Mike McQuary on the "Moving America" show on Fox Business

September 7, 2010

Wheego CEO Mike McQuary was interviewed live on Fox Business. Watch the interview here.

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Jim Ellis Autos donated the use of a Wheego to UGA’s Athletic Department. WNEG-TV’s Rachel Garrett covered the event:

ATHENS, GA - UGA just found a new way to go green. Jim Ellis dealership in Atlanta just donated a brand new electric car to the university. The car is a two passenger Wheego Whip and runs on a sealed lead-acid battery that runs 40 miles per charge. The Whip is a low speed vehicle and goes a maximum of 35 miles per hour.

The company also makes a faster speed vehicle for highway driving that gets up to 65 miles per hour. The Athletic Department will be using the car throughout be week for on campus driving and then Saturday football gamedays.

FROM WHEEGO Electric Cars:

ATLANTA (Aug. 25, 2010) – WHEEGO ELECTRIC CARS, manufacturer of all-electric vehicles, today announced its Wheego Whip is heading off to college – specifically, to Athens, Ga. – where it will become the newest vehicle in the University of Georgia’s campus fleet for fall 2010. Jim Ellis Wheego of Atlanta will loan the Wheego Whip LSV (Low Speed Vehicle) to university officials for use in a variety of roles across campus for the remainder of the year.

The vehicle will be especially prominent during UGA Game Days for the 2010 football season, where Bulldogs from across the nation will see electric vehicles in action for themselves.

“This is a great way for the UGA campus community – including faculty, staff, students and athletics fans – to
see how easy it is to incorporate an all-electric, zeroemission vehicle into their everyday life,” Wheego CEO
Mike McQuary said.

“We’re also excited that this particular Wheego Whip has been loaned in partnership with Jim Ellis Wheego.

The Wheego Whip LSV is available now at Jim Ellis Wheego and other dealers across the country. It runs on sealed lead-acid batteries and qualifies for a 10 percent federal tax credit in 2010. With a sticker price of $18,995, the Wheego Whip LSV net price is just over $17,000.

The Whip LSV is an “around-town” car, with a range of about 40 miles per charge and a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour.

Jim Ellis Wheego is also taking orders for the Wheego LiFe full-speed electric vehicle. The LiFe is fully crash-tested and highway-ready, and will begin shipping to customers in October. The LiFe goes 100 miles on a charge and runs on lithium batteries. The MSRP of the LiFe is $32,995; it qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit and a $5,000 Georgia tax credit.

Brandware Public Relations (www.brandwaregroup.com), an independently owned public relations boutique firm with deep roots in automotive, technology and enthusiast brands, has been selected as public relations agency of record for Wheego, an Atlanta-based electric vehicle (EV) company.

Brandware will support the launch of the Wheego LiFe, the first affordable highway-ready, crash- tested, all-electric car available in America. The Wheego LiFe, as well as the company’s current low-speed city EV, the Wheego Whip LSV, is supported by a growing national dealer network, including such automotive retail leaders as Jim Ellis Auto Dealerships.

(view the film at the KHON2 website) 

A new electric car was introduced in Hawaii.

But this one could change the landscape when it comes to how drivers think about the future.

How would you like to park downtown for free? How would you like to drive in the zip lane with just one person in the car? How would you like the government to give you a tax break?

All these things are possible with the right electric car.

Meet the Wheego, made in America, ready for sale right now.

“The two cars you see here are equipped with lead acid batteries which is the same technology the battery in your conventional car has, so they are fully recyclable just like your conventional car battery is now,” said Mark Piscioneri from Green Energy Outlet.

These are commuter vehicles – 50 miles per charge, 35 miles per hour.

But next month, Piscioneri expects delivery of the next Wheegos similar to these.

“But it is a 65 mile per hour vehicle. It has air bags and all the safety features that conventional cars have so it can be driven anywhere in Hawaii and it also has a one hundred mile range,” said Piscioneri.

Wheego is simple to drive – there’s forward and reverse. No transmission, no noise and no emissions. Hawaii is 90 percent dependent on petroleum imports – one third for aviation fuel, one third for energy production and one third for ground transportation.

“Of those three petroleum uses, the ones that we can affect, meaning private citizens and businesses, we can affect the ground transportation part. That’s something that we can do,” said Piscioneri.

In the future, virtually any mall or shopping center could set up a re-charging station by using photovoltaic energy produced from the sun and charging a small fee to customers.

