There is much more to nonagenarian Norm Frew than his fetching silver-fox style.
Resthaven Cambridge’s Jeff Simpson with 93-year-old Norm Frew and the facility’s Nissan Leaf EV. Photo: Viv Posselt
The 93-year-old has become the first Cambridge Resthaven resident to take up the facility’s EV car-sharing option. Every now and then he glides off in the Resthaven Nissan Leaf, driving himself to appointments in town and buying whatever is needed for his wife Mary who isn’t able to go out herself.
The couple were the first to move into Resthaven’s new Hanlin Building when it opened in April 2024 as part of the Apartments on Vogel development.
Several years before that, Resthaven began transitioning its vehicle fleet to electric. It now has two electric vehicles as part of its driver-supported ‘To & Fro’ service, as well as the recent addition of the Nissan Leaf as its first car-sharing service for apartment residents. The village has charging stations adjacent to where the vehicles are parked.
The facility’s independent living manager Jeff Simpson said residents book the EV for free.
Norm, who is known to be particularly tech-savvy for one of his vintage, was ‘first cab off the rank’, so to speak. He has been driving from the age of 16 and is thoroughly enjoying himself. He finds everything about the EV, including the charging process, perfectly easy.
“It’s lovely to drive, no problem at all. It just took a little getting used to at the beginning,” he said, while admitting it was quite a technology leap from his first car, a Ford Model Y he purchased from his dad for a hundred pounds. Norm sold his last car just a few weeks ago.
He has enjoyed numerous vehicles over the years, including a Toyota Crown he drove while in Singapore as part of the New Zealand Army Band. Norm is a euphonium man, and remembers playing with the NZ Army Band at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch.
Jeff Simpson said the idea of the EV is to enable residents to maintain their independence.
“The cost of running and maintaining a personal vehicle these days is high… we don’t want people to have to worry about the day-to-day costs of individual vehicle ownership.”
Tech-savvy Norm Frew, 93, about to head off to town in Resthaven’s car-sharing EV. Photo: Viv Posselt
