New Huntington McDonald's First in Nation with Car Chargers (sales, buying)
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Interesting indeed. My hunch is by the time you spend the extra money on batteries and inflated car prices, as well as charging issues you won't really be saving any money with them. Personally, I think natural gas is the way to go to get rid of foreign energy dependence for vehicles. That, and research into making conversion from coal to gasoline more efficient and cost effective.
It would take a long time to develop a natural gas infrastructure (fueling stations) anywhere near as ubiquitous as gasoline stations are today. Then consider the safety issues, vs plugging in a 240V cord. And hydrogen would be even worse.
The gasoline-based hybrids have the advantage of using the existing fuel infrastructure. The Cruze isn't really intended to be primarily a long distance vehicle; driving from Huntington to Harper's Ferry would mostly be a gas powered trip.
Almost all new technologies are expensive at first. Thirty years ago, an IBM PC cost over $5K. The expectation is that volume production will both improve battery life and reduce battery cost. It's Hewlett-Packard's old Experience Curve in action once again.
And I agree, CT, coal-to-gasoline needs to be getting a whole lot more attention than some of the more glamorous technologies.
The gasoline-based hybrids have the advantage of using the existing fuel infrastructure. The Cruze isn't really intended to be primarily a long distance vehicle; driving from Huntington to Harper's Ferry would mostly be a gas powered trip.
Seems General Motors took note of the charging stations and contacted the Huntington McDonald's about having a Chevy Volt there the weekend of the World of Wheels Auto Show. Here's a bit from the paper:
MCDONALDS: A Chevy Volt will be parked at Huntington's newest McDonald's on March 4 and 5. The restaurant, located near 1st Street and 5th Avenue, was contacted by General Motors upon hearing about the car charging stations at the store, which opened just a couple months ago. They're McDonald's first Level 2 car charging stations of their kind in the country, said Becki Carpenter of McDonald's.
"To have that in West Virginia and in Huntington is an honor to receive," she said.
The electric Chevy Volt will be there from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 4 and 5, the weekend of the World of Wheels Auto Show at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.
Those who stop by can sit in the car, and The Dawg radio station is drawing 15 winners who will get to ride in the Volt or drive it around the block, Carpenter said.
They are building a new McDonalds in Charleston's East End. I don't know if they are putting in a charging station, but it would be a good idea like the one in Huntington!
Just as was mentioned previously, this is one of the advantages of having such a charging station:
"Smartphone applications that pinpoint the locations of public charging stations for electric vehicles will help draw customers to the site if they are in the area, she said."
This will be a plus for Huntington and Charleston as these charging stations become more in-demand.
New Hurricane McDonalds is the third in nation (behind Charleston/Huntington) to have an electric car charging station. I'm very proud that the Charleston/Huntington metro area is leading the way in this department. The only 3 in the United States.
A Huntington Nissan dealer recently sold their first Leaf. It will be interesting to see if these cars and the charging stations catch on. One hundred miles per charge though doesn't seem very efficient to me. Especially when you consider that drops to fifty miles per charge after seven years.
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