Meet the Leadership

John Morrill

My first "EV" was a Fisker Karma.  [If you never heard of it, Google it!!]  Today, we'd describe the Karma as a "Serial Hybrid", but at the time it was classed as an "Electric Vehicle with a Range Extender".  The drivetrain was strictly electric with a 50-mile battery range, and it gave me access to the HOV lanes.  I drove it for 40,000 miles - the vast majority of which were purely electric. The small and rarely used gas engine functioned only as an electrical generator/battery charger.  For the 2014 environment, it was an excellent “bridge car” to full EVs.  To be honest, I fell in love with that car BEFORE I ever knew it was electric.  But I quickly became addicted to the smooth, rapid acceleration without any shifting.  And I appreciated how much better it was for the environment when I drove electric.  The car was stunningly beautiful and quite rare.  I started taking it to car shows - especially EVA and Drive Electric events.  I became hooked at engaging with the public.

At the end of 2018, I purchased a fully electric Jaguar I-Pace.  I had become accustomed to the ambiance and notoriety that came with owning the Karma.  At the time, there were no other EV’s available as plush, attractive, and smooth driving as the I-Pace.  My son aptly described it as "obscenely smooth"!!  The Jaguar has been my primary driver for the past 5 years. Once again, it was a rare item (in the U.S.) and a big hit at EV car events - which were hugely dominated most of those years by Teslas.  I became a regular EVA/Drive Electric volunteer.  

About a year later, I talked my son into getting a Chevy Bolt.  He loves it.  Wouldn't trade it.  He manages to keep his car charged using a regular 110-volt household outlet most of the time.  Both of us have participated in several ride & drive events together to give people a chance to experience these new technologies with actual owners instead of (frequently unprepared) salespeople.  

Then, in 2022, my wife and I got a Kia EV6 to replace her car - the last gasoline car in our garage.  EV6's were hard to find at the time, and I went all the way to St Louis in November to buy it and drove it home over 2 days.  I had no real problems making the journey and finding chargers.  The Kia has better range than the Jaguar and is a charging beast!!  A veritable ton car for the money!!  Our EV6 won a trophy for Best EV at the 2023 Kingman Route 66 Fun Run/Car Show.  And, that year John Martinson and Peter Culin asked me if I would join the board as I was such a regular at nearly every event.  

In the middle of 2023, I placed an order for a Cadillac Lyriq AWD.  It took 7 months, but we just took delivery in February.  We’re still getting to know it, but really loving it.  It has all the class, looks, and smoothness of the Jaguar – but with better range and faster charging.  And, it will soon have access to the Tesla charging network.  I will be taking it to the Kingman Fun Run this year! 

We don't often drive out of town, so public charging has never been my priority.  What is priority is how the cars I drive/own look, feel, and perform during the (358?) days a year I am using them in normal life.  I fail to relate to the out-sized emphasis people want to place on the few (maybe 7 - for me) days a year they might drive out of town and need to do a little extra planning.  Such planning really isn’t hard work.  I brought the EV6 more than halfway across the country, back in November 2022, in varied weather including snow, cold and heavy rain. 

These days, the cars do most of the work of route planning that includes charging stops.  But it is admittedly a necessary process and concern to find charging when traveling for the present time. No one denies that EV travel currently requires more forethought than when one hops into a gasoline car and just starts driving.  But it becomes an easy trade-off to make when viewed against all the everyday benefits EV’s provide.  I can never understand why people stress out about the relatively few times most travel long-distance and don't prioritize their everyday experience - which is where EV's excel.  Fueling at home, CHEAPLY (!!), and never thinking about range is the 350+ day-a-year EV experience (for me and for most).  I, personally, have no interest in ever owning a smelly, smokey, noisy, POKEY, leaky, drippy, rattling, breakdown-prone, pollution machine again.  I love paying $6-7 to fuel my emission-free car instead of whatever ($25-$50) price the Saudis decide I should be paying this season to fill my garage (/neighborhood/city) with fumes.  

There are a lot of great EV's out there to choose from.  Technology keeps changing and improving.  Public charging also keeps improving.  And prices are coming down.  EVs are a little different.  But in most cases, they are different in genuinely fun and beneficial ways.  There's plenty to learn when (or BEFORE!) you get one to get the most out of them.  And that’s where we come in.  All of us here have a ton of experience and knowledge to share.  I enjoy talking about it all.  I am very pleased to be part of this Drive Electric AZ team.  None of us are doing it for profit – just for the love of our cars and the potential benefit of the planet.

By day, I am a Computer Scientist currently working as a VP in Risk Management at a major bank.   I have a degree in Computer Science and Engineering from ASU.  I am originally from Illinois but have been an AZ resident since 2004 (and, of course, while I was in college).  I have worked collecting and analyzing data with statistics within the finance, pharmaceutical, and insurance industries for nearly 40 years.   My wife Madeline and I live in Scottsdale along with our son Alec and now our nephew Adam has come to stay with us as well.  The guys have both been great volunteers and EV advocates!