Here’s What Happened When A Bunch Of Michiganders Went To Drive New Electric Cars

People aren’t logical. Neither is car buying. If you want to win people over, you need to appeal to their hearts and meet them halfway. That’s been the thought rattling around my head since attending June’s DTE EV Ride and Drive event.

The Southeast Michigan utility company DTE gave people the chance to schedule two 15-minute-ish test drives from a selection of eight electric vehicles. I learned of the event thanks to 3wiperB posting about it on The Autopian’s Discord channel for Detroit, and at the last minute, I scheduled my ride and looked forward to a morning of electrified fun.

DTE Energy is Michigan’s biggest utility company, with 2.2 million customers. As the future of transportation appears to have a large electrified element, it’s probably best that power providers are ready to meet the needs of electric drivers.

What’s The Angle?

As for why DTE would want to host a test-drive event, a spokesperson said in a statement, “We want to accelerate our customer’s EV journey through programs and resources to help them understand the benefits of switching to an EV.”

One of the “road signs” at the event more or less spelled out why the EV transition is a big win for utility companies. In an all-electric future, utilities would essentially replace oil companies as the primary supplier for our country’s locomotion go-potion. DTE argues that the power it provides is generated in the state, keeping the profits in the state and allowing more money to go toward local workers.

It’s a compelling idea that I hadn’t thought about until then, and in theory, it could be good for state-level economies. Per Statista, gasoline sales at public stations added up to $654 billion. If even a fraction of that is replaced by EVs, that’s a lot of new revenue for utility companies, which is probably why they’re even paying people to buy EVs.

It’s An EV Buffet!

DTE works with manufacturers and dealerships to provide test vehicles for EV Ride & Drive events, and the test-drive vehicles were put into three groups: Truck, with a Ford F-150 Lightning and GMC Hummer EV available for seat time; Car, with a Tesla Model 3 and Kia EV6 ready for attendees; and SUV, which offered the largest variety of models with Chevrolet Blazer EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Tesla Model Y, and a Cadillac Lyric at the ready.

The event I attended was held in the parking lot of the Liberty Center in Troy, Michigan. I had scheduled my test drive for 8 a.m. Saturday, June 8, and first up, a GMC Hummer EV. DTE had the area decked out with an auto-show-quality booth and a unique check-in system. In addition to them checking my ID and taking down some personal information, I had to blow into a yellow stick-shaped breatherilizer, while being careful not to touch it to my lips.

Once past the front desk, it was like a Disneyland for car-loving adults. There were roped-off lines with signs for which line goes with what vehicle. Even better, if no one else was in line for their scheduled appointment, you could hop in and test drive more than just the two EVs you registered for.

A DTE-contracted driver went over the basics for adjusting the mirrors and starting the vehicle. The route lasted about 12 minutes, covering a bit of stop-and-go city driving before briefly hopping on I-75 to get a feel for the acceleration, road noise, and driving dynamics at high speeds.

These Drivers Rule

I have to say, the drivers for these events are the unsung heroes. They’re incredibly patient while dealing with people non-stop, and most of them are true car fans through and through. I’ve had event drivers range anywhere from former race car drivers to Stellantis engineers who moonlight behind the wheel for high-speed ride-along events, to longtime veterans of the auto show circuit, with stories that leave you bewildered and amazed.

These Carrots Sound Pretty Good

The DTE reps had a job to do beyond showing us the test vehicles and dutifully informed us of the rebates DTE is currently offering for customers who buy an EV. The five main points cover their in-home charging installation program: a $500 Level 2 home charger rebate, a $1,500 purchased or leased EV rebate, special EV energy rate pricing plans, the Federal government’s $7,500 tax credit for vehicles, and up to $1,000 tax credit for chargers. In theory, if you stack DTE’s credit and the fed’s together, you could get up to $1,500 back after buying a charger, which should cover the purchase and installation costs for most people.

I’ll share my novice opinions about it and the other vehicle’s driving dynamics in a future article, but it was impressive. A fancy white behemoth that weighs 9,000 pounds and moves quietly, without any straining or groaning, is kind of awe-inspiring and terrifying.

Meet The Test Drivers

I talked with a few people in line who were kind enough to share their thoughts on the event and the vehicles. Unsurprisingly, this was definitely an EV-friendly skewing crowd. All of them were at least interested in the technology, hence why they showed up at a random parking lot on a Saturday morning. And with the event being held in Troy, almost all had either worked in the auto industry or were related to someone who did. Attendees I spoke to in passing identified themselves as engineers for Bosch, Stellantis, a diesel engine firm, and one in the field of sewer maintenance.