Initially the purchase of a fully electric passenger vehicle is tempting. The retailers do of course devote the predominance of the sales pitch to the many onboard accessories of the vehicle. But the devotion to appearances is unfortunately a disguise of the underlying issues surrounding charging of an electric vehicle. By my admission I am neither mechanical nor electrical. The most I know about the mechanics of a car is how to top up the windshield washer fluid; and, the most I know about electronics is the word wire or plug. From then on, all is mystery.
What however I am slowly digesting about charging an electric vehicle is that it is necessary to have a charger or what is more professionally known as electric vehicle supply equipment EVSE. Beyond that intelligence I do not especially care to venture. The risk of amateur mistake is too compelling. In any event we have the privilege in this instance of retreating from critical involvement because the property upon which the EVSE is installed is owned by our landlord (for which purpose we have consulted the property manager).
Reportedly Cadillac has publicly stated that by 2035 all its vehicles will be electric. This proclamation from a huge corporation such as General Motors is not to be ignored nor misplaced by current political waffling over fossil fuels. Obstruction in this instance equates to keeping your landline telephone; or imagining that one could avoid the internet or computers. Possible. But not likely. And certainly not promoted as an option.
The urgency of the matter has naturally caught landlords off-guard because of the costly infrastructure amendment required.
But as the saying goes, wherever there is a downside, there is an upside. For the vehicle owner the immediate benefit is avoiding the cost and smell of gasoline (not to mention the irrelevancy of traditional mechanical issues). I also understand the performance of the vehicle is improved by electricity (a collateral frankly I never would have imagined). As for the quietness of the vehicle, I shamefully confess that I have always enjoyed what I call the rumble of the engine. It is one of the reasons I have never owned a Chrysler product because I never liked the sound of its engine. Nor, by the way, do I either like or appreciate the booming roar of some of the smaller vehicles designed to appear like racing cars on the highways.
As for landlords and retailers generally, the transition to accommodation of EVs (electrical vehicle) is inevitable. Chargers have become the new commercial battle ground to replace the erstwhile conflict between computers and smartphones; and naturally chargers will one day completely replace gasoline filling stations, what (along with the Death Car in which they were shot to death) will be a relic of the Bonny and Clyde era.
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910 – May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut “Champion” Barrow (March 24, 1909 – May 23, 1934) were American outlaws who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The couple were known for their bank robberies and multiple murders, although they preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations. Their exploits captured the attention of the American press and its readership during what is occasionally referred to as the “public enemy era” between 1931 and 1934. They were ambushed by police and shot dead in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians.
In spite of all this clamour and history, romantic and otherwise, it is most probable that the change will happen and soon the past will be forgotten or stored in the ancient past. For the time being however I am attached to my Cadillac XT4 (Ultra fuel powered) and no complaints other than the honest resistance to change.