L.A. to Vegas and Back by Electric Car: 8 Hours Driving; 5 More Plugged In

[brooklynite]

New York Times

To better understand what life with an electric car is like, I hopped into a Chevrolet Bolt recently and traveled from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, a 540-mile round trip that many people make regularly.

The Bolt is the first in a lineup of electric cars that General Motors hopes to sell in the coming years. The hatchback, which costs about $37,500 before federal and state tax breaks, can travel about 240 miles on a full charge, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. But for Bolts as for other electric vehicles, experts generally recommend keeping it 30 to 80 percent charged for optimal battery life.

I rode with representatives of EVgo, a company that is building fast-charging stations across the country. On top of the eight hours or so that we were actually on the road, we spent close to five and a half hours charging the car.

In one case, the Bolt could not accept the fastest charging speeds from the most powerful units. In another, the charger could not deliver the power as fast as the Bolt could accept it. It could have been worse: We always found a charger available, though more than once we got the last one, and drivers arriving after us had to wait.

[msongs]

1. not suitable for distance driving, fine for around town and doing errands or a commute to work nt

[Wounded Bear]

2. I figure most people in an urban/suburban environment could survive...

using a modified golf cart.



Obviously, for rural areas electric can't quite hack it yet. It remains to be seen if it can, but most Americans are seriously over-vehicled.

[ProudLib72]

4. I did that for two years on the American compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Drive the golf cart to get groceries. Drive it to the library. Drive it to visit friends. Every single person on the compound had one. The one my family had was probably twenty years old by the time we bought it. Top speed downhill was about 20 mph. Top speed uphill with groceries was about 4 mph. It beat walking in 125 degrees and 80% humidity.

[matt819]

5. That's a lot of money ...

For an around town car.

[MineralMan]

3. Why would anyone drive an EV from LA to Las Vegas?

Not enough range even for one-way without stopping to charge. That is not what those cars are designed for, and charging takes far longer than filling up a gas tank. I've made that drive a number of times, and also have driven from the San Luis Obispo, CA are to Las Vegas several times, a 6.5 hour drive.

Typically, the IC cars required a fuel stop, but that only took a few minutes, if one was in a hurry. I can't imagine sitting and waiting for my car's batteries to be charged in the middle of a 4 or 6.5 hour drive. Really, that would make the drive too tedious by far.

EVs are very nice for commuting and short trips. But, they're not designed for distance driving. I used to routinely drive from San Luis Obispo to Tucson, AZ, a 600-mile, 10-11 hour drive. It was doable, but made for a very long day. Driving an EV there would have required a night's stay along the way.

EVs just don't make sense for long-distance driving.

[Codeine]

6. Add to that the fact that LA-Vegas is a drive

that requires AC pretty much the whole way, which is going to impact your endurance even more.

[MineralMan]

9. It also has some serious uphill grades, which

Will drain batteries quickly.

[brooklynite]

7. I think the point is that people DO drive LA to LV...

...and en electric vehicle isn't practical for the distance trips that people make.

[MurrayDelph]

11. 45 years ago, I used to drive between L.A. and Vegas

We used to have to stop for gas in Barstow. So it would not be a hardship to have to stop for a recharge halfway there, as long as the recharge didn't take more than ten minutes.

[MineralMan]

12. It takes longer than ten minutes.

[MurrayDelph]

14. And until it takes less

They won't be practical

[TreasonousBastard]

8. This obviously makes no sense. Add the additional cost of an EV and it makes even less sense...

However, we are in just the beginning of the revolution. Get the purchase cost down, make it easier to park and charge in the city and the burbs-- that and more would help.

But, maybe what we will be looking at in a few years is a complete revolution in our traveling habits. Right now, if you're lucky, that drive is under four hours nonstop. Lets say that eventually it becomes acceptable to drive your much cheaper electric car on to a train or truck, or take a bus and pick up another car in Vegas.

Sounds a lot like picking up an airport rental, but hopefully cheap and convenient enough to make it worthwhile. It could sound a lot more like Amtrak's AutoTrain from DC to Orlando, if that was cheaper and faster. Actually, AutoTrain can make sense as it is-- I would have to drive to Virginia and then get on a 16 hour train ride. All for maybe 800 bucks round trip. Add up the total costs and hassles of flying, or the horror of driving an 1800 mile round trip, and 800 bucks to get some reading or work done and no screaming kids sounds like a bargain.

I suspect that's the way we are heading one way or the other. Kids today don't see as much point in driving as we did in the '60s and if you do it right they will naturally go the most convenient route. In NYC, CitiBikes are already popular, as are other gadgets to get around. Uber has shown that convenience is the overriding factor. Before Uber there were fleets of black cars getting you to the airport or into the city. All for convenience.

[rawtribe]

10. Easy trip in a Tesla

[Rstrstx]

13. There's a reason Tesla is WAYYYY ahead of the competition

Trips of 300+ miles are no problem in one. If you need a charge mid-trip you stop, go to the bathroom, maybe get a coffee or snack and you're on your way again. Even the shortest range Tesla should only add about 20 minutes extra, maybe 30 if you did two stops, from LA to Vegas if you leave fully charged. And it would cost you just a few dollars to charge.

With all other EVs you have the cumbersome process of finding suitable chargers that are slower to charge, more expensive, you have to get out your credit card or their special card and wait for it get approved, yada yada. There's a reason people gush over Teslas, they are magic, like an iPhone in 2007.