It's only a matter of time before an American shift towardsustainability convinces drivers to fall in line, as electric cars are catching on quicker than the electric slide.
President Joe Biden promised to replace the federal government's 650,000 cars with electric vehicles and introduce 500,000 new charging stations within a decade. The automotive giants promised to invest billions in the development of EV and their infrastructure.
As gas prices soar and concerns over climate change intensify, interest in electric vehicles is hitting all-time highs. Sales of electric vehicles in the US more than doubled the previous year. In March, searches for electric vehicles reached their highest point in history, and this year, S&P Global expects EV sales to reach almost one million.
According to local governments, Americans will purchase over 4 million electric vehicles by the end of the century. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia offer incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles.
If the future is electric, what will happen to the gas-powered road trip?
America's most famous road trips are a good place to start.
Road trips are a cornerstone of US culture and have inspired a variety of genres. The stories range from Jack Kerouac's poetic musings to Thelma and Louise's feminist quest, but they're connected by the search for freedom.
It has been difficult to find freedom on the road. Early versions of Bob Damron's travel guides gave gay men a map to hidden communities, while Victor Hugo Green's Negro Motorist Greenbook tried to help Black travelers navigate racist roads. Despite the dangers of driving as a minority, this ongoing desire to navigate America's highways expresses a universal craving for freedom.
Gas-powered cars have been used for a long time to find open-road liberation. Travelers don't have to worry about where or when they'll fuel up. Unless you're traveling the lonely 167-mile stretch from Ely to Tonopah, Nevada, you won't find a gas station. The price of freedom increases with gas prices.
While traveling in electric cars, the same rules do not apply. According to a 2020 Consumer Reports study, fuel prices are less expensive than gas, but that doesn't mean it's easier to refuel. Range anxiety is caused by the fear that an EV will run out of power before it reaches its destination.
There are a lot of scenic drives in the US.
EV users who live in parts of the country with enough charging stations don't need to worry. There are a lot of electric vehicles on the West Coast, and the charging infrastructure is focused there. It makes road trips to parks on the west coast possible. The Hood National Forest is EV-friendly.
Some excursions are more difficult than others. Wade Anderson experienced this fear when he took a 19,000-mile road trip around North America in aTesla Model 3. He barely made it to a maintenance camp while driving through the territories. He remembers that his battery had no charge. RV parks are very slow-charging and a typical one-day journey ended up taking three days.
Wade once found himself stuck at a desolate campground in rural Montana while waiting for his car to charge.
"Range anxiety isn't something he often experiences while traveling, and soon they will be a thing of the past," he muses.
Make the most out of every adventure with help from our weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox.The country's growing demand for charging stations has led to rapid work by companies like EVGo. Today's EV issues will become tomorrow's old news due to the increase in the number of DC fast chargers.
Anthony Lambkin is the company's Senior Director of Operations. Over the course of four years, we have expanded to 800 charging stations consisting of about 3500 individual charging stations.
Two cross country routes, LA to DC and Jacksonville to San Diego, are part of the company's current infrastructure. The company expects to have over 1800 charging stations in the US and Canada by the end of the year.
Anthony usually doesn't experience range anxiety. On a recent trip from Washington, DC to Cleveland, Ohio, he stopped three times to charge at Electrify America stations and didn't need to stay longer than 20 minutes.
He says that the ability to charge quickly is a game-changer. The only downside was that my kids didn't get enough time at some stops.
It is now easier to drive an electric car coast-to-coast.
There are a lot of unique challenges for drivers new to the electric life. Before embarking on a road trip, there are some things that should be considered.
Rent or purchase a car for long-range travel. Drivers can avoid frequent charging stops with vehicles with over 200 miles of electric range.
The limited sub 100 mile range of the early EV required some trip planning. Travelers in cars with an estimated range of 100 miles will spend more time looking for a charging station than they will enjoying the trip.
A car that supports DC fast charging is helpful. DC charging can replenish a battery in 45 minutes, but level 2 charging can take up to 3 hours.
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Brannon advises travelers to schedule bio breaks or meals around high-speed charging stations. He says to plan to be there for at least an hour. It's possible to find fast charging stations within walking distance of museums and other points of interest if you are creative. It's important to choose hotels, homestays or RV parks that have EV outlets.
The Grand Circle is in the US Southwest.
A Better Route Planner is an app that helps drivers estimate where and when they'll need to refill their batteries based on their destinations and car types.
Plugshare is a free community- fueled app that allows users to find charging stations and leave reviews. You can use this in conjunction with ChargePoint, one of the country's largest networks of charging stations, to find locations that aren't on Plugshare.
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EV drivers should know that they don't need to go to a gas station to charge their cars. While charging stations are more common, they aren't ubiquitous and a charging site that looks available on an app might be incompatible with your car, out of service or in use upon arrival. A recent study done by the Bay Area-based group Cool The Earth found that 25% of charging stations were not functional when visited.
Brannon says drivers should plan a route, know where the charging locations are, and have a plan for those locations. Wade Anderson suggests bringing a lot of plugs to plug into the outlets.
Rockies roads are the most exciting.
Research shows that the range of an electric car is reduced by 40% at cold temperatures. It's questionable if that will make a winter sojourn through the state of South Dakota, where charging can be over one hundred miles away.
Wind, speed, air conditioning and heat can deplete power, as well as cold. The time of year, location and weather can affect the range of your EV.
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Wade wrote the rules for electric car road trips so you don't have to. It's not worth the range anxiety to go on excursions that don't charge.
One of the country's most EV friendly roads is the Pacific Coast Highway. You can take the eight-state trek along Route 66 and find over 1800 charging stations. It's now possible to ride from Maine to Miami on electric power alone thanks to a series of charging stations. You won't have to spend time hunting for a fee if you don't want to.
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Wade is sometimes looking for personal connection when he is looking for electricity. Wade uses Plugshare to find charging locations that aren't obvious like hospitals, libraries and the homes of fellow app users. He says that the network is supportive. Climate change and the environment are important to most of us.
Wade is a member of the Facebook group that encourages EV owners to share up-to-date information on their latest vacations. Users who post itineraries get feedback from other users.
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It may seem like EV's destroy the freedom associated with the all-American road trip. Modern pioneers are out of early adopter when it comes to this form of travel.
Driving an EV is better for the environment than driving a gas-powered car in most of the world according to researchers. Most electric vehicles made today produce far less planet-warming emissions than internal combustion engines, and while there's plenty of work needed to regulate the making and recycling of batteries, EV are still a noble step towards environmental preservation.
For a green generation, the EV road trip is like a prophecy. If enough drivers embrace it, it could protect the country's wonders for future generations.
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The article was last updated about 3 hours ago.
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