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Q: I’ve been driving a wide range of electric vehicles since the 1990’s. They include an electric scooter, various EV conversions, a high-performance single-seat Corbin Sparrow, which my wife and I used for about five years, and more.
In 2012, we bought a Mitsubishi i-MiEV and subsequently owned three of these wonderful short-range cars. Eventually, we bought a used 2013 Tesla MS85 for our serious long-distance driving. We crisscrossed the U.S. and Canada and put 60,000 miles on it in the first two years we owned it. Our family has experienced over 200,000 miles in electric cars over these last 10 years. I am mystified as to why everyone is not now driving electric cars.
Joe Siudzinski, Los Altos Hills
A: I hereby dub Joe The EV King. Today, he takes over Roadshow to share his extensive EV experience.
Q: Invariably, the first question asked about an electric vehicle is, “How far can I drive the car until it stops before I can recharge it?”
I now realize that most people have not taken the time to assess their own driving habits and to see just how easily a “limited range” electric vehicle can satisfy most of their daily driving needs.
Why don’t people who love their EVs have range anxiety? They PLAN AHEAD.
Before you start a trip, if the one-way distance exceeds one-half of your round-trip Range Remaining, you DO NOT START THE TRIP until you have figured out where you are going to stop to recharge the car.
There are a number of apps and websites that identify public charging stations and provide a status as to their availability and reliability. My favorite is PlugShare (www.plugshare.com), which can easily be customized to show the charging stations available for your car. You will be blown away by the number of publicly-accessible charging stations in the Bay Area.
Joe Siudzinski
A: That’s good to hear.
Q: Some EV owners have christened their Range Remaining display as a GOM (Guess-O-Meter) because of its apparent inconsistency in predicting range. But if driving practices are consistent, the terrain and temperature don’t change much, and there is little wind, then most predictions are reasonably accurate.
Joe Siudzinski
A: Your experience is valuable.
Q: Really, think about it. What situations do you face where an electric car would not serve you just as well, if not better, than your polluting Infernal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle? I haven’t even touched upon the whole concept that operating an electric car is much cheaper, quieter, smoother, more exhilarating, much less troublesome, and more satisfying than an ICE car.
Joe Siudzinski
A: You and so many other readers have made a very convincing case.
Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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