“And that money makes their business more profitable, they’ll hire more of our friends and neighbors, and we will begin to create a sustainable economy for the future.” Said Piscioneri.

HONOLULU – Hawaii Green Energy Outlet, a business that markets green building and energy products, on Aug. 14 demonstrated two upcoming all-electric vehicles manufactured by Wheego Electric Cars, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported.

The Wheego LiFe travels about 100 miles on a charge and retails for $32,995. The car also qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit.

The Wheego LiFe’s 115V lithium battery pack can be charged from a standard 120V outlet, a 240V outlet or any of the J1772-standard charging stations being installed in public locations throughout the U.S. It is available in red, white, blue, black, silver and green.

Hawaii will be among the first markets for the LiFe, which is set to ship in September.

The Wheego Whip LiFe is a two-seat subcompact car that can reach speeds of 35 mph and travels about 40 miles on a single charge. It retails for $18,995.

The cars are available for test drives and pre-orders. 

A J1772-standard charging station, manufactured by Coulomb Technologies, was also unveiled last week at Green Energy Outlet’s location in Kakaako. 

Wheego Electric Cars, headquartered in Atlanta, is led by CEO Mike McQuary. The cars are assembled in Ontario, Calif. 

Wheego Hawaii Unveiled Cars At Green Energy Outlet

HONOLULU — Hawaii’s first 240-volt electric cars are set to debut in Honolulu.

Wheego Hawaii unveiled the two cars at Green Energy Outlet on Saturday.

The low-speed “Whip” will be available for a test drive, as well the “LiFe,” which looks exactly like the “Whip” but is a full-speed car that is crash-tested and approved for highways. The LiFe can be ordered at the event.

Both cars support the 240-volt standard announced in January by the Society of Automotive Engineers. Wheego officials said using that voltage cuts charging times by more than half.

The event also unveiled ChargePoint charging stations.

Press release issued by Green Energy Outlet, August 11, 2010

When:  Saturday, August 14th, 12PM to 4PM.
Where: Green Energy Outlet, 575G Cooke St. in Kaka’ako.  GEO is two blocks from Sports Authority, on the corner or Ilaniwai and Cooke.
Why: Be part of history, test drive the Wheego Whip (LSV) and other electric vehicles (EVs), enjoy an afternoon with expert speakers discussing the world of electrical cars, listen to live music and enter to win an Apple IPad.

Come celebrate the debut of the first electric cars in Hawaii that support the new 240 Volt international charging standard, J-1772–which cuts charging time by more than half.  The Wheego “Whip,” a Low Speed Vehicle (LSV) will be available for a test drive.  The Wheego “LiFe,” which looks exactly the same as the “Whip” but is a full speed car that is crash tested and DOT approved for highways and will be available to order at the event.  Delivery of the “LiFe” will take place in September.

Call Green Energy Outlet at 591-1900 to RSVP for a test drive.

With its’ 115 Volt Lithium battery, the “LiFe” can go 100 miles on a charge at 65 MPH.  It will be the first car in Hawaii that supports the new international standard plug, the J-1772.  This worldwide standard was agreed upon by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) so that owners of a new EV would always be able to pull into a charging station and know that their car would be compatible.

Both cars are American made by Wheego Electric Cars, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Assembly of the LiFE is in Ontario, California. You can buy the Wheego Whip LSV this Saturday and pre order the Wheego LiFe for delivery in September.

WE will also unveil Coulomb Technologies Level II ChargePoint Networked Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.  ChargePoint stations bring unmatched technology features including charging status notification by SMS text or email notification, location of unoccupied charging stations via smart phones and a ChargePoint iPhone App.

GEO will be featuring special guests speaking on the exciting new world of electric cars and EV charging.
Ron Hansen, Wheego Hawaii
Jeff Mikulina, Blue Planet Foundation
Mark Duda, Hawaii Solar Energy Assoc.
Mark Piscioneri, Pacific Electric Vehicles
Peter Fletter, Sunetric
Mike Leone, HiEV
Peter Rosegg, HECO

…and some other exciting speakers.
 

In addition to the Charging Station, GEO sells Green Building and Energy Products. 

For information on the Green Energy Outlet (GEO) and the Saturday, August 14th event:
Contact:  Frank Rogers, President
Green Energy Outlet (GEO)
Phone:  591-1900
Email: frogers1@mac.com

Wheego Electric Cars is a small company with a big, green vision. Wheego hopes to be the first car company in the U.S. to offer an affordable, all-electric car across the country. President Obama has committed to buying the first 100 cars off the assembly line from any company who can accomplish that goal, and Wheego is determined to bring that prize home to Georgia.  Wheego is headquartered in Atlanta, just west of the Georgia Tech campus. CEO Mike McQuary was previously the president of Georgia-born Internet company MindSpring Enterprises.

