We want range. So sell us that
Re “In the U.S., going too big with cars extends to EVs,” Sept. 26
Bloomberg writer Ira Boudway seems to miss the point on electric vehicle range when he notes that 95% of all trips in the U.S. are 30 miles or fewer.
Most drivers commute or run errands locally. So what? They also take holiday breaks and vacations that often exceed the range of electric vehicles. Combined with the sparse distribution of high-speed charging stations and their frequent breakdowns, this is simply a “you can’t do that anymore if you buy an electric car” limitation.
You don’t tell consumers what they should like. You actually have to address their concerns.
No matter what the
statistics show, we need to increase EV range and end the pitiful shortage of functional charging stations if we want to sell more electric cars. Tesla, which has the best charging network, should make its stations available to everyone. Consumers will pay for that service, and adapter plugs are cheap.
We need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, but that won’t happen until EV deficiencies are addressed. We don’t need lectures. We need solutions.
Peter Dekom
Beverly Hills
If 95% of all U.S. car trips are fewer than 30 miles, then plug-in hybrids that go 35-40 miles solely on their batteries could work — right now, today. For those who live outside major cities, transitioning to 100% EV sales isn’t practical.
Why load all our driving eggs into a single all-EV basket? We already have heat waves, brownouts, broken-down chargers, low water levels behind hydroelectric dams, vanishing nuclear power, mountains of spent batteries and shortages of raw materials.
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of good enough. Currently available plug-in hybrid technology can handle it.
Chuck Almdale North Hills
Having done several road trips in my EV, I have learned that with a little planning, charging can be stress-free.
Thanks to smartphone apps like PlugShare and ChargeHub, you can find out in advance the condition and availability of almost every charging station across the U.S. Many Caltrans facilities — including rest stops — have free, reliable EV chargers. And overnight road trips became much easier when I decided to stay only at motels that offered EV charging.
One problem is the learning curve of using fast chargers on the road. Each company has its own app and protocols, which just complicates things. Charging companies should adopt the same uniform protocols as gas stations: Insert your card and start charging. Nicole Baker
San Gabriel