In one respect charging an electric car is no different than filling a gas tank: it’s all about storing energy in the car to power its motor. We use electricity every day to power and charge all kinds of devices: phones, computers, shavers, televisions etc. But since driving an electric powered car is still a new idea for many people, it might help to be familiar with the terms you’ll be using, so we’ll cover that first. Continue reading
One way to compare gasoline powered cars to one another is fuel economy, the miles per gallon rating that the EPA gives to each car. The average car in the United States gets about 25 MPG. So how can we compare the efficiency of electric vehicles (EVs) with gas-powered cars since EVs store electricity in the battery pack? Continue reading
April 2018. Northern California.
This perspective provides an example of how DC charging allows you to use an EV for trips that take you beyond the range of your battery pack.
February 2017. California.
Today I got my first turn behind the wheel of the Chevy Bolt. By now you’ve probably seen reviews of the Bolt, like the Transport Evolved Review, so I’ll keep my comments on the Bolt’s features short, since others have already reviewed this compact car. Continue reading
August 2016. California.
EDITOR’S NOTE: When I wrote this GM made no mention of DC charging the Bolt EV on their website. Instead they had a large graphic saying “9 hours to fully charge”. Thankfully that has changed, and the Bolt is on the road in big numbers where I live. I now have 2 friends who drive the Bolt and they love it. But, interestingly enough the day that Chevy announced the first Bolts were being delivered to new owners, Chevrolet dealerships placed ads on the radio saying if you get an EV, you better get a tent and prepare to camp out because it takes 21 hours to charge an EV. This revealed a lack of centralized effort and was the disappointing result of competing interests both within GM, and between GM and dealerships.
The release of the Chevy Bolt is quickly approaching. Continue reading
July 2016. California.
In July 2016 we took our 2012 Rav4 EV, equipped with JdeMO, on a 400 mile road trip to Monterey. (This post was also published at InsideEVs.com, read it here). In July 2021 we made the same trip in our Model Y – I compare the recent trip with the 2016 trip here: To Monterey in an EV: Then and Now.
December 2018
This post is short on words, long on pictures to give you an idea of what it’s been like for us to live with the all electric Rav4 EV for the past 5+ years, and how an electric car may fit into your life. I initially posted these pics in June 2016, and updated the post in November 2018 to add some pics and a couple thoughts as more affordable, longer range electric cars are showing up on the roads. Continue reading