Technology

All the messaging about fast charging speed is focused on the wrong thing. EV drivers should be able to do the vast majority of their charging at home or at their destination. The messaging should be about getting chargers in more homes, apartment complexes and workplaces. Speed doesn't matter as much if you're going to be parked for half the day or overnight. That's something that gas simply can't do.

Fast charging stations should only be necessary for road trips, where you should be taking a break every so often anyways.

I prefer the idea of plug it on and go get lunch and take a piss and have a stretch, rather than have to stand there with it for a few mins and then do all that other stuff.

Gasoline cars need to accept grass if they are ever to be a viable replacement for a horse. Like, what if you're far from a gas station but there's a meadow right there?

Only fringe enthusiasts can own a gasoline car that doesn't have a biofuel fermenter attached.

The reality: “Nobody stops to fuel their vehicle taking gasoline, gets out, rushes as fast as possible, puts as much fuel in the car as possible, and gets back in the car and drives away,” Cutler said.

I, in fact, do exactly that. I pull up in front of the pump, get out, stick my card in, fill up, and leave. It's been over ten years since I went inside the store at a gas station, there's nothing in there I want to buy.

However, needing to spend half an hour recharging if I were on a road trip would be fine, because on a road trip I would stop for a break from driving in any case. But, I almost never go on road trips, and 99.9% of my trips around town would be well within one charge, which I could do at home.

So, while I agree that charging doesn't need to be as fast as gas, it's not because of his stated reason.

The few times I've charged an electric rental car, I had to go pee and buy snacks or go for lunch anyway.. in my opinion a longer break of a few minutes from driving is healthy and safer anyway.

The great majority of my gas stops are stop, fill up, leave. I expect those would be eliminated by having a EV I just charged at home though.

Nobody stops to fuel their vehicle taking gasoline, gets out, rushes as fast as possible, puts as much fuel in the car as possible, and gets back in the car and drives away

This almost reads as satire. Like this has to be a joke, right? No way this guy can really be this stupid (or out of touch), right?

ITT: Lots of people dont realize how infrequently you actually stop at a charger if you have charging at home or work.

I mean, he's kinda right. It just needs to charge you enough to get you where you plan to go and then you can plug in again and charge passively. Being able to have on-site charging basically anywhere the car can actually go makes it more convenient for everything except road trips, and since initial charging from low battery percentage is much more efficient, people just need to not feel the compulsive need to top off at 100%.

"And while China’s getting there, an executive in the U.S. aren’t so convinced that’s true."

Why does this sentence bother me so much?

Yes. Because with an EV you live at the gas station.

People need to stop thinking about EVs like cars that need to be fueled. They're more like phones that need to be charged.

there's a supermarket by me that has EV chargers for free while you shop. absolutely genius

"Nobody stops to fuel their vehicle taking gasoline, gets out, rushes as fast as possible, puts as much fuel in the car as possible, and gets back in the car and drives away"

WTF? This is exactly how I have refeuled every single time I have ever gotten gas. If I could pay a little extra for a pit stop style refuel I would. Who wants to linger around gas fumes, processed "food" , and energy drink boner pills?

A big draw of EV for me is that 99% I don't need to stop anywhere to recharge. If I do though I want it to be as fast as possible.

Most of the time, they don't need to be anywhere near as fast as gas (most, maybe even nearly all, people have or can have a way to charge at home). But there's lots of people that don't do long stops on their trips and just want to stop, fuel up, and go. The EV can be a bit slower, but anything over about 15 min is going to be a showstopper for alot of people.

Longer trips in EVs require one small reframing, at least when compared to how we used to do longer trips before.

In longer trips with an ICE, we would have a meal before the trip, then drive until the destination, and have a meal when arriving.

With an EV, you should plan to have a meal on the road, and charge while you eat.

I've had a few experiences with this recently on a 300k trip we do fairly regularly. We do it in an older EV with comparatively poor range, but still we get away with making one stop to eat and charge.

In three years of ownership, I have used a fast charger once. A sudden unplanned road trip when I had let my charge get low.

Charging at home is so much nicer than a gas station. It is worth the rate longer fast charging on a road trip to usually not to go to a gas station at all.

If I lived in an apartment, I think I might be pretty frustrated though.

The reality: “Nobody stops to fuel their vehicle taking gasoline, gets out, rushes as fast as possible, puts as much fuel in the car as possible, and gets back in the car and drives away,” Cutler said.

Say what? Outside of a long road trip, that's very much what I do every time. I haven't been into the store at my gas station in years. I'm hardly alone, I see plenty of other people fill up and leave.

The "charging problem" is most completely addressed by doing less driving. Obviously.

The thing a lot of these people dknt understand is that not everyone has a garage where they can charge a car. I love in an apartment, where am I suppssdd to charge an EV? My parking space is too far away from my parking spot to charge, and I'm positive that my complex would never pay to add charging spots connected to each apartments meter.

Even if they did, I wouldnt trust my neighbors to plug tjeir EV into my charger. This alsomapploesmto people in houses that don't have a garage. An I supossed to run an extension cord to the street st night so that anyone driving by can llut into my electricity?

I mean. That's kinda the root cause of Range Anxiety.

Even if it was double the time to charge when compared to filling a petrol car. That would go a long way.

owning a BYD EV here in Australia, 80% of my charging is at home, just plug in to a wall socket powered by mostly solar from my roof. 15% is destination charging eg when buying groceries, plug in, shop, unplug and go and only 5% is charging on a road trip.

I’m fine with waiting. Thing I wonder about is, how many vehicles can charge at a station at a time? Can you just make a parking lot with plugs for each space? If so, I’m good. Where’s the snack machine—

Depending on the state, I'd much rather have a bio break, snack, and stretch my legs at a rest stop. Picnic benches, shade and a view, even a pet relief area. Many have water stations to refill bottles. Does require I've stocked the car with meals and snacks. In general filling stations lack the nicer amenities, most just suitable for gas and go.

Source: Just did 6835.5 miles encompassing 16 states.

Edit: Dyscalculia