GM, like the broader auto industry, is making the move to EVs, with The General announcing plans to fully transition its light-duty vehicle lineup to all-electric power by 2035. However, the reality of mass EV adoption will necessitate some rather substantial changes. Among these changes are sweeping upgrades to the nation’s charging infrastructure, as Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm learned firsthand in a recent EV roadtrip.
Per a report from NPR, Granholm recently took an all-electric roadtrip between Charlotte, North Carolina and Memphis, Tennessee, traveling roughly 770 miles over the course of four days. The trip was intended to draw attention to the Biden administration’s latest efforts to increase EV adoption across the U.S.
Granholm traveled in a caravan of EVs, including a Cadillac Lyriq crossover, Chevy Bolt EUV, and Ford F-150 Lightning, holding town hall meetings along the way to promote EV adoption. However, during the trip, things did not go perfectly as planned, with the most eye-raising incident occurring in Augusta, Georgia.
According to NPR, the caravan was set to plug in at a fast-charge station in Grovetown, a suburb of Augusta. However, Granholm’s advance team realized there would not be enough chargers to serve all the vehicles in the caravan, so one of the Energy Department staffers parked an ICE-powered vehicle in one of the free charging spots to save it for Granholm.
This apparently did not sit well with the local EV users expecting to charge up on the hot day. One family, which had a baby in their vehicle, even called the police asking to remove the non-EV from from the charging stall.
The sheriff was unable to do anything, as it’s not illegal for an ICE-powered vehicle to be parked in an EV charging stall in Georgia. However, the Department of Energy staff worked to alleviate the tense situation by sending some of the other vehicles to slower chargers in order to provide room for the family and the secretary.
The situation sheds further light on one of the major problems facing widespread EV adoption, namely charging and related infrastructure. As NPR points out, the planning required to accommodate the EV caravan was extensive, with not enough chargers to quickly and easily charge up without the use of multiple apps and scheduling. The rate at which chargers work is also a major issue, as is reliability, with several of the chargers on Granholm’s trip either not working or charging at a slower rate than advertised.
One report indicates that EV owners are increasingly dissatisfied with public charging stations. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has earmarked billions of dollars to bolster existing infrastructure, while Tesla is opening up its Supercharger network to non-Tesla vehicles. Nevertheless, Granholm’s trip highlights how far the U.S. will need to go before the majority of consumers can be expected to buy into EV ownership.
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Comments
I guess no matter how staged the DOE gets with their agenda, they still can’t dress up a pig. This wreaks of a future commercial showing how great it is to drive an EV cross-country without showing all of the headaches normal EV owners will encounter. While there is a place for EVs, let the market dictate and not have the government dress up EVs into something it isn’t.
Their problem was they were too shy to drive a non-union Tesla. Tesla drivers make trips like this hundreds of times a day with no issues.
Perhaps this whole thing that happened has a silver lining to it – our Energy Secretary gaining firsthand experience with how hard it can be to travel long distances in an EV. Perhaps it will kickstart a more serious effort from her to ensure and broaden a reliable recharging network for EVs.
Or just stick with a known commodity like the ICE. Don’t worry, Grandhole could care less: she uses her carbon-spewing, taxpayer-funded private jet most of the time.
As an EV owner and user, I definitely appreciate using it for my commute to work. However, Also working in Electrical Transmission and Distribution, I’ll be the first to tell you that the grid is not ready for widespread adoption of EVs at the rate it’s being pushed.
So everyone needs an ADVANCE TEAM to reserve a spot at a charger. Just be nice? We pay taxes for these jokers to have a job.
I have no issues with the idea of what they did. After all, it’s about promotion and having people understand it all. But the huge blunder here is that they should NOT have done this (block the space) and instead used this all as a learning moment. They use what they learned to help improve the system.
Yea, that was very sus.
Having said all of that, here on the east coast, I see new stations going up almost weekly now, so it’s getting better.
