Mike over at Confederate Yankee has a brief update on the Chevy Volt. In other electric car news, Fred Meyer, a PACNW retail legend, is going to offer charging stations this summer at selected locations around the Puget Sound area.
Fred Meyer is going to partner with ECOtality to installing commercial charging stations at a few locations is the Puget Sound and Portland, OR area. ECOtality is also involved with installing charging stations along the I-5 corridor through Washington and Oregon.
Based on what I have been able to read and comprehend, it looks like these stations will not be free, thank goodness for that. Customers will be able to plug in their Chevy Volts and Leafs, charge the cost to their cell phone or credit card and charge away. The stations that are going to be installed will charge a depleted battery in four to six hours but would primarily be used to “just top off the battery, so to speak,” according to ECOtality spokeswoman Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen.
All of this effort to install charging state is so wonderful, I can’t contain myself. Just imagine a charging station every 40 or so miles apart. Just about the right distance to charge up the battery after it has been depleted. Of course, taking a road trip from Seattle to Centralia will take about 8 hours; two for the driving time and six more to charge up the batteries in Lakewood or Lacey. Of course, you will want to get a hotel (with a charging station of course) when you get to Centralia because you’ll need an additional eight hours to get home. Don’t forget to bring the blinders, because you don’t want to see the other drivers giving you the finger while cruising at a very conservative speed to extend the battery charge, hoping you make it to Lacey. After all, aren’t you “green” now and don’t want to use the gas engine?
Here in MI, our area had the dubious "honor" of having charging stations put in at 2 local Meijer stores. They have been there almost a year. I have never, I repeat, NEVER seen a car plugged into these stations. What is even better, is that an electric car and golf club dealership sits right across the road. I wonder how they stay in business, as I have never seen a customer in their lot.
ReplyDeleteI am going to keep my eyes open to try and track useage around my region. What I bet is going to happen is folks will buy these cars for the status, but never ACTUALLY use the batteries. At their fancy cocktail parties they can say, "Sure, I bought a Chevy Volt. I'm green you know." then they get in and use the gas engine to get them home and to and fro.
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