I took the picture above at the Alt Car Expo last December when author Sherry Boschert gave a copy of her book, Plug-In Hybrids: The Cars That Will Recharge America, to Lee Iacocca (and that's Dr. Andy Frank in the middle). A lot of people who aren't Mr. Iacocca have paid for a copy of Boschert's book; it's in its second printing. If you're one of them, or just want to know more about plug-in hybrids, you might be able to catch Boschert during her speaking tour this summer. She'll be visiting a lot of places in the Bay Area, but also Wisconsin, Washington, D.C., and Ohio, among other places. I've put her current schedule after the jump and you can keep an eye on her website for updates.

Related:

• AutoblogGreen Q&A with Sherry Boschert: why plug-in hybrids will recharge America
• Interview with Prof. Andrew Frank, head of the UC Davis Challenge X entry, Team Fate

[Source: Sherry Boschert]

The second annual Hybridfest is going to happen July 21-22, 2007 at the Alliant Energy Center Grounds in Madison, WI. A local non-profit group called Hybridfest, Inc. organized the first event last summer and after a huge turnout decided to expand the event to two days this time around. The festival is actually growing beyond just hybrids this year to include other alternative fuel transport, like biofuels, hydrogen, and plug-in vehicles.

One of the weekend's activities is a 20 mile MPG Challenge course were drivers can take their un-hacked hybrids and see if they can beat the 73-150 mpg averages that drivers achieved last year. In 2006, 160 hybrids from 21 states and Canada turned up to participate and 2,500 people who attended the Dane County Fair also checked out the cars on display. Other activities that are planned for this year are test drives in hybrid vehicles, educational exhibits, and assorted speakers such as Sherry Boschert, author of Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America.

Related:

• AutoblogGreen Q&A with Sherry Boschert: why plug-in hybrids will recharge America

[Source: HybridFest]

The largest group of photographers trailing a celebrity at the Alt Car Expo on Saturday were around former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca. Mr. I Am Chairman Of Chrysler Corporation Always strolled past me just as author Sherry Boschert walked up to him and handed him a copy of her new book Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America. I wonder if he'll return the favor when his upcoming Where Have All the Leaders Gone? is released next year.

Related:

• AutoblogGreen Q&A with Sherry Boschert: why plug-in hybrids will recharge America

Sherry Boschert is a freelance writer medical news reporter (she's the San Francisco Bureau Chief for International Medical News Group) who often writes on medical issues. Then she got, ahem, turned on to plug-in hybrids and followed her interest all the way to her first non-fiction book, Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America. Boschert interviewed EV and plug-in advocates like Chelsea Sexton, Felix Kramer, Marc Geller, and R. James Woolsey. AutoblogGreen recently had a chance to interview Boschert about her book and how plug-in hybrids have changed her life.

What kind of car do you drive?

After Ford took away our beloved Th!nk, we drove a 1980 VW Rabbit that had been converted to electric - bought it on eBay - then a converted 1993 Ford Escort station wagon. Those cars had a range of 30-50 miles, and we still had the conventional Corolla as a backup. When the Corolla died, we pared down to one car, an electric Toyota RAV4-EV with a range of 120 miles between charges.

What got you interested in plug-in hybrids?

I'm not really into cars, but plug-in cars represent so much more than just transportation. It's their potential to address issues like air pollution, global warming and our dependence oil that make them interesting to me. Plus, the people involved have fascinating stories to tell, some of which I had the privilege to tell in my book.

(There's lots more after the jump)