About

The People
My name is Mike May, and I started Electric Route 66 in 2018 as a way to educate electric vehicle owners, small businesses, and travelers about using EVs to take classic American road trips, especially on the most classic road of all: Route 66.

I have only been an EV owner since late 2017, but I have been a road-tripper all my life. From childhood vacations with family, to solo trips starting at age 18 in the early 1990s, all the way to the present, I've always liked to visit interesting places and my preferred method of travel has always been by car.

My wife Jessica is my partner in road-tripping and all other ways, enthusiastic through our travels and patiently enduring my geekiness through all the years of raising our two children, building a home in Las Vegas, Nevada, and traveling the west whenever we get the chance, across tens of thousands of miles. We are a team, and I couldn't dream of adventuring without her.

Along with a new generation of electric vehicles, there comes a new set of challenges for travelers on the leading edge of this revolution, and a new set of opportunities for destinations to attract these drivers. As I learn how to integrate EV travel into my own life, I want to use Electric Route 66 to share my experiences and help others who are interested in the exciting new era of car travel that EVs represent.

The Cars
We own two electric cars - one short range and one long range. Our 2018 Tesla Model 3 is our road-trip EV and our 2014 Chevy Spark EV is our around-town EV. Both have been named for characters in the Nickelodeon animated series, "Avatar: The Last Airbender," a favorite of our entire family.

The Blue Spirit
Our 2018 Tesla Model 3 was delivered in September 2018, and since that time it has been my daily driver and our road trip car. It is all-wheel drive, with an AC induction motor powering the front wheels and a permanent magnet motor powering the rear wheels. The interior seating is white, and the exterior color is matte blue thanks to being wrapped with XPEL Stealth paint protection film.

The Blue Spirit in Kingman, Arizona

Specifications:
Body type: 4-door sedan
Seating: 5 persons
EPA Range: 310 miles
EPA Efficiency: 116 MPGe
Peak Power: 235 HP (175 kW) front motor, 296 HP (221 kW) rear motor
Peak Torque: 416 lb-ft (564 Nm)
Battery size: 74 kWh
Wheelbase: 113.2 inches
Curb weight: 4,072 pounds
0-60 MPH: 3.7 seconds
Top speed: 145 MPH
Made in USA (Fremont, CA)


Sparky Sparky Boom Car
Our silver 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV was purchased in December 2017. It first became my daily driver, and later Jessica's daily driver. It is front-wheel drive, with a permanent magnet motor. With an official range of 82 miles, it is not well suited to road trips, but it has fast-charge capability: the Spark EV was the first car in the US to use the CCS fast charge connector now used by nearly all cars other than Tesla. As EV infrastructure improves, trips beyond the Las Vegas Valley will become easier. For now, it stays close to home. Horsepower is at the high end of normal for a car of its size, but in torque it is an absolute monster!

Sparky Sparky Boom Car: A mild-mannered city commuter with 400 lb-ft of torque.


Specifications:
Body type: 4-door hatchback city car
Seating: 4 persons
EPA Range: 82 miles
EPA Efficiency: 119 MPGe
Peak Power: 140 HP (105 kW) front motor
Peak Torque: 400 lb-ft (542 Nm)
Battery size: 21 kWh
Wheelbase: 93.5 inches
Curb weight: 2,967 pounds
0-60 MPH: 7.6 seconds
Top speed: 90 MPH
Made in South Korea (Changwon)

 

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