People are understanding that it’s bullshht. You can’t count on a charger without having someone race ahead in a Suburban to reserve it for you.
I think it did an outstanding job of showing just what a farce this whole EV mandate is.
I am sure that back in the early 1900’s during the early days of gasoline power vs. horse power, that there were issues with fuel availability, not to mention the complete lack of decent roads. I have a lot of faith in the capitalist system. It will be a massive effort to electrify transportation. In the end, if it is economically viable, it will happen.
Spoken like a non ev owner. Love our EV. Dcfc is getting better but unless you are driving a Tesla road tripping can have its moments. We charge at home over 99% of the time. If I were still commuting 100 miles one way as I did many years ago, I would not be driving an ev
This goes to show we’ve passed the “early adopter” phase where enthusiasts understand the infrastructure limitations and help each other work around difficulties and moved on to a “general public” phase where everyone’s angry, careless, selfish, and in a rush.
Given the limited number of DC Fast chargers available, it seems like the ability to reserve a station for a specific amount of time would have been really helpful here. That way, the parents could have charged their car until the group arrived at the station. It seems silly and wasteful to have an advance team driving ICE vehicles, but it would also have been courteous if the driver of the “placeholder” ICE car had explained the situation and just asked the family to use the spot until the group arrived.
Why should the family give up their spot for the caravan? This experiment was meant to demonstrate the reality of road-tripping with an EV. The reality is many have to wait their turn to charge just like people do at a gas station. Hopefully this will drive home the reality that there are not enough chargers for widespread adoption.
And they would have to wait exponentially longer-compared to a gas pump-to use the charger if there was a line.
LOL, that’s not real world, sorry.
For the past 3 years I’ve been watching Out of Spec Motoring demo EVs all of types from the Porsche Taycan to the Chevy Bolt to the Ford F-150 Lightning to the Audi e-Tron and everything in between. It struck a chord when the always-positive journalist grimly admitted that charging infrastructure is not up to mainstream expectations (he said this after he had to apply pressure and jiggle the charging handle just to get the EV to accept the connection).
I certainly hope the new Tesla charging standard will fix these woes, but as of now EVs are prohibitively expensive with few perks.
Richard P: I agree. A lot of this is due to just lack of respect for the equipment when being used by these people charging. People not knowing what they are doing or just don’t care about it. I’ve pulled up to charging stations where the cords were laying on the ground. I’ve watched others just jam the cord into the charge port of the car like they were trying to kill it. I can’t imagine people treating the gas pumps like they do the chargers. Would anyone just throw the hose/nozzle on the ground and drive away?
Also, it’s been a while since I’ve had to do this thankfully, but I can’t tell you how often I’d be pumping gas/diesel and it keeps shutting off way before the tank was full. There were times when there was some type of pressure inside the tank. As I’d be filling, all of a sudden the thing would gurgle and fuel would spray out on me and the ground and car. I’ve seen cases where spiders built webbing/nests within the fuel filler tubes and vents where it made gassing the car up nearly impossible. My point is that there are issues with them all no matter if EV or gas. Thankfully my charging experiences have been mostly positive and more so than at the gas stations.
“Would anyone just throw the hose/nozzle on the ground and drive away? ”
Yes…yes they would, that is if they remove it from the car in the first place before they drive away…..which also happens quite often….
People are much harder on gas pumps and with much, much more use from the public than an EV charger, but gas pumps are tougher.
Wow MrR: I’ve never in 40 years of driving pulled up to a gas pump to encounter the hose/nozzle laying on the ground. You say gas pumps are tougher? How is that? Maybe it’s the fact that gas stations have many inspections and are constantly being maintained? They have to due to the needed regulations on them. And just like that, we need regulations on charging stations. Maybe if (when) they begin to regulate the charge stations we will see less problems. Until then, people are treating them badly.
I believe the regulations on gas stations only have to do with making sure you get what you pay for and safety features not whether or not the pumps are up and working.
