My wife and I have aged vehicles — mine a 1999 Subaru and hers a 2012 Prius. So, we were in the market for at least one new automobile.
Since we are both rather rabid environmentalists, our minds were pointing the same direction — on an all-electric vehicle. The recent roll-out of the all-electric Ford F-150 pickup got lots of publicity, including a video that featured President Joe Biden behind the wheel and extolling the fast speeds of which the F-150 was capable.
Triggered by this publicity, I set out to search for electric cars. On that search, what I found is that electric vehicles are not quite ready for prime time.
While the prices are likely to come down due to competition, right now electric vehicles are priced well above what we — and most people — can afford. All of the electric vehicles on the market require a substantial down payment amounting to thousands of dollars.
The second thing I found was how long it takes to charge one of these. On household current (120V), it takes all night. Even at an electric vehicle charging station, it apparently takes about 30 minutes, plenty of time for visiting the bathroom, lolling about and eating snacks — but a half-hour is a long time, especially if that time is required every 300 miles or so.
Then there is the problem of finding a charging station. No problem in St. Louis or Kansas City, but outside of Columbia and Springfield, there’s not much. Nothing in Joplin, Cape Girardeau or Kirksville or about anywhere else. However, that will likely change as more and more electric vehicles are on the road. Since we go to such far-flung places as Fort Collins, Colorado, and Charleston, South Carolina, I noted that getting there in an electric vehicle would mean that we would likely be discharged somewhere in Kansas or Tennessee.
Speaking of charging stations, most of the electric vehicles have a range of 300 miles or so, some less, a few more.
Only Tesla offers a vehicle with a range of a bit more than 400 miles, but to offset that, Tesla is also the most pricey. But right now, if driving an electric vehicle, a person would run out of charge before there is a charging station.
The electricity used for charging is generated by coal-fired power plants. That is changing as more power plants use fewer polluting sources of energy, such as natural gas. But currently, the vast majority of power plants use highly polluting coal.
All in all, I found that as Bob Dylan had it, times are indeed changing, but an electric vehicle is in our future. Not now.
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May 25, 2021
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Electric vehicles are the future but not reasonably priced right now - Columbia Missourian
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