Man Wracks Up 250,000 EV Miles Driving Neighbors in Need–and the Battery Still Has a Capacity of 92%

Man Wracks Up 250,000 EV Miles Driving Neighbors in Need–and the Battery Still Has a Capacity of 92%

In the course of being a wonderful, kind-hearted neighbor, a California man inadvertently demonstrated the incredible reliability and longevity of his electric vehicle.

And being that it’s a Ford Mustang Mach-E, which many derided as an abomination of the badge, it’s a head-turning, heart-tugging piece of publicity.

David Blenkle has spent the last few years using his all-electric Mach-E to run a small private car service in Santa Cruz, California, and has driven more than 250,000 miles in the last three years.

Even more impressive, the car still has 92% of the battery capacity he had when he bought it.

Inspired by the care his grandfather received as a WWII veteran, Blenkle started off by offering complimentary rides for veterans and their families to Veteran’s Affairs (VA) appointments and national cemeteries.

He also began to offer free rides to job-seekers, both veterans and others, to help them get to any job interviews they might have lined up.

Years passed, and Blenkle has become a lifeline for hundreds of people in his community who would otherwise not have had access to reliable transportation.

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Through the growth of his business, David was able to expand to continue providing reliable rides to those in need, including university students needing a ride to the airport, or locals navigating the highway over the Santa Cruz mountains.

There are many good arguments on both sides of the debate on the reliability of EVs versus conventional combustion vehicles, especially in a state as large as California. Perhaps the best on the EV side is that an electric motor has one moving part.

Resulting not a little from that fact, the course of Blenkle’s charitable work has seen him pass a quarter-million miles—equivalent to a trip to the moon—without enduring any major under-the-hood work.