Compared to Ukraine, Gaza or the wobbly democracy in the US, reading about my Chevy Bolt may not seem urgent. But stick with me; it might relieve some of your despair.
TC and I bought a basic 2020 Chevy Bolt the dealer was so eager to get it off the lot, they let us strip it of everything including the silly floor-mats. I mean basic; the cheapest EV one can buy. And still a terrific car comparable driving and space to my beloved Mini Cooper. It’s a small hatchback with the same 250-mile range as the base Tesla. I usually charge it at home with the stock cord and a $20 adapter from Amazon to plug it into the same 220v plug which powers my big wood turning lathe. It’s not elegant, but it works overnight. I plug it in a couple times a week as most of my life takes place within a couple dozen miles of home.
An electric car is only as clean as the electricity, which in Winston means coal from Duke Power. We once looked into installing solar panels but avoided the mud wrestle with the home-owners’ association by buying our power through Sol Systems (formerly Arcadia). They negotiate with Duke Power to buy wholesale electrons from solar and wind producers. It costs us a few dollars for the moral fig leaf, of claiming to be 100% solar. It’s a nice tingle.
We also have TC’s Prius for when we don’t have the patience on long trips or if we would have to cross West Virginia or Mississippi. The guzzle bunny, as I call it, gets 52 miles to the gallon which is a good tingle, too. I prefer the Bolt on the road as it is more quiet and comfortable.
Long distance driving in an EV in the Deep South requires patience and planning, neither of which I am known for. And a lot of apps, which I am known for. I am 70-ish, so I need to pee and stretch more often than I need to charge. The 240 miles range means a couple of added hours on a 400 mile day but the breaks mean we arrive a lot less frazzled. It’s a feature, not a flaw. That’s really true of nearly everything the climate crisis is forcing us to do from eating closer to the land, to E-bikes, to recycling to slowing everything down. Every single thing is quieter, calmer and better for us. Don’t the screamers make you miss the real plot–it’s better, if sometimes, like my Bolt, a bit awkward.
The complication is that a handful of Bolt batteries caught fire a few years ago, which forced GM to recall everyone’s car. GM came up with what they called a “final solution” (they need a new PR firm). They offered $1,400 to allow an electronic monitor on the car for 6,200 miles to detect the rare fatal signs. I took the money. The catch is that the process reduces range by 20% while monitoring which means in the Winter I have more like 180 than 240 miles. That’s a big difference.
That set up my 1,400 mile Deep South drive to Atlanta and Orlando and back as an adventure. I’ve driven to Atlanta innumerable times over the decades including 4 trips in the EV recently so I know where the good chargers are in Charlotte, Greenville and over the Georgia line. These are by Electrify America, which VW had to set up as penance for their environmental fraud. Good comes from bad sometimes, as there are now fast inexpensive chargers in Walmart parking lots along many highways. They barely need even 45 minutes to get from 20% to full and there’s always something to buy in a Walmart. The one in Greenville even has a Chick Filet across the parking lot. The destination Marriott in Decatur had a free charger in the basement, so I sleep well.
South of Atlanta was new EV territory. First stop was Buc-ee’s just south of Macon. The nice Mercedes charger outside almost made up for the bizarreness inside. As usual chargers are off on the edges of the lot as if we should be ashamed of ourselves, like smokers. This is especially ironic at Buc-ee’s with everyone smothered and covered by plastic crap and deadly food. So we left without a full charge, stopping in Tipton where a pokey charger at a hotel bumped us back up enough to get to the Walmart in Valdosta. TC needed some contact solution.
We were aiming for Palatka for the night which is about 200 miles from Valdosta—just out of range. The first time I’ve ever had to wait for a charger in three years was at a Shell station in Lake City: all three stations were occupied and the 4th one broken, kinda off in the dark side of the lot. I had promised dinner, but there were only sad hot dogs on greasy steel metal rollers, so TC settled for a bag of pistachios. She graciously pointed out the gorgeous full moon rising over the vacant scrub behind the gas station. It is important to marry someone with a sense of humor, if one drives an EV.
An EV journey makes one think about places along the way such as Palatka. We had watched a great PBS story about William Bartrum, who visited here in 1774 writing his amazing “Travels.” A Quaker botanist, ethnographer and poet, his book about the St. John’s river, plants, animals and people mesmerized all of Europe—and justified our slight detour. We stayed in the Great Gables Inn, which, once the finest house in all of Florida, run by Tate and Jennifer, who were even better than their house.
Alas, Palatka has only one ancient charger on the side of the Nissan dealer a bit out of town. Every Nissan dealer in America has a free charger dating from when they introduced the first Leaf. They also have a nice bathroom and impressive array of drink and candy machines including more pistachios. But we found seafood later at Corky Bell’s across the river, damn near worth the whole drive down.
We could easily have made it to Orlando with 250 mile range, but with 180 we swung by the Walmart on I-95 at Daytona where we found a surprising selection of wines and tennis balls. Then a short bounce down I-4 for a delightful couple of hours with Bill Davenhall (formerly of ESRI) and finally to the hotel in plenty of time. As in Decatur, they have a free charger with plugs for both Tesla and normal people.
EV driving clarifies that moving a noisy machine really fast down the road is no big accomplishment. Nothing like seeing a Manatee which drew us to Blue Springs State Park a few miles out of our way heading back north. Hundreds of Manatee spend their winters in the warm pristine gushing spring. The Springs once became so dirty that the winter count got down to 20 of the magical creatures. Government and citizens made a million right decisions over a couple of decades so; there were 124 the day we visited. We talked for hundreds of miles of their wonder.
Up through Jacksonville and across the Georgia line. Zapped up again near Charleston and over to Columbia with 80 miles still in the battery. We slept in a hotel near….an Electrify America (TC sleeping while I charged up). A final bounce up to Charlotte for our last 20 minute charge got us home for lunch.
I mentioned the apps, which is how one navigates the chargers. Electrify America guides you to theirs, my first choice. Chargeaway and PlugShare show details about nearly every socket in the nation. Tesla has a great onboard app, which everyone is copying. Google shows charger details on their web-based maps, but weirdly, not on the phone. In short, finding the chargers is the emerging art. There aren’t enough and they aren’t all compatible, yet. But it’s all coming along.
What could be more complex than changing the whole energy system in the largest economy on the planet? It demands a million right things big and small done right over a couple of decades. Some of the choices are not great and will need to be improved. But it is is happening, even in the Deep South which weirdly treats sunlight as if it a liberal conspiracy.
Elon made his expensive cars fart (as he did the internet). Nameless GM engineers simply made them go. He did make 10,000 good chargers, which will soon be open to everyone, making it even easier to drive in the quiet elegance of an EV, albeit a Chevy which normal people can afford.
I’m almost done with the 6,200 battery monitoring. I can hardly wait to drive to St. Louis in April with all our mileage back. We’ll drive past Buc-ee’s this time. Maybe we’ll see another full moon, if nothing as astonishing as a Manatee.
