Volunteer Spotlight: Bob Levitan
Meet Bob Levitan, Scottsdale EV enthusiast, volunteer educator, Lucid owner, recovering gas-station customer—and a man who freely admits one of his favorite hobbies is making people laugh.
Bob fits right in around here.
Originally from Sharon, Massachusetts, Bob and his wife Shari have owned a home in Arizona since 2008 and became full-time Arizonans in 2018. When Bob isn’t explaining regenerative braking to someone in a parking lot, he works as a self-employed consultant to retail paint and decorating stores.
His non-EV interests include traveling, cooking, photography, art, music, architecture and design. In other words, Bob apparently has hobbies that do not involve kilowatts.
Note: We haven't independently confirmed this.
It Started With an Audi
Bob's first EV was a 2019 Audi e-tron SUV. Why an Audi?
After decades of owning Audis, Bob figured that if he was going to make the leap into this strange new world of electric propulsion, at least he'd know where the controls were.
That’s reasonable.
It apparently worked, because Bob didn't exactly retreat from electric vehicles.
Today his garage contains a 2024 Lucid Air Touring and a 2026 Lucid Gravity GT. Some people dip a toe into EV ownership. Bob cannonballed into the deep end.
Wait…You Can Stop Without the Brake Pedal?
Ask Bob what he loves about EVs and the list comes quickly: they're fun to drive, quick, quiet, don't require trips to gas stations and offer environmental benefits.
But one of his favorite parts of volunteering is introducing other people to all of this. Bob remembers one particularly enthusiastic reaction during an EV experience: “Holy sh.t, this is so easy and fun to drive! Wow! You can stop the car without using the brake pedal?”
And there it is. The feel behind the wheel.
You can explain regenerative braking for 20 minutes. Or you can put somebody behind the wheel for 20 seconds.
A Meetup Created a Volunteer
Bob's involvement began in spring 2022, when he got his first Lucid and spotted a post about a meetup for what was then Scottsdale EVA, now Valley of the Sun EVA.
He showed up.
This is something we strongly encourage!
Today Bob helps with Ride & Drives, event setup and logistics, answers questions from new EV owners, provides technical and charging expertise, and participates in chapter leadership.
What does he get out of all that work? Bob says it's the opportunity to educate, enjoy the camaraderie and work toward a common purpose. He also describes volunteering as energizing and providing a sense of community.
We appreciate you, Bob!
Bob May Have Accidentally Sold Some Cars
DRIVE Electric Arizona and Valley of the Sun EVA don't sell cars. Bob doesn't sell cars.
But apparently Bob is pretty good at not selling cars.
Contacts at Lucid have told him that conversations he had with prospective EV owners helped influence a couple of successful purchases. One came after a particularly long conversation with someone who was still on the fence about switching to electric.
That's exactly what makes volunteer EV education different.
No commission.
No sales quota.
No guy asking, “What would it take to get you into this vehicle today?”
Just an experienced EV owner saying: “What do you want to know?”
Got an Objection? Bob Wants to Hear It.
Bob doesn't expect everyone to arrive at an EV event already convinced. Quite the opposite.
His message to someone who's unsure about EVs is: “Tell me your objections or concerns and let’s have a thoughtful and meaningful conversation.”
That's a pretty good philosophy for EV education. Bring your questions. Bring your concerns. Bring the thing your brother-in-law posted on Facebook.
Bob's ready.
He particularly enjoys correcting misinformation about battery life and EV fires, and he wants people to hear the benefits of EV ownership rather than simply accepting the idea that electric vehicles have somehow been “forced” on them.
And Bob's EV Elevator Pitch?
We asked Bob to describe EV driving in one sentence. His answer started with three words:
CHEAPER. FASTER. BETTER.
He followed that with “a blast to drive,” very little maintenance, convenient home charging when available, cleaner air and the value of hearing from actual EV owners.
We could probably have stopped after “a blast to drive!”
Because that's ultimately why Bob spends his time at Ride & Drives talking to complete strangers about electric cars. He's discovered something he enjoys. He wants other people to experience it. And preferably, he'd like to make them laugh while he's explaining it.
Thank you, Bob, for making learning fun!