It probably helps that there usually is an attendant inside gas stations that keeps shenanigans from happening. With chargers I. Remote areas, anything goes.
I just recently completed a 3000+ mile (1500 mile each way) in a Cadillac Lyriq. DC fast charging was readily available. Only one charging station hell story out of all the stops. Many improments need to be made, but when Tesla Superchargers are available next year this will be a much easier trip.
Now write an article about the couple in Florida who lost their house to fire because their loaner Mercedes EV caught fire while parked in the garage. The vehicle wasn’t even being charged. Or the fact that it takes around 6,000 gallons of water to put out an EV fire. The fire department said that if the car is on fire and it’s not near a fire hydrant, then they just let it burn itself out. The safety issues with these vehicles need to be addressed or at least discussed at length.
USA 1: How many EV fires to date? How many gas/diesel vehicle fires just in the past 10 years?
Your point would be more valid if you didn’t just turn a blind eye to ICE fires. So you are trying to push an agenda because you may not like EV’s. It’s ok if you don’t, but at least be consistent in what you say. I’m for having both around for many years, but I don’t feel any less safe with my Bolt EV than a gas vehicle.
Dan B – I have been on this earth for 46 years and have yet to see or hear of an ICE vehicle spontaneously combust on it’s own while sitting in a garage while not running. I have also never seen of heard of an ICE vehicle catching fire because of coming into contact with salt. I definitely know that it doesn’t take 6,000 gallons of water to extinguish an ICVE Vehicle fire. You are correct, there are more ICE car fires then EV’s, because there are millions and millions more ICE vehicles on the road compared to EV’s. Also most ICE vehicle fires can be avoided with proper maintenance. Can’t say that about EV’s. I have no agenda, if people want to buy an EV go for it, but they need to get rid of the tax incentives and the current regime doesn’t need to force the auto manufactures to get rid of ICE.
Dear “no agenda” (USA1)
Sorry, when you mention the “current regime” you are speaking volumes.
Some people need to be hit over the head with the EV movement, or, we can do nothing. For my children’s sake we can’t move fast enough!
If we don’t use child labor strip mine the crap out of some 3rd world country for our childrens sake….who will?
A One minute google search and you can find out which car is safer. According to this study Gas cars are 61 times more likely to catch fire. Hybrid vehicles are almost 139 times more likely to catch fire than a straight battery vehicle. So, I guess having both more than doubles the fun. So, if you want to be the safest buy an EV!
“Electric vehicles (EVs) are far less likely to catch fire than hybrid and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles123. According to a study, EV fires were significantly lower than the others, with 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles12. In comparison, ICE vehicles caught fire substantially more often, at 1,530 incidents per 100,000 vehicles1. Hybrid vehicles had the highest number of fires, with 3,474 fires per 100,000 sales.”
Granholm= worthless piece of garbage. A day after her term as Michigan governor ended and she was done wrecking the state, she was on her way to UC Berkley to wreck the minds of young people. Biden only selected the best for his cabinet.
Yes second worst governor for us here in Michigan. Gretchen is worse.
To be fair, everything is challenging to Granholm…she already left Michigan in her wake.
I laugh when people say “I can charge my car at home for free!!!” Ummm, no.
Let’s take two similar trucks…a base Silverado WT and the Silverado EV WT. A base Silverado WT starts around $37,000, but let’s call it $45,000 with a few options. The recently reviewed EV WT trim was priced around $75,000.
That is a $30,000 price difference/investment to never to go the gas station again. Let’s say for argument’s sake that electricity is free and that bank interest rates are at 0% (both of these are dreams under the current administration). Let’s also assume that the gas WT gets around 20mpg. How much gas would you have to save in order to make your $30,000 investment break even??
Looking out my window today, gas is $3.47 per gallon. If you were to spend $30,000 on gas, that would be roughly 8645 gallons. Assuming your gas truck gets around 20mpg with the TurboMax, that means in order to burn 8645 gallons of gas, it would take roughly 172,000 miles (assuming the truck doesn’t idle much or you don’t use remote start everyday). THAT IS TO BREAK EVEN ON YOUR $30,000 INVESTMENT!
