Shocking Revelations about Electric Cars

Sunday, August 1, 2010

I've been thinking a lot about reducing my use of petrofuels — for quite a while now, in fact. Witness my breathless anticipation of my first Prius back in 1999, my tooling around San Jose on an electric scooter, and my recent purchase of a high-mileage diesel VW with the intent of using biodiesel.

Turns out I can't find biodiesel here in San Jose; at least, not in the percentage specified by VW.

In the last week, a bunch of alternative fueled vehicles were triumphantly introduced here in San Jose at the convention center. Among them were the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt, both contenders in the race for my driveway.

The Volt, which seems like it was promised to us 20 years ago now, is a sort of "plug-in hybrid." It drives entirely on an electric motor, but has an extended range because it carries its own generator — a gasoline generator. So, you can drive about 40 miles on batteries alone, then the gas kicks in; not to power the engine, but to charge the batteries so they can keep going. It makes sense, kind of, but it still means gas and emissions and doesn't really change the equation from a Prius or other hybrid unless you drive less than 40 miles a day. (Which I generally do.)

The Leaf is a genuine electric-only vehicle — you know, like the ones they had in the 90s before California chickened out and rescinded their clean air requirements and manufacturers took them back and crushed them. Leaf goes about 100 miles on a charge.

But here's the thing:

1. If one doesn't own a home with a garage or other convenient charging point, why would one buy a car like this? If I were to buy one tomorrow and then next year I lose my house and move to an apartment, then what? Run an extension cord from my window? While pretty much everyone in my neighborhood has a garage, I'd say that only a paltry 1 in 10 use them for their car. Where would they charge it? Out in the driveway? What about all the apartment buildings around us with common parking garages or lots?

2. People have an aversion to buying a car with a limited range. This is seemingly addressed in the Volt because it carries its own onboard generator (the gas engine). Even I find myself thinking about this issue (and I tend to be more analytical than emotional on these things) and immediately worry about going too far out of range. The reality is that I drive FAR less than 100 miles per day — hell, I drive less than that in a week. But I couldn't drive this to Disneyland. I could probably drive it to, say, Stockton, but then do I need a special charger when I get there, or does it plug into a regular outlet?

Cars hold an emotional connection in American society because they represent freedom to go anywhere, anytime. No one wants to think about where they are going and how they are going to use energy to get there — which, of course, is why we are in the petro-fueled mess we are in today. We have never "thought" about it, and now that we have to, we don't like it. Even me.