http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/icelands-romance-with-electric-cars-on-display-at-a-wedding/?_r=0 Iceland’s Romance With Electric Cars on Display at a Wedding By CHRISTINE NEGRONI October 2, 2013
[image http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/10/01/automobiles/wheels/Tesla-Wedding/Tesla-Wedding-blog480.jpg Tomas Kristjansson and his bride, Berglind Anna Zoega, with the Tesla Model S they borrowed for their wedding.James Schembari/The New York Times Tomas Kristjansson and his bride, Berglind Anna Zoega, with the Tesla Model S they borrowed for their wedding. ] REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Newlyweds may choose to depart the marriage ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage, a limousine or a classic car, but none of those seemed quite right to Tomas Kristjansson and his new wife, Berglind Anna Zoega, electric-car enthusiasts who exchanged vows at Reykjavik’s postcard-worthy Hallgrimskirkja Church on Sept. 7. They drove away in the country’s only Tesla Model S. Electric cars make a lot of sense in Iceland, where imported gasoline costs about $7 a gallon but geothermal and hydro-generated electricity is plentiful, local and cheap – about four cents a kilowatt hour, compared with 10 cents in New York. In August, the online publication Inside EV reported that electric vehicles have nearly 4 percent of the market share in Iceland, far more than the United States, where it is about 0.5 percent. And Iceland, despite its name, is not too cold for electric vehicles, with average lows November through April of 27-30 degrees Fahrenheit. The government encourages electric vehicle purchases by reducing value-added taxes and import taxes, benefits that can bring the price of a Tesla S down to about $100,000, Gisli Gislason said in a telephone interview. He said it is equivalent to the cost of a luxury Audi or BMW, though the Tesla S is not labeled a luxury car there. Mr. Gislason’s company, Electrical Vehicle Environment, provides equipment and user guidance for E.V. owners, and Mr. Gislason has also made a name for himself by agreeing to purchase 50 Teslas to sell in Iceland. The first one was delivered by Icelandair Cargo in August. This was the car waiting outside the church for Zoega and Kristjansson to be pronounced husband and wife. It had been loaned to the couple by Mr. Gislason, who knew them from selling them parts for their Nissan Leaf. “It’s a huge statement,” Mr. Gislason said of the couple’s desire to leave the wedding in the red electric sedan. “This young couple only drives electric cars. They only use Icelandic energy. They wanted to start their time together by showing off a little bit that they were taking care of nature and all these things.” Mr. Kristjansson is less dogmatic about his motivation for owning an E.V. “We are sensible people,” he said. “We took notice of the gas prices, they are ridiculous.” Still, when he learned that Mr. Gislason would loan him the Tesla S for his wedding day, the 34-year-old groom got a little worked up. “I absolutely love this car,” he said. He began searching the Internet looking for ways to dress up the car for the occasion. Finding no reference to the Tesla Model S as a wedding vehicle, he opted for simple white ribbons through the door handles and one on the grille. As the ceremony ended and people spilled out of the church, the car with bride, groom and their two children in the back, led a bus full of wedding guests to the reception at the country’s famed Blue Lagoon; a spa and resort created from the effluent from the Svartsengi geothermal power plant. It was a fitting place to take a fancy E.V. on a special day, Kristjansson said, adding, “We went full circle.” [© 2013 The New York Times] For all EVLN posts use: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date Here are today's archive-only EV posts: EVLN: Kangoo EV, Europe’s best-selling small electric EVLN: 3wheel Katmandu nEV/e-autorickshaw EVLN: Dhivik's Kavach scooterete, a 2wheeled charged e-ride r:120km EVLN: Electric quadricycles rethunk, shaking the shackles of design EVLN: HEVO Wireless Manhole Cover EVSE (video) + EVLN: BMW i3 EV lands in Australia {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Tesla-S-Wedding-Iceland-style-tp4665610.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
