Several years ago there were quite a few articles about surveys of BEV & PHEV charging habits. The surprising thing to me at the time was something like 80%-85% of PHEV drivers NEVER plugged their car in. Anywhere. So, now I have to wonder if that’s still the case? If so that would explain the switch away from the…

Yeah, that 20%-80% thing really sucked back in the day. However, almost all new model EVs easily have more than enough range at 80% to handle the daily needs of 95% of the driving public. Day-to-day driving should still be done 20%-80% MOST of the time. I say most, because some EVs need a 100% charge every couple of…

Part of the problem most people have understanding how range works is because of ingrained petrol perception of range. Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles burning gasoline get their optimal range per gallon at highway speeds and NOT in local traffic in town. So, that’s what we’ve all learned and that is the…

First, I want to point out the three largest coal plants in the US all closed in the last three months. Now let’s assume a typical coal plant is 35% efficient for argument sake. Let’s ‘Trump’ Vermont’s estimate of 16.3% loss and call it 17%. That leaves us with an overall delivered efficiency of 29.05%. However, the…

Whining about a-holes at a gas station? Really? Go across the street or down the street or next door. You’re in a ICE vehicle for cryin’ out loud! There’s a Effing gas station everyfreakinwhere. Try this BS in an EV and then tell me about how painful your pitiful princess life is.

Range: I’m not spending 19 hours on the road unless the passenger has a gun to my head. I’m not driving more than 10 hours straight through to anywhere. I’m pretty sure more than 12 hours on the road is considered unsafe anyway. I’d rather fly or take a train. That said I’ve been forced into a couple such long trips…

So you’ve never actually driven a EV? Try it you might like it.

We’ve been driving a Nissan Leaf SL-plus since May. It’s a great car and we love it. It’s much better than any other Leaf we’ve ever had. We lease and it’s our only car. However if we bought one the first thing I would do is install two switches. One to turn OFF the damn headlights. There is no way to completely turn…

I had eaten there several times over the years and thought it was okay. I’ve had better and I’ve had worse. Then around five years ago I found out what a horrible place they truly are and I haven’t been back since. No great loss. If a company feels the need to proudly proclaim their support for the politics of hate,…

Anytime I get into the “EVs are worse/pollute more/environmentally horrible...” conversation, I find it pretty easy to shut down the anti-EV crowd. First, 99.9% of them are just parroting what they’ve heard from conservative media, so they really have no clue what they are saying. I simply ask them:

You have to take into account the batteries in an EV will only catch fire if they are compromised in some way. The way most battery packs are designed, and the shielding around them makes that very difficult to do. It’s much easier to puncture a gas tank or fuel line than crack a battery open. If you read the articles…

The reason we will never see universal battery swapping is because EV batteries, despite all the similarities, are completely different from consumer electronics batteries. The million+ dollars necessary to open each battery swapping station could easily install hundreds of fast-charging stations or thousands of…

Nice try, but that thick unwieldy cable you hate, is necessary and not as difficult as a gas pump hose to deal with. People are just lazy. Your suggestion won’t work any better than wireless charging for stationary, public charging scenarios. Here’s why: Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and their drivers will…

Battery swapping is a hair-brained scheme concocted by people who don’t drive electric vehicles and who have no idea how an EV is actually used in the real world.

The sad part of your poor experience with the Bolt is it could have been avoided with a little research by you and/or education by GM. Driving an EV isn’t like driving any other car. Especially in winter. Before you got in the car the first time, the dealer or you should have pre-heated the vehicle. Say to around 60f.…

Auto makers present EVs to consumers the way they do because they don’t have a clue how EVs are actually used in the real world, any more than the consumers do. Auto makers are just burdening uninformed consumers with their own ignorant misconceptions.

I started with an early 24 kWh Leaf. I eventually learned how to get the most from it. Now I’m driving a 30 kWh Leaf. The Leaf has been a great car since the beginning. Unfortunately, mass market appeal isn’t going to happen with less than 200 miles range.

This is just going to stir up all the EV clueless battery-swapping crazies. Swapping at the track makes sense. However, it will never be scalable or workable in the real world.

For all of it’s quirkiness the Leaf is a roomy, comfortable small car that’s fun to drive. It may not have the Bolt’s range, but most of the time 100+ miles is plenty. I think the Nissan dealerships have more experience with selling a 100% BEV over Chevy dealers. I’m not saying they do a good job of it. Nissan dealers…

I’m a Nissan Leaf driver in Tennessee. We have a house with a garage and a 240v/L-2 charger. I know plugin drivers in apartments have a harder time justifying a plugin, but I had no clue how much more difficult life would be in your situation. I found your article very interesting and eye opening. Thank you.