple people to discuss it, so I would like to see the two of you, but then if anybody else wants to throw their hat into the ring and say, hey, I could be a co-host, definitely open to it. You know.

Jon Hurst: 51:04

Let's see who gets certified.

Zack Hurst: 51:08

I like it, john. Ooh, I mean, I don't know, We'll see. But yes, thank you very much for joining me. It is an honor and pleasure to be able to do this with you all alongside.

Andy Cooper: 51:25

Yeah, yeah, it's a lot of fun. Thanks for having us. Thank you.

Zack Hurst: 51:33

I really hope you've enjoyed this podcast and want to thank you so much for being here. If you haven't left a review or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, I'd really appreciate it, and if you have any feedback for the show, questions for me or just want to reach out and say hi, you can email me at hello at ev-resourcecom. The EV Resource Podcast is a production of EvoSpark Media Group and is supported by viewers and listeners just like you. Supporters of EV Resource on Patreon include at the director tier, rajiv Narayan and Andy Cooper, at the executive producer tier, christopher Lawrence and Dave Lanzma, and at the producer tier, eric Weber and Tony Stuntz. To get ad-free episodes of the podcast, free EV Resource merchandise, support recognition and to join in the community discussion, you can head over to patreoncom slash EV resource. I've been your host, zach Hurst. Thank you so much for watching and listening and I'll catch you next time.