If you are leasing these trucks, you won’t even use 21% of the 172,000 miles. Then when you snap back to reality and see that electricity rates are going up and bank interest rates are hovering around 10%, EV vehicles in general are a losing venture. People whine about their cars losing half their value once you drive off the lot, but people would be ok throwing way 79% of their potential savings? How many years would it take the average person to drive 172,000 miles? At 12,000 miles per year, that is just over 14 years. Do the batteries even last 14 years? You are literally paying to have the new shiny toy rather than save money or the environment. But, you won’t have to spend 10 minutes at those pesky gas stations every week!
Well said Tim
tim: I’ll say the same thing to you that I said above and to others. If you don’t want or like EV’s, that’s fine. But your comments need to be less slanted.
Example: I had a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu that was very good on gas. I truly loved the car and it was near perfect in most all ways. I sold it after my Bolt EV came in. Now, the Malibu was slightly bigger, but they are still very close in many ways. My Malibu was 29 grand MSRP. My Bolt was 28 grand MSRP. My Bolt has more features and is 2 years newer. Doing the same exact driving (miles, distances, overall conditions) for both, I was spending about $250/months on gas for the Malibu. This is in southern California. When I purchased my Bolt, it came with a $500 EVgo card for charging. I have a level 2 charger at home. I can also charge (free) at work. There’s also several free level 2 chargers within 5 miles of my home. Even if/when I charge at home, I have my car set to start charging around 3 am and finishing by 8 am when the rates are the lowest.
My point in all this is that you used a very interesting hypothetical to “show” how bad EV’s are. I just gave you a 100% real and true scenario where I now spend zero on gas or electric. Once my free charge card runs out early next year, I’ll still charge mostly at the free stations or work. But even if I charged my Bolt every night at home, I’d be spending no more than $40/month extra on electric. Compare that to the $250/month I was spending on gas. You also fail to mention the oil changes (that can now run $100 to $300 each) vs. zero oil changes on the EV. You didn’t bring up the fact that with one pedal drive (regen on demand) that the Silverado EV will most likely not need brakes for well over 100K where the gas truck would probably need $400 + brake jobs over that same amount of time. And although by what you say, I’m sure you deny climate change and maybe don’t care, but there’s also an overall positive net effect in the overall total carbon footprint with the EV.
Lastly, you have a great point about the price of electric going up. Yes, the rates can and do change. Just like gas prices. Had you used a more realistic “average” price for gas (east or west coast or many other states as well), your example would have been less for time to recover that initial amount.
You’re leaving out the $9,000 more you spent on a Chevrolet Sonic sized car vs a mid size sedan.
The $300 coolant service on a Bolt? I’m over 100K on factory brake pads on an ICE car and I just now have started hearing the wear indicators.
Edmunds list the maintenance costs on the Bolt as $354 for the 1st year, $196 yr 2, $1,730 year 3, $500 yr 4 and $1,095 yr 5…..
The ICE Silverado is also much likely to depreciate less than the Bolt.
MrR: You don’t like me and that’s ok. Personally, I find that you just want to argue about anything and everything that I post. And you have that right to.
Maybe YOU have a different experience with your ICE vehicle and not replacing brakes. But I work at a dealership and see DAILY how many people come in here with 30, 40 and 50K and are having to do brake work. So congratulations on getting more miles on your brakes than others. But that’s NOT the norm.
Lastly, I said 100% up front that my Bolt isn’t quite the same sized car as my Malibu. However, the usable space and room is quite similar. They ride nearly identical. They both did/do the exact same task nearly identical. And go back and re-read what I said. Where are you getting that I paid 9 grand MORE for my Bolt? I clearly said that my Malibu was 29 grand and the Bolt was 28 grand. I have the window stickers to prove it. Not only did I spend less on my Bolt, but it has numerous features MORE than the Malibu had as well as more safety features for less.
