From Watts Up With That?

Essay by Eric Worrall

EV Queue Gundagai. Source 3AW, Fair Use, Low Resolution Image to Identify the Subject

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t curse these silly electric cars under my breath once or twice.”

‘Brutal:’ EV Road Trip Features Bundling Up in Winter Clothes to Avoid Running Heater

ALANA MASTRANGELO
17 Apr 202311

A Business Insider reporter learned how “brutal” a road trip in an electric vehicle (EV) can be when he was forced to bundle up instead of using the heater in his car to try to maximize his range. After the trip he commented, “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t curse these silly electric cars under my breath once or twice.”

Business Insider’s Tim Levin drove the new Toyota bZ4X electric SUV from New York City to Washington, DC and back, and discovered that he was forced to spend roughly a quarter of his time charging his electric vehicle. But it got worse from there.

“I hit the road back to New York on a chilly morning with 176 miles of range. When I went to turn on the heat, the indicated range plummeted to 125 miles,” Levin wrote.

Therefore, Levin had to make a decision: stay warm and charge twice, or turn off the heat — given the effect that it has on the vehicle’s battery life and range — and deal with the cold. He chose the latter.

…Read more: https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/04/17/brutal-ev-road-trip-features-bundling-up-in-winter-clothes-to-avoid-running-heater/

What a miserable experience.

Australian drivers also experienced their share of EV woes recently;

In Australia EV owners were forced to queue at Gundagai, while returning from an Easter holiday;

Easter weekend photo sparks concern over Australia’s electric vehicle future

10/04/2023

A lengthy queue at an electric vehicle charging hub in Gundagai on Good Friday has given a glimpse into Australia’s EV future “unless we get some urgent planning underway”.

Matthew Bailes, who was driving from Melbourne to Sydney in his Tesla, snapped a photo of the situation.

“It was a 15 minute wait,” he told Tony Jones, filling in for Neil Mitchell.

…Read more (includes a radio interview): https://www.3aw.com.au/easter-weekend-photo-shows-australias-ev-future-unless-we-get-urgent-planning-underway/

At least Gundagai wasn’t a freezing cold trail of misery like Tim Levin’s New York to Washington DC trip, that comes later in the season in Gundagai.

What can I say? The only way to make EVs work in a remote town like Gundagai without massive wait time inconvenience is large subsidies, to fund enough chargers to prevent queues during busy periods like holiday peaks. And probably onsite diesel generators to provide the electricity, if EVs ever become a significant presence on the roads.

Or maybe EVs could tow a diesel generator on a trailer, to provide a continuous popup charge during long trips.