Ever heard of the YouTube show Fully Charged? It seems like every CleanTechnica reader I meet these days is also a Fully Charged viewer. “Back in the day,” I remember seeing just a few thousand (or even few hundred?) views on Fully Charged videos, but the viewership is now through the roof. I’m sure in good part it’s down to the wicked good job the team does of highlighting interesting cleantech topics in fun ways.
Among current EV drivers, the vast majority of charging is done at home or work. In such places, it takes a few seconds to plug in the car and a few seconds to unplug it. In actuality, it is often easy to leave with a “full tank” (full battery) most of the time. Drivers no longer have to find gas stations on or near their travel routes, don’t have to spend time getting off the road and into the gas station, don’t have to get out and pump gas, don’t have to go inside or pull out their credit card and pay for gasoline, and don’t have to take their cars in for oil changes & smog checks. In the end, this saves them a lot of time, even if you take into account the times when they do have to charge in public (during which they can often eat, play, or engage in other useful activities).
Talking about cars in general and electric cars in particular, you are bound to get around to the subject of the launch from 0–60 mph acceleration every now and then. And frankly, it doesn’t really make sense in daily life, does it? The recent hype about the new Tesla Roadster proves the point. I mean, 0–60 in 1.9 seconds? Really? You would need a medical clearance for doing that. I get blurry vision below 4 seconds, so what’s the point?
Many electric vehicle purists have a disdain for plug-in hybrids, claiming that they aren’t real electric vehicles and that their typical short battery ranges are a joke.
The Union of Concerned Scientists says driving an EV saves the typical American $770 a year in lower fuel and maintenance costs.
When regular people know I am working in the plug-in car business, their first reaction is: “Oh yeah, that’s the future…”
Some connect that with fighting climate change and give me the thumbs up. Others, possibly more tech-savvy, mention autonomous cars and Tesla, a brand that has a following even outside the electric vehicle bubble. I suspect a portion of Tesla owners buy them because they are sexy, fast and tech laden, with the autopilot being its most important feature, and the fact that they are electric is just an added bonus.
Having owned an electric vehicle for just over 18 months now, I feel able to share my knowledge, which may be of help to those considering an electric vehicle for the first time, or those who have just started out on the road to electric vehicle driving.
I experienced my first tornado at the age of 5, and my first hurricane (category 3) at the age of 22. I am fortunate — never hurt or compromised. The water (everywhere) and the wind clearing out the atmosphere is refreshing (if houses remain and people are fine). The darkness without electricity for a day or so can be relaxing. Sunrise, sunset — they become more like what they were for most of our ancestors. At the same time, I grieve emphatically for all the lost lives and broken people who hurricanes have ripped apart.
As Hurricane Irma approaches the “Sunshine State” of Florida, it’s a wonder to own a Tesla. Yes, it’s the safest car in the world, but, it’s also a pleasure to avoid the hours-long gas station lines that are plaguing the residents of Florida. After all, our “gas” station is right in our garage. And Tesla’s Florida supercharger stalls remain open for business with no wait to plug in — at least not yet. But that’s not all…
Tesloop has been hitting the road to an absurd degree since it launched in 2015. Averaging approximately 17,000 miles per month on each car, it offers perhaps the best case study yet of what happens to a Tesla vehicles after a lot of driving.