Got it now? Learn to read.
When someone has a counterpoint to you viewpoint, don’t take it as a personal attack, I don’t know you, I’m indifferent to your whole existence.
Getting more than 100K on your brakes might NOT be the norm, but neither is getting free charging at your workplace for your electric car….see how that works?
If you can understand, congratulations, you’ve taken the first step.
Its you that might need to “learn to read” by the way-“You’re leaving out the $9,000 more you spent on a Chevrolet Sonic sized car vs a mid size sedan”
You spent $9,000 more than a $20,000 Sonic for a Sonic sized car. Fact.
Question: you say you charge your Bolt at work for free. Does your company pay for gas for people with normal vehicles? If not, how do you reconcile that fact?
The owner is all in on going EV. We are a dealership. The owner is ok with me charging my car as long as I’m not doing it every day. I normally just plug in on Saturday’s when service is closed. I understand that this is not something everyone will have, but I do.
My point was that I showed a real example of where I’m saving a lot of money by driving an EV.
Its not really a “real” example because most people aren’t getting free charging, its anecdotal evidence supporting something you believe is already correct…..
The customers are paying for your electricity. You have a license to steal.
…..oooooh,(ocnblu) I know you hate this term, but…”it takes a village”….like it or not
we all have skin in the game. Free charging is there to encourage and help
in the transition to electric vehicles. I’m guessing you never received “a perk”
in your lifetime, knowing someone who knows someone….or, rewards at your
favorite hotel. PERKS are everywhere, and you love them when they favor YOU.
Now have at me with all of your skewed “thumbs down”.
Dan you’re comparing cars to the vehicles Americans actually drive. Tim isn’t the one being slanted here.
TJ: So nobody drives Bolts? Nobody drives Malibu’s? Nobody drives vehicles of very similar proportions?
Ok then.
Amazing…an insightful blog on the reality of how great EVs are….and, wait for it…
It’s gets more thumbs down than ancient Romans at the Coliseum. Go figure.
Noticeably missing from this theatrical escapade was a Tesla (since its not UAW built, of course), which would not have had this experience.
Right, nobody has ever ICE’d a Tesla charging station. Excellent observation, genius.
The point is, there are way more Tesla superchargers (which these BEVs can’t use) and the range is superior, so you are not limited to rare and sh!t charging options, Einstein.
Teslas are like the IPhones of EVs. People who love them think they’re great, but when you do an objective comparison, there really isnt much to be gained by spending double the money vs some of their competitors. Matter of fact, not knowing you at all, i would wager that you are a Tesla owner and an IPhone user. I’d make that same bet about any tesla owner and predict about 75% accuracy.
As an owner of a non-tesla ev, in my personal experience, where there is a Tesla Supercharger there is a J-port with dc fast charging available. Also having test driven a few teslas and deciding against purchasing them, I can dispell the myth of the superior range. It just ain’t there and especially not commensurate with the price premium. Yes, you can go to their website and see all sorts of numbers, but being able to objectively decipher the numbers in practical real world scenarios gets you past that pretty quickly.
All that said, I think the bigger issue is that even if you threw a Tesla into the mix, the outcome wouldn’t substantially change. Mass adoption of EVs will necessitate a mass expansion of the grid, and most importantly power generation to feed it. This has not happened yet. When it does, I’d also bet that a significant portion of the added generation will be from fossil fuels.
Then you add in the inherent inefficiency of transmitting the energy gained from those same carbon emitting fuels across hundreds or thousands of powerlines and junctions and you end up with a net efficiency loss overall.
We can add charging stations till the sky is purple, but with no added capacity to feed them, they are worthless.
Wake up America, we are not ready for EVs yet. They may be good for local travel if you have a fast charger at home, but on the road they are not reliable.
Yeah, let’s “put the regen brakes” on all EVs. Let’s go back to the days of choking air
quality.
