Do carbon emissions from gas guzzling vehicles really grind your gears? The good news is, electric car sales in California are growing at 30% annually. While electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more widespread, some drivers experience “range anxiety” and are concerned that an EV won’t have enough battery power to make longer trips.
We’re here to encourage you to go the extra mile! Many new EVs have ranges of 200 miles or more, and an increasing number of charging stations makes it easy and convenient to recharge without spending extra time waiting around. SVCE’s very own employees have shared their stories about long drives they’ve taken in EVs.
To the Capitol
John Supp, SVCE Account Services Manager, drove 140 miles in his Chevy Bolt to attend a conference in Sacramento. He easily found a paid parking lot with EV charging for no extra cost, not to mention prime parking spaces. After the conference, he was able to offer a ride to Albany to another CCA employee and take advantage of the trip to visit family in Alameda. Despite taking an extra side trip, driving on the freeway, running the air conditioning through a hot Sacramento afternoon, and a mostly uphill drive to his home in Boulder Creek, he made it back with over 60 miles left from a single charge. He made a 285-mile round trip journey with no time wasted waiting around to charge.
To the Mountains
Don Bray, Director of Account Services and Community Relations, drove his Bolt the 240 miles from his home in the South Bay to Incline Village in North Lake Tahoe this summer. After driving a total of 150 miles, the car showed a remaining estimated range of 80 miles. He plugged in to a DC Fast Charger in Loomis (east of Sacramento) and added roughly 80 miles of estimated range in about 40 minutes of charging, the perfect amount of time for a visit to the neighboring Round Table Pizza. He resumed his trip up to Tahoe and arrived with 40 miles of range remaining. A few days later, Don left Tahoe with about 225 miles in range and came all the way home (240 miles) without charging, due to the downhill drive. When he arrived home, he had about 40 miles in estimated range left.
Where will you go?
Do you have a summertime EV road trip story you’d like to share? Email us your story for a possible feature in our customer close-ups.
