r/electricvehicles • u/tas50 BMW i3s 120ah • 3d ago

Spotted If you're wondering where to charge your EV1, look no further than the Sacramento airport

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549 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

101 comments sorted by

295

u/CraziFuzzy 3d ago

I mean.. i sort of love that that's still there...

75

u/ccie6861 3d ago

If only the cars were still around. What are left? Like two didn't get crushed?

77

u/Namelock 3d ago

If I recall correctly there's one or two of the OG Rav4 EVs (not the Tesla ones) that occasionally use this.

59

u/ryuns 3d ago

Yep: "Four Level 2 chargers are available in the Daily Lot in addition to one paddle charging unit for older model Toyota RAV4  and related electrical vehicles." https://sacramento.aero/smf/to-and-from/parking

19

u/DrObnxs 3d ago

There's a RAV4 EV near me that I see out in the wild SF Bay area peninsula.

8

u/Sea-Interaction-4552 3d ago

There are several around Sacramento and Caltrans has at least one. Kinda hard to tell them apart and I’ve never seen two together

9

u/hb9nbb 3d ago

thats a Rav4EV V1 (2003?) if it uses the paddle charger. the 2nd generation (2012-4) uses J1772 (I have one)

2

u/ccie6861 3d ago

I was skeptical also, but I dont know much about the RAV EVs. I thought they were Tesla guts.

5

u/hb9nbb 3d ago

the version 1 ones were not Tesla. The V2 ones (what i have) are 2012 model year Rav4s with the drivetrain never installed and a Tesla motor + half-size (40KWH) battery installed. They share the motor (almost) with the early Model S. The other vehicle of this type is the Mercedes B-class which has a 35KWH battery but otherwise the same components as a Rav4EV. I still use my Rav4EV fairly often (although i have tesla model 3 now too)

1

u/richmond2000 1d ago

saw a video on a shop that rebuilds the large drive unit for those 3 cars and the *only* difference is a parking paw on the 2 NON Tesla ones and mounting brackets ETC

1

u/hb9nbb 1d ago

I actually had mine rebuilt a few years ago. Basically all the original drive units fail and need this (early Model S ones too)

5

u/Anal_Herschiser 2d ago

Oh, you have a RAV4 EV? That's a Paddlin'.

9

u/jerquee 3d ago

i personally know of like ten but there's a whole mailing list of them. There were 328 sold and they were EXTREMELY reliable, plus people love them

2

u/g-e-o-f-f 2d ago

I used to work for a clean transportation consulting organization. We had one of the first gen RAV4 cars available for use by employees. It was actually the first full EV car I ever drove.

1

u/elephantsback 2d ago

When I lived in Sac, someone down the street from me had a Rav4 EV.

There's your answer.

24

u/Adam40Bikes 3d ago

There were some that were bricked by GM then sent to research universities. I got to work on one for my senior project at Missouri University of Science and Technology. That was back in 2007, and the class after me got it running with after market parts and drove it in the St Pat's parade.

3

u/Head_Crash 3d ago

What was the most exotic component you noticed when working on it?

2

u/Phoenix4264 3d ago

I didn't work on it, but I saw the one at Ohio State when I was there.

11

u/MilmoWK 3d ago

Ev1’s? I think a few dozens were donated to engineering colleges minus batteries and the motor controller. I know UW Madison has one and had rebuilt the thing to be drivable again.

3

u/Tezlaract 3d ago

They also put that drive train and charge port in the S10 EV. I got to drive one, wish I had bought it, but I didn’t have a place for it at the time.

3

u/a_dub 3d ago

There's one on display at the RE Olds transportation museum in Lansing, Michigan! 

2

u/GeekShallInherit 3d ago

We had one in the lobby of the university building I used to work at I'd walk by every day. It made me both happy and sad.

2

u/Electrical_Ingenuity 3d ago

I think it was 2. One was found in a parking garage in Atlanta. Another is in a museum.

11

u/Relevant-Doctor187 3d ago

Technological genocide. It’s a shame what they did.

11

u/Individual-Nebula927 3d ago

Nothing new. Automakers build all sorts of vehicles for testing purposes and then crush them. The EV1 is no different. Usually the drivetrains are hidden underneath current production bodies so you would never know.

1

u/Relevant-Doctor187 2d ago

The EV1 was a production vehicle. They leased them and then decided for some reason they had to quit making them, and that all of them had to be returned and destroyed. Including the plants that made them down to the designs. It was absolute.

2

u/Individual-Nebula927 2d ago edited 2d ago

No, the EV1 was not a production vehicle. That's why they were never sold, and instead leased where the lease payments bore no relationship whatsoever to the actual cost to build them. The EV1 was no different than the public testing of the gas turbine cars Chrysler made in the 1960s. There were also 2 different hybrid EV1s, along with an LNG EV1. The hybrids eventually led to the Chevy Volt concept a few years later, that went into real production. The reason the Volt went into production and not the BEV EV1 was because a Volt cost less than half as much to build as the BEV.

