Quick Discussion on Electric Vehicles

It seems that a new report appears every day on electric vehicles (EV).  Most are touting them as the savior of the car industry, but that may be a ways down the road.  Until we get the infrastructure established and the range increased, most people will shy away from owning or driving an EV.  The primary reason is range anxiety.  People are worried, rightfully, that they will run out of battery before they return home.  Because charging stations aren’t widely available, they would be stuck and require a tow home.  It’s not possible to walk to a nearby gas station and buy a small charge to get you home like you can buy a gallon of gas.  But what if this changed?!

A company located in Indianapolis is looking to make this happened.  Real Power (www.realacpower.com)  is working on a prototype “tow truck” that would be able to refill your battery.  They have designed a flat bed tow truck with a built-in generator.  The DC power can connect to a level-2 or 3 quick charge port on an EV car.  Using the level-3 setting, the company claims they can charge a Nissan Leaf from empty to 80% charge in 30 minutes!  Anything over 80% would damage the battery, so they stop there.  This would be more than enough to get you home and back to you normal charger in the garage.  They use a flat bed trailer in case there is something else wrong and they can just load up the car.  (See the full review at http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2011/07/carscom-field-trial-mobile-ev-quick-charging-.html).  

So what happens next?  Well, Real Power is working with dealerships, states and towing companies to gauge the level of interest.  States might like to use it to encourage drivers to switch to EV cars by eliminating some of their range anxiety.  Keep your eyes open because you might see one of their trucks on the side of the road helping a stranded EV driver.

I’m curious, what keeps you from buying an EV?  Is it the price?  Range anxiety?  Performance?  Space considerations?  Tell us what’s holding you back from making the switch to EV.

Andy w/ Indy Auto Shopper