The Gear-Headed Mentality

The old Saturn Ion that I had been driving is nearly ready to give up the ghost. After nearly a decade on the road, it is time for it to be put to pasture. Even now the car is getting 30 miles per gallon, a completely respectable rate. Still, so much of my traveling is just limited to the daily commute and running errands -
and it is time to look at something more efficient than a controlled explosion eighteen inches from my knees.

The first issue I encountered when shopping for an EV was that dealerships still seem to be getting accustomed to selling all-electric cars. Several salespeople outright refused to speak to me about the Leaf, and instead passed me off to other sales reps. I couldn't find a single salesperson who would let me drive a Ford Focus. After I pried a bit further, it seems like the more "senior" sales staff believe that EV buyers are too high maintenance - the buyers don't understand the range issues, they fear higher return rates, they get cold feet and back out of the deal. Even the sales staff that would talk to me pressed very hard for a commitment, wanting faux signatures and asking for money down prior to delivery. I spoke to lot managers about the Leaf turnover rates, since I felt they had a more accurate sense of how inventory was moving, and they seemed to think the actual return rates were much lower than the rates the sales guys were assuming. For one lot, out of 15 Leaf sales only 1 had been returned.

If you troll the EV forums you find that there is some hint of truth to the conception that potential all-electric owners are a high-maintenance bunch. Several complain that they had to wait a whole 5 minutes in a maintenance bay, others are incensed at the 87-mile range, and many aren't quite ready for the anxiety of finding a charger when they need one. If you are planning on using an EV as a secondary commuter car the stress can be much less, however an all-electric primary car can definitely give you an ulcer. Electric vehicles definitely require a cultural fit right now, which may be why there is such friction between buyers and sales people.

As odd as it might seem, Focus/Leaf/i-MiEV/Soul/i3 owners are more akin to Corvette than to Corolla owners. A happy Leaf owner frets over charging temperatures, battery chemistry, wind resistance, regen strength, residential electrical codes, LED vs. halogen amperage - and enjoys doing so. Just as a Corvette owner is worried about properly gap'ing spark plugs, an EV owner is worried about electrolyte conductivity. If you wouldn't enjoy obsessing over the winter tires of a 'Vette, you likely wouldn't like obsessing over the optimum tire pressure for maximum EV range.

In all honesty, I've never been a car guy. I know that the engine belts form a mobius strip to allow for even wear... and... there are cables? And various and sundry liquids? Not sure. However, the mechanics of an EV are much simpler to understand, which lets dullards like me become car guys because there is
so much less to know. As is entirely too apparent, I'm more than happy to obsess needlessly about the baubles of technology... and so I think I can make the shift from the mainstream "it just works" mentality to the gear-headed "how does it work" mentality. Mainstream adoption may not be there for EVs just yet, but wannabe car guys have the perfect inroad now.