Zero-emission cars front and center at 'Drive Electric Day' in Santa Rosa

Central to Sonoma County's goal to increase the use of electric vehicles is getting people to test drive an EV - from expensive Teslas to more affordable models like the Nissan Leaf.

That effort was on display Sunday at Coddingtown Mall, when enthusiasts participated in an education campaign encouraging the switch to electrical vehicles.

One of the beauties on display in the mall parking lot was Don Baumhefner's fire engine-red Tesla Model X, its signature “falcon wing” rear doors raised, like a raptor about to take flight.

Baumhefner's 90D version of the futuristic, battery-propelled auto does zero to 60 in less than five seconds with a range of more than 250 miles.

“My point is to show people that electric cars can go anywhere you want to,” he said during the North Bay Electric Auto Association's “Drive Electric Day,” aimed at selling the public on the transportation alternative to fossil fuel combustion.

Baumhefner, a Petaluma resident, said he drove to Seattle in 15 hours, stopping every two hours for a 20-minute battery recharging at a Tesla station. The car's super-sized dashboard touchscreen shows, among many other things, the placement of each station around the nation and the world.

“There's no range anxiety in this car,” he said, adding a political statement: “No more gas. I hate the oil companies so much.”

A few feet away, John Palmerlee of Santa Rosa was proudly standing by what might be called a beast: a 1985 Toyota pickup with badly faded red paint and a round electric motor filling a fraction of the engine compartment.

Palmerlee and his daughter, Ellen, did the conversion for her high school senior project in 2011, starting with the non-running truck they bought for $600 on Craigslist. They sold the engine and truck bed for parts, and paid $2,500 for a used 460-pound Nissan Leaf battery pack, which they mounted behind the cab. Total cost: about $10,000.

“It's functional,” Palmerlee said. And with a 50-mile range, he added, “I can drive to the coast.”

Marcus Nofi of Windsor, eyeballing the Tesla Model X, said he was on the waiting list for Tesla's Model 3, touted as the “affordable electric sports sedan” and due out in 2017. But figuring his order won't be delivered until 2018 or 2019, Nofi said he might opt for Model X.

“For me, it's performance,” he said. “It's the torque.”

Electric cars have 100 percent of their torque available at zero mph, which is wonk-speak for Batmobile fast. The Model X seats seven and claims to have five-star safety ratings, which appeal to Nofi's wife, Andrea, who commuted to San Francisco for years in a Prius that got 60 mpg.

“I love her,” Andrea Nofi said.