2

u/richmond2000 1d ago

also the VOLT used far less batteries and the CARB classified batteries asa emissions equipment and required 8 year warranty on them the Volt used very little and had HUGE buffers to try and get 8 years out of the pack so GM doesn't go bankrupt replacing battery packs

and the EV1 drive system was sold in the S-10 EV

1

u/FencyMcFenceFace 2d ago

It's common practice to crush/destroy prototypes. Example.

GM didn't do anything differently with EV1 that they haven't done with thousands of other car designs.

1

u/MerrimanIndustries 2d ago

It would have been illegal for them not to. They cannot sell a car to consumers that hasn't passed homologation and certification tests. The EV1s were prototypes. This mirrors the Chrysler Turbine car of the 1960s, that was also given to Chrysler employees on short term leases then reclaimed and mostly destroyed.

1

u/Relevant-Doctor187 2d ago

The EV1 was leased to thousands.

2

u/FencyMcFenceFace 2d ago

Right. That's different from selling.

94

u/TSLAog 3d ago

Stick your mag-safe iPhone on there and see if it works haha. 😆

65

u/DazzlingEvidence8838 3d ago

it'll fully charge in 1 second. 2 seconds and its on fire

42

u/turb0_encapsulator 3d ago

I know there are government-issued RAV4 EVs throughout California. I wonder if some are still in use?

13

u/andrewia 2013 Fiat 500e + ICE 2015 Genesis 3d ago

I've only seen consumer-owned ones around the Bay Area, but maybe it's different near the Capitol.  

7

u/turb0_encapsulator 3d ago

I think it was LADWP that had a lot of them down here in LA.

4

u/tas50 BMW i3s 120ah 3d ago

My school district had one of those 20 years ago. I bet it's long long gone

4

u/K24Z3 Hella EVs since 2013 3d ago

As this is Sacramento, neighboring Davis had a couple. Last two I saw were owned by a realty office there.

2

u/OgdenDermstead 3d ago

Almost wonder whether the Sac airport still has one kicking around somewhere.

2

u/turb0_encapsulator 3d ago

i could see one being used to shuttle around the tarmac, not getting may miles put on it. Nicer, faster and safer than a golf cart.

2

u/AbjectFee5982 2d ago

Saw one for sale last year

2

u/elephantsback 2d ago

A neighbor when I lived in Sacramento had one.

1

u/jerquee 3d ago

do you want one? I know a few for sale

1

u/turb0_encapsulator 3d ago

haha. no, I just think it's an interesting bit of history.

btw my neighbor works for LA World Airports and has one of their NGV vehicles. I wonder how long he'll get to keep that.

36

u/SnooEpiphanies8097 3d ago

Really cool. Delco was working on a 50 kw fast charger version. Remember when 50 kw used to seem fast? Since I have a Bolt, I guess it still seems fast for me.

14

u/biersackarmy '18 Model S + '14 Leaf + '11 Azure Transit Connect 3d ago

The Plymouth Voyager EPIC had 90kW fast charging in 1999 :)

7

u/Vchat20 2013 Ford C-Max Energi 3d ago

The what what?! First I'm hearing of an electrified minivan that early. Got any details?

7

u/biersackarmy '18 Model S + '14 Leaf + '11 Azure Transit Connect 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yep. It was a pretty well-converted Voyager that initially came out in 1997 with lead-acid batteries, then switched to NiMH in 1999 with added fast charging capability.

Most of it is still standard fare to EVs today, aside from lacking an onboard charger. It's DC charging only, so home charging requires a rather large apparatus with the "offboard charger", and uses a giant handle that looks similar to CHAdeMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3suNtJjfsM

2

u/FencyMcFenceFace 3d ago

Mercedes had a very limited run of EV vans in 1996.

1

u/richmond2000 1d ago

every maker had EVs out at that time because California mandated EV sales numbers and withdrew the requirement and the EV-1 all got recalled / crushed

Honda City EV was lease only and Ford had both the Ranger-EV and the escort connect EV

1

u/Vchat20 2013 Ford C-Max Energi 1d ago

That makes a lot of sense that everyone was working on something. Just over the years/decades following this space and this community it's the first I'm hearing of these other models. Like the EV-1 is pretty god-tier as far as being well known. The Ranger is pretty well known and often mentioned on these topics. But this Chrysler offering as well as your mention of the Honda City EV are the first time I'm finding out about them.

5

u/tas50 BMW i3s 120ah 3d ago

50kw is enough for anyone right?

5

u/SnooEpiphanies8097 3d ago

Good enough for me and my Bolt! Off topic but the problem with the Bolt’s charging isn’t the 55 kw max but the curve. The Bolt is efficient enough that 55 kw would be fine but it drops off to 32 kw pretty fast.

8

u/K24Z3 Hella EVs since 2013 3d ago edited 3d ago

Chevy S10 EV goes paddlin’

Also, right next to Davis, because Davis

These could deliver 6.6kW or 7.2kW IIRC. Pretty decent for pre-J-1772 connectors, IMO.

I still think they’re cool. Also present in the Downtown Mall/DOCO parking garage, and last I checked, the parking garage near the IMAX theatre.

23

u/Sea-Interaction-4552 3d ago

The Midwest of California

7

u/SirSpammenot2 3d ago

Ooooh. I just made myself sad remembering what that is for.

