The first time I saw a Tesla in 葫芦娃视频 I nearly rear-ended it. I鈥檝e been on the lookout for them ever since.

That was four years ago. At first, I鈥檇 see the all-electric car every two or three months. Now it鈥檚 two or three a day. So I finally called up the 葫芦娃视频 County Clerk and asked just how many Teslas are registered in 葫芦娃视频 County. As of July 14, it was 1,585. By now there are probably a lot more.

Who are these people? To find out, I went to the Tesla supercharging station in 葫芦娃视频, just east of Trader Joe鈥檚. (For geezer alumni like me, that鈥檚 just south of the old Arapahoe Chemicals plant site, which is now Target.)

I hung out for about an hour. There were always four or five cars charging.

So how did Tesla owners 鈥� many of whom are CU alumni 鈥� like their rides? They all said: 鈥淚 love it.鈥� 

And for lots of different reasons. 

Kyle Liss (MMus鈥�21), who lives in Westminster with his wife, saves $150 a month on gas commuting to his teaching job in Frederick. 

Brian Cairns (Comp-Sci鈥�09; MS鈥�11), who works at Google, likes the autopilot. He said it takes 10 to 20 minutes to top off his batteries with the supercharger. 鈥淚鈥檒l just sit here until I finish my burrito,鈥� he said. 

Jack Ursetta (AeroEngr鈥�18) and Monica Maly (IntPhys鈥�18) had just returned from Breckenridge in a Model Y, Tesla鈥檚 latest model. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 super smooth,鈥� Jake said. 鈥淚t actually handles like a sports car. It doesn鈥檛 drive like a hatchback, that鈥檚 for sure.鈥�

鈥淚 love the instant torque,鈥� said Saber Boudjada (MCDBio鈥�14), who鈥檚 driven a Tesla for three years. He said it costs 鈥渇ive bucks to [charge] from dead.鈥�

I called Sean Mitchell, president of the Denver Tesla Club, who has about 225,000 miles on his Model S, which he bought four years ago. He said three years ago the club had 75 members. Today it has 1,500. 

鈥淚t reminds me of the early days of Apple computers,鈥� he said. 

Bruce Comstock (Econ鈥�66) 鈥� my former CU roommate and now-retired hot air balloonist extraordinaire, who lives in Ashland, Oregon 鈥� has been driving a Tesla Model 3 for about a year. It goes from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. 

He said: 鈥淚鈥檓 really glad I got it, because it means I鈥檓 connected with the future of automobiles.鈥�

Will 0 to 60 in 4.1 seconds shut down a gazillion 葫芦娃视频 Subarus? As Yogi Berra said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to make predictions. Especially about the future.鈥� 

But a shift certainly seems like it鈥檚 here.

Disclosure: Paul Danish owns Tesla shares. 

Photo courtesy Denver Tesla Club

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Snow-capped Rocky Mountains greeted all who commuted into 葫芦娃视频 from the US 36 highway or the 18-mile bikeway, which opened early last year. As the spring semester draws to a close, traffic along the highway will increase significantly for CU 葫芦娃视频 graduation ceremonies The main commencement ceremony will occur in Folsom Field Friday, May 12 beginning at 8:30 a.m. 

Photo by Casey A. Cass 

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Helping drivers learn of real-time deals, Danny Newman (Aero鈥檈x鈥�01) created an app that will appear in 4 million Ford vehicles next year.

Imagine you鈥檙e driving to work and want to grab a cup of coffee and a bagel on the way. Push a button, tell your car computer and it will respond with a nearby deal, along with directions. As you鈥檙e walking into a grocery store, you get a text message telling you about a discount on one of your favorite products. On vacation with the family, you鈥檙e pinged with special offers at local museums and attractions.

This vision of the future is becoming reality, thanks to Danny Newman (Aero ex鈥�01), the 31-year-old co-founder of Roximity, a rising star in the fast-moving mobile app market. Launched in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, Roximity sends customized, time-sensitive, location-based offers to a user鈥檚 cell phone or car computer.

Ford was so taken with Newman鈥檚 idea that it will install Roximity in the voice-activated SYNC dashboard computer of more than 4 million of its cars in the next year.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been thinking about location-based marketing for a long time,鈥� says Newman, a creative force who does some of his best work between 2 and 6 a.m.

But the idea wasn鈥檛 technically viable until September 2011 when Newman鈥檚 team cracked the code and won the Ford SYNC App Developer Challenge at the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon. They had only 24 hours to develop a working prototype of Roximity before delivering a one-minute pitch.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the holy grail everyone has been talking about,鈥� he says.

Unlike such established companies as Groupon, Roximity users can control how often they receive deal alerts and can tailor offers to their particular interests 鈥� anything from sporting events and arts to restaurants and clothing. Co-founder Austin Gayer notes, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not prepaid. That鈥檚 one of our big differentiators.鈥�

Roximity already offers deals from more than 10,000 merchants in 150 cities. Newman and Gayer also are working with other auto manufacturers to integrate the app and are talking to major national and international brands about product deals.

鈥淗e鈥檚 an idea person, but he鈥檚 unique in the sense that he鈥檚 also very technically capable,鈥� Gayer says of Newman. 鈥淲hen he has an idea he can execute it. He can implement a prototype and meet and articulate that with a potential brand.鈥�

In other words, Newman isn鈥檛 going to run out of gas anytime soon.

鈥淚 love being able to have an idea and make it happen,鈥� says Newman, who owns a design and development firm with Gayer and has several other business ventures under his belt. 鈥淚 really just like creating cool new things.鈥�

Photo courtesy of Glenn Asakawa

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