Here's more info on two events coming up in the next few weeks; some good news for CalCars; and previews on four new national plug-in events. You can also find the links for all these at the CalCars Events page, http://www.calcars.org/­events.html

FESTIVE PLUG IN AMERICA: "Pinots, Plug-Ins and Progress" at a winery in the hills above Silicon Valley, Sunday August 9, 4-8PM, features good food and drink, movers and shakers from the tech world, government and Hollywood, and lots of cars you don't often see: Aptera (and its team), Tango, the usual Tesla Roadsters (!). New additions to the program include remarks from Jerry McNerny, former wind entrepreneur, now East Bay Congressman and the wit of California Public Utilities Commissioner Rachelle Cong (no kidding). You may see some other surprise visitors. Sign up at http://www.pluginamerica.org/­party --and via that same URL, if you can't be there, you can make a donation or try for the many auction items, including vacations, consultations with plug-in experts (including Felix Kramer). Plug-in-related goodies include a Hymotion/A123 Prius conversion, service at Luscious Garage in SF, and a Coulomb charger. Many items will move from the online auction to be sold at the live event, but your offer can become an "absentee bid" at the end.

WELCOME NEWS: Remember the lawsuit filed against The California Cars Initiative by two San Clemente companies that sought to prevent us from using the nickname CalCars and the website CalCars.org? We've been quietly defending the trademark infringement case since April, 2007. On October 13 last year, we revealed the story at the time of the US District Court ruling in our favor that there was no likelihood of confusion. The judge granted summary judgment of all the claims brought by American Calcar Inc. and Calcar Inc., and their separate request for summary judgment was denied.

The plaintiffs then appealed the district court's ruling dismissing the case. However, following continued negotiations, plaintiffs withdrew their appeal, and on July 27th, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed all of the appeals -- so it's now all over! We remain immensely grateful for the pro bono help of the global law firm Howrey LLP http://www.howrey.com and the people we acknowledged in our posting at CalCars-News, http://www.calcars.org/­calcars-news/­1012.html .

A PLUG FOR CALCARS: As proponents of all plug-in vehicles, we work closely with Plug In America. We figure this is a good time to suggest that you also consider becoming a supporter of CalCars with a tax-deductible contribution at http://www.calcars.org/­sponsor.html . If you've given one or twice since 2003, now's a good time to repeat -- with the distraction of the legal battle now history, we can do more with your help!

PUBLIC NIGHT AT PLUG-IN 2009: Some of you may be going to the second annual conference in Long Beach, CA August 10-13, 2009 -- see www.plugin2009.com . It's not too late to sign up. We'll be running a panel on "Plug-In Grassroots and Legislative Advocacy," and there are many great speakers and topics. See full program at http://www.plugin2009.com/­agenda.html . In addition to the conference and related exposition, the event will be open to the public on Tuesday night. Last year in San Jose, over 1,000 people attended....Once again it's only $10 (tickets at the door); this year it's at the Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. Vehicles scheduled for display starting at 5:30 include the Chevy Volt, Ford 550 Plug-In Hybrid Truck, Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid, Plug-In Toyota Prius and more. (Vehicle displays subject to change.) This is followed at 7:30 by "Plug-In Hybrid and Electric Vehicles: Getting the Message Out" with panelists talking about their adventures in crafting educational and entertaining messages about plug-in technology, and what the public can do to help shape a plugged-in future. Speakers:

• Mark Duvall (moderator), director, electric transportation, Electric Power Research Institute
• Peter Horton, writer/director, "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Philanthropist"
• Bill Nye, "The Science Guy"
• Chris Paine, director, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" and the forthcoming "Revenge of the Electric Car"
• Chelsea Sexton, founder, The Lighting Rod Foundation and former General Motors EV1 specialist

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR EVENTS IN THE NEW YORK-WASHINGTON DC
CORRIDOR, MONTREAL, DETROIT, AND WASHINGTON STATE:

• THE BRITA CLIMATE RIDE 2009 September 26-30 (New York City to Washington, DC) CalCars is recruiting East Coast owners of Prius PHEVs to provide the support vehicles for a five-day charity sponsored bike ride to raise awareness of climate solutions. Climate Ride is not just a bike ride: it's also a climate conference on wheels. Notable riders include Denmark's Ambassador; the German Ambassador; No Impact Man, Colin Beavan; the Lazy Environmentalist, Josh Dorfman; Save Our Snows founder Alison Gannett; retired Executive Director of the American Wind Energy Association, Randy Swisher, and more. Kicking off Climate Ride in New York City is NASA Climate Scientist Dr. James Hansen, followed later in the week by Bracken Hendricks of the Center for American Progress, Mike Tidwell of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and Wood Turner of Climate Counts. Reply to this email with the subject line: "Climate Ride volunteer" if you're in a position to drive your converted Prius for one to five days of the event. http://www.climateride.org
• PHEV '09 Sepember 28-30, 2009 (Montreal, Quebec, Canada). This second Canadian conference on "Plug-In Hybrid and Electric Vehicles/Vehicules electriques et hybrides rechargables" features a broad range of topics as Canada shows signs of evolving at an even faster rate than the U.S. toward plug-in vehicles. CalCars' Felix Kramer will present at a panel. NOTE: EARLY REGISTRATION CLOSES JULY 31.http://www.emc-mec.ca/­phev/­en/­home_en.html
• THE BUSINES OF PLUGGING IN October 19-21 (Detroit, Michigan). First major conference in Motor City on plug-in vehicles, organized by the influential Center for Automotive Research http://www.cargroup.org/­ with support from the Michigan Public Service Commission and sponsorship by GM and DTE Energy. CalCars' Felix Kramer will present at a panel. Details to follow soon. http://www.pev2009.com/­
• Beyond Oil: Transforming Transportation October 23-24 (Redmond, WA) The sixth annual Cascadia Project TransTech Conference, to be held at Microsoft's Redmond campus, will include a strong focus on plug-in vehicles. Details soon. http://www.discovery.org/­scripts/­viewDB/­index.php?command=view&id=991&program=Cascadia&isEvent=true