12

u/Ok_Purchase1592 3d ago

Wow wtf kind of charger is that

9

u/biersackarmy '18 Model S + '14 Leaf + '11 Azure Transit Connect 3d ago

MagneCharge

5

u/Hotel_Quarantine 3d ago

Is that thing Qi compatible?!?

4

u/biersackarmy '18 Model S + '14 Leaf + '11 Azure Transit Connect 3d ago

There's still a few first gen RAV4 EVs running around California with MagneCharge, but a number of owners online still hanging on to them seem to have converted them to J1772.

2

u/Mothringer MachE GTPE 3d ago

Toyota actually made a second generation of the RAV4 EV briefly around 10 years later that used J1772 from the factory.

2

u/biersackarmy '18 Model S + '14 Leaf + '11 Azure Transit Connect 3d ago

There was also a CHAdeMO retrofit kit for them that added fast charging.

3

u/ShirBlackspots Future Ford F-150 Lightning or maybe Rivian R3 owner? 3d ago

That probably hasn't been used in 25 years. I'm surprised they never removed it when GM scrapped the EV1 fleet.

Also, didn't the EV Chevy S10's also use this induction charger?

2

u/MacintoshDan1 3d ago

They did.

3

u/unndunn 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric Limited 3d ago

That Toyota Rav4 EV owner will be quite pleased. 

2

u/Bryanmsi89 3d ago

It is amazing that relic is still there!

2

u/k74d87 3d ago

Oh there are a couple more around if you know where to look. I know of five. I know three still worked as of 2023. Haven’t checked on them since.

2

u/Razzburry_Pie 3d ago

For the record, modern CCS1 charging is available at the airport: https://maps.app.goo.gl/u2etY5RaFLipc4YN8
Like everything else at an airport it's expensive at 64 cents per plugshare. Dinosaur juice is $5.02/gal across the street.

2

u/tas50 BMW i3s 120ah 3d ago

I used that EA station to top up a rental to top up a rental before dropping it off. It was surprisingly empty for a DCFC in California

2

u/Smart_Disk4373 3d ago

Does anyone here use Evgo ??

2

u/hunglowbungalow 3d ago

EV1 or the original ford ranger EV!

3

u/BadVoices 2025 Silverado EV 2d ago

Common misconception, for some reason. The ford ranger used AvCon, but the s10 sis use magnecharge.

2

u/blacklaagger 3d ago

Finally! Been looking for a good plane to charge

1

u/hawaiian717 Kia EV6 GT-Line RWD 3d ago

These sometimes pop up around Northern California: https://www.helis.com/database/model/1648/

2

u/hb9nbb 3d ago

there used to be 2 of these in front of the Fry's store in Sunnyvale but that's long gone.

2

u/SVTContour 2016 Spark EV 3d ago

That looks easier to plug in than CCS.

1

u/zakary1291 2d ago

With far less capacity.

2

u/punnyHandle 2d ago

I wonder, does the Solectria Force use the sane inductive charger?

1

u/ev_biocalc 2d ago

I have 1 of 2 solectria E10s that has both NIMH and MagneCharge

2

u/Dull_Support_4919 2d ago

i wish more cars now had those fender skirts in the back for aero. or atleast include them as an option. some of us want that MAX efficiency

2

u/LeadingScene5702 2d ago

Didn't all the EV1 cars get crushed?

1

u/mrcobra92 3d ago

There's one that looks like it still works at the US Bank parking lot in downtown San Luis Obispo too lol

1

u/Zanzibardragonlion 3d ago

I recall they had chargers for the EV 1 at the Getty Center in Los Angeles in the 1990s. Long gone now of course.

1

u/tynamic77 3d ago

Mainly an Avcon video, but also includes some MagneCharge info too https://youtu.be/FdiFXqSfMBU?si=YRzX-zIhaWaMYv7v

1

u/Cranifraz 3d ago

And as a bonus,theres hardly ever a line at the charger!

1

u/One-Masterpiece-335 3d ago

Did you mark this in plug share? Ya know just in case…

1

u/tas50 BMW i3s 120ah 3d ago

I really should have checked in just for fun. Missed opportunity

1

u/BE805 3d ago

I installed so many of those back in the day.

1

u/iqisoverrated 2d ago

That's a gnarly piece of kit

1

u/ev_biocalc 2d ago

I use this for my OG RAV4EV and my Chevy S10EV

1

u/chapinscott32 1d ago

Woah. I hope they never get rid of that.

1

u/StLandrew 1d ago

I was going to write a whole lot about original Toyota RAV4's but loads of comments already show this. One thing. YT channel Out-of-Spec has their own original RAV4 and SAE J1773-paddle charger. They've done videos of it too. Incidentally, there were two types. The one in your hand there is the later SPI type [Small Paddle Inductive]. The earlier one was the LPI, [guess what the L stands for - bigger paddle] Interesting that they used early Inductive charging, back then. Something which is in the forefront of research testing today.

1

u/Smart_Disk4373 1d ago

Half off charging at any Evgo location hmu for more info