Out of the Dark Age of Electric

CAA knows no one really understands electric vehicles.

There is a tremendously ludicrous joke that could only exist in the Internet age that has a customer asking a car salesperson “cargo space?” to which the salesperson replies “no, car go road.” For most of us, “car go road” is the extent of our automotive mechanical knowledge. Throw in electric vehicle specifics like regenerative braking, DC fast-charging and kilowatt-hours and range anxiety might not be the only thing giving you fits.

The Canadian Automobile Association recognizes this and in a new public awareness campaign produced by One Twenty Three West, the venerable institution hopes to spark curiosity in zero emission vehicles and help lessen Canadians’ concerns about the new horseless carriage on the block: EVs.

Rather than give a rundown of all the facts and figures and high-tech components of lithium ion batteries and alternating currents, One Twenty Three West created a campaign designed around how real people might describe zero-emissions vehicles, and the results were decidedly less scientific (chargey thingy powers the electric rectangles, right?), but a whole lot more fun and attention getting. The spots link here where folks can learn about the vehicles in a clear and informative manner.

“Electric vehicles can be complicated. We wanted to find a way to demystify them that doesn’t overwhelm people,” says Ian Jack, Vice President, Public Affairs at CAA National. “This campaign aims to put a real spotlight on the public education work CAA has already been doing on EVs for many years. Our goal is to provide unbiased information about electric vehicles so Canadians can make the best decision for them.”  

The campaign is live now and helps to simply breakdown (not the side-of-the-road kind CAA is also known for) the costs, features and vehicles available on the market today. Car does indeed go road, but now it goes without emissions.