The Energy Secretary’s trip should have been filmed, it would make a great comedic movie.
Yes, call the show “Idiots on EV” LOL People will really get a charge out of the show. LMAO
It seems strange that I did not see any reports of this fiasco on any network TV news.
Jennifer and her husband both had/have stock in Ford and EV bus company.
It’s funny (not)….
Those that own EVs are NOT racing back to an ICE vehicle because of the difficulty AT TIMES using
the charging network. Most EV drivers charge at home, and the vast majority of us don’t have to charge
overnight, because we have plenty of range for the week.
Change, of any kind requires patience. We will get there. Drive an EV, you will see what the “hype” is all
about.
I have driven a Tesla. Yes it’s great off the line and such but at what cost. Way to expensive and what will it be worth in ten years if it lasts that long. People are driving ICE vehicles for 15-20 years now because they can’t afford a new vehicle so can they justify an EV. NOT!
The “hype” sounds like crack. Enjoy it now, a few years from now they will need more kids digging in the mud.
Amen, amen.
I would like to know why GM hasn’t made any Hybrid vehicles? This would have been a better idea than jumping into EV’s with both feet into the muck. Most hybrids don’t need charging and they get great mileage. Then they could have waited until the infrastructure catches up and batteries are more reliable and safe.
By the way, don’t drive your EV in salt water.
Thanks that is what we are hoping for
I just recently completed a 3000+ mile (1500 mile each way) in a Cadillac Lyriq. DC fast charging was readily available. Only one charging station hell story out of all the stops. Many improments need to be made, but when Tesla Superchargers are available next year this will be a much easier trip.
Public Charging in Western NY is almost the worst in the country. I get ‘Unlimited free charging’ until 8/1/2025 with my Cadillac LYRIQ, but the only EVGO charger (the firm GM is using) is midstate in Downtown Syracuse – for HOTEL customers only. Second Nearest one in the state is at the extreme eastern end around Albany/Schenectady, some 300 miles east. Partner ChargePoint only works for the Bolt Deal, but is useless for the Cadillac Deal. When I get my LYRIQ back from the dealership service dept, that is….
What a great idea! I can sit with my suburban idling and wait for my wife to show up with the bolt. 🤣
I have said all along that EVs are ideal for city life. Shorter trips, longer periods of idle time and more charging at home. The dumbest thing about Mary’s plan is the abandonment of hybrids. If that Canadian energy secretary had been driving one of those vehicles from Toyota, Honda or even Kia, there would’ve been no issues at the charging station, except for their arrogance. Can’t fix that. Ever notice how arrogance and incompetence go hand-in-hand?
Just another privileged liberal acting as privileged liberals do.
In small towns near me during the warm weather months, I see quite a few people driving battery powered golf carts to the grocery store, to the post office, and to other local businesses. They are good for very short trips in nice weather. But I never see these golf carts on the road during the cold and snowy winter months. Electric vehicle driving range significantly diminishes during the winter. If you don’t believe me, remember when GM sold the EV1 electric vehicle in the 90’s? It was only sold/leased in warm weather states. Nobody talks much about the range of EV’s during winter months.
ICE, ICE baby.
It might be to soon for EV but one thing for sure we are all going to be driving one if we live long enough like it or not…
I own a Tesla I have done two trips to Virginia 2,000 miles round trip never had one minute trouble with charging. the car Tesla has a system that works. now has 50,000 chargers. Tesla is the best vehicle I have ever had.
This article illustrates yet another reason why I have ZERO desire to own an EV.
Just wait till the electric company needs more money to build up the electrical grid to produce more power….$4 gal for gas well seem cheap
Having suffered for 8 years with this Canadian (and Dating Game contestant) as our Governor, I can assure you that she a complete and utter nitwit, politely stated. I would expect she was not embarrassed and learned absolutely nothing at all, except how to keep avoiding responsibility for terrible policies and their negative impacts on the American people.