Wheego’s home state is a great place to introduce Electric Vehicles. Georgia has some of the most progressive tax credits in the country for EV drivers: in addition to the $7,500 Federal tax credit, Georgia residents are entitled to up to $5,000 in State Tax Credits for a full-speed electric vehicle, and can drive alone in the HOV lane in their all-electric car. The problem is, up until this summer the only all-electric car widely available in the U.S. that qualified (fully crash tested and highway-ready) was the Tesla, at a hefty $100,000+ price tag. I haven’t seen one of those in the HOV lane of I-75 yet! That all changes this summer, as Wheego rolls out its highway-ready all-electric car in September, followed by the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt later this year. So while the tax credits have been available for years in Georgia, this will be the first time anyone has actually used the deduction. Why is this important? Well, a “theoretical” tax credit doesn’t actually take any money out of the state coffers. Oklahoma offered a whopping 50% State Tax Credit on electric vehicles in 2009, and were caught off guard by the number of drivers who took advantage of the credit – in Oklahoma, some electric golf carts qualified. The state budget took a huge hit, and the tax credit was discontinued, just as the cars it was meant to encourage are ready to hit the road. Now that Georgia residents will start taking that $5,000 deduction, we need to make sure our state legislators are prepared and supportive of the “green” investment the state is making.

Georgia also offers a tax credit to businesses for buying (or leasing) and installing a charging station: 10% of the cost of the charging station, up to $2,500. This is important because it opens the EV ownership door to city dwellers who don’t have a garage. The Wheego LiFe electric car is a 2-seater with a range of 100 miles per charge, perfect for commuting to and from work. Most drivers will plug the car into the charging port in their garage at night and be good to go for another 100 miles the next morning. But a huge, young, and enthusiastically green slice of Atlanta’s population live in areas that are perfect for an EV – within a 50-mile commute of work – but don’t have a garage. Apartment and condo dwellers, and residents of older intown neighborhoods are perfect candidates for an at-work charging station. They’ll drive their car to work, charge it while they work, and be good to go for another 100 miles. Over the next few years, we’ll see more employers offer charging stations as part of a benefits package, and we’ll see additional charging stations pop up as retailers embrace this new way to attract consumers to stay longer. Anywhere that currently offers wi-fi is a good candidate for a charging station, since the theory is the same: offer a service that brings the consumer in, make them comfortable and hopefully they’ll drink more coffee, stay at the same hotel next time, buy more books. The charging technology is evolving.  When “rapid-charge” stations are the norm and you can fully charge your car in 20 minutes, retailers will jump on this chance to offer a valuable service to their shoppers. You’ll be able to charge while you’re in the grocery store, getting a haircut or watching a movie … not just sleeping or working

What has to happen for all of this to become a reality? You’d be surprised how far the technology has come. Coulomb Technologies is making a charging station that companies or municipalities can purchase and install on a stand, like a parking meter. As an EV owner, you join the “club,” and get a credit card that can be swiped at the charging station. The charge port door pops open, you plug your car in, and you (or your company) are billed for the charge.  A web page and an I-phone app will help you find an available charge station.

Major cities in five states (Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington) are part of the federally-funded EV Project. The Department of Energy is spending $100m to build out the charging infrastructure in targeted cities in these five states. In order to get a free charging station installed in their home, EV drivers agree to provide data on their driving habits and EV usage. The information gleaned from this 3-year project will help the rest of the country prepare for widespread use of EVs. It’s coming!  A community’s rewards for encouraging EV use are great: no emissions, less noise pollution, less dependence on foreign (or domestic!) oil.  As a Georgia resident, you can be an active participant in your community’s EV planning, encourage your employer to install a charging station, and let local businesses know you’d support their initiatives to offer EV charging. Encourage Georgia lawmakers to push for our state’s inclusion if and when the EV Project expands.

It’s time to evaluate your driving habits and see whether an EV would work for you. On average, do you drive fewer than 100 miles each day? Do you have an enclosed garage to charge your car? If you routinely pile five people in your car and drive 500 miles, the Wheego LiFe would not be a candidate for your only car. But if you use your car primarily for commuting each day, Wheego could be a great fit. To learn more about Wheego and reserve your LiFe, visit www.wheego.net.