A COUPLE went on holiday and were offered an EV lease when their gas lease fell through – they wasted hours trying to find a charger.
When they returned their rent early and demanded gas rent, they discovered they weren’t the only ones.
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Ross Allan Hill, banking extraordinaire, best-selling author and keynote speaker from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, traveled to Indian Wells, California for a vacation with his wife in early July of this year.
He wrote on Facebook that he was careful with his preparations, reserving an SUV for the trip up to a month in advance.
When they landed at the airport and tried to pick up their rental, they were greeted with bad news.
“The guy said he doesn’t have the car I booked” he wrote Hill.
“I said, ‘Well, give me something comparable.’ He replied: ‘We are all out of cars this size, but I have an electric car and I will rent it to you for the same price.’ I said, ‘No, I don’t want electricity.'”
Hill went on to say that the representative convinced him to try it and promised that the battery was fully charged and that the couple wouldn’t have to worry about charging it if they drove around town.
When they got into the car in the middle of a 114-degree day, they encountered their first obstacle.
“The battery was only 73% charged,” he wrote.
“At noon the next day, we were looking for a charging station. He gave me a map of the charging stations, but they are all hidden, not as easy to find as a convenience store or a gas station.”
Like many Americans, he discovered that several charging stations were faulty or out of order.
As the day progressed, so did the couple’s anxiety, as the percentage continued to drop.
“The next day we had 30% battery left and spent hours in the heat trying to charge it,” Allan wrote.
“The one we found that worked would take six hours to charge and had a sign that said you could only stay plugged in for four hours.”
Going to a Tesla Supercharger didn’t help either as the adapter was missing, so he drove to another public charger that didn’t read credit cards.
Feeling like he was up against a wall, he decided it was time to return the EV to the airport rental kiosk and demand another car.
Electric vs gas vehicles
Pros and cons of electric vehicles versus gasoline-powered vehicles
EV PROS:
- Convenient (when charging at home)
- Cheapest (depending on the state or city)
- Cheaper maintenance due to lack of mechanical parts
- Great for commuting
- Reduced CO2 emissions
- Federal and state tax incentives
- More performance (speed, handling – depending on make and model)
EV CONS:
- Higher initial cost
- Higher Insurance Rates
- More frequent tire and brake replacement intervals
- Higher tare weight (thus causing faster wear on crucial parts)
- Low resale value
- High depreciation rates
- Lack of charging infrastructure
- Unreliable public loading (related: slow loading times)
- Poor performance in winter and summer
- Lack of clean energy alternatives means more “dirty energy” from coal and nuclear sources
- Range anxiety
PROS OF GAS:
- Highly developed refueling infrastructure
- Fast replenishment
- Cheapest insurance rates depending on make, model and configuration
- Established repair industry
- Lower initial cost
- Greater range before refueling, especially with hybrids
- Many manufacturers produce engines with almost fewer emissions
- Cheaper refueling depending on location
CONS OF GAS:
- Finite resource (related: heavy dependence on oil)
- Carbon emissions/greenhouse gases
- Higher repair costs
- Higher insurance rates depending on make, model and configuration
- Varied costs at the pump depending on the state, city and municipality
Source: Driver, Perch Energy, Automatic Week
There he met other complainants who were as angry as he was about his electric vehicle rental.
“I told the attendant what happened and I wanted to exchange it for another one. He said, ‘Get in line!'” Allan continued.
“He said the last three people told the same story. When we arrived there was only 12% charge left.”
For Allan, the worst part was spending four to six hours trying to find a charger for an electric car he didn’t want while on holiday.
However, he was able to rent a gas SUV, which put the EV’s problems in the rearview mirror.
“Believe me, I will never rent an electric car again!” he concluded.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
