QOTD: Are Your Neighbors the Special Ones?

Tim Cain’s observations of his quaint island’s driving habits revealed that electric vehicle ownership, though seemingly feasible given the distance to the sea in all directions, is about as rare as a happy ending on Black Mirror.

Cain, secretly funded by Big Oil and no doubt a part of other shadowy conspiracies, cynically believes that, outside of major urban centers, EVs are generally seen as impractical and unnecessarily expensive conveyances, given their limitations in range and capability. Thus, premonitions of the impending end of gas — or cars in general — are both premature and overblown.

Does your neighborhood’s vehicular landscape reflect this?

Lest anyone thing I was being serious earlier (this is the internet, after all), allow me to say that Tim Cain does not take his marching orders from Exxon-Mobil or BP. That said, I can sympathize with his observations and resulting assertions. While Casa Steph’s surroundings are decidedly more urban (and infinitely less idyllic) than Mr. Cain’s neighborhood, EVs are still considerably rarer than one would assume. Hell, until nine months ago, there was an obscene government incentive available for the purchase of just such a vehicle.

The only electric or PHEV residing in a three-block area is a neighbor’s BMW i3. It stays tucked in the garage, seldom seeing the light of day. A Ford F-150 Raptor loiters a few doors down. I recently saw a pair of Dodge Avengers simultaneously pull into driveways while walking down that same street. It would seem that no one’s trying to keep up with the Johnsons in this hood.

Count me among the many who question the anticipated demand for the electric vehicle tsunami headed our way. While the early product ripples began lapping at our shores early this decade, surging every higher up the beach in the years since, the main event should swamp dealers (and presumably driveways) by 2021-22. Ranges will be substantial — up to and above 300 miles. Bodies will be bold, boxy, and beautiful, far removed from the nerdy, non-Tesla runabouts of yesteryear. Perhaps most importantly, many of these EVs will bear badges worthy of people inhabiting a certain social strata (old money types, wizened bankers, stuffy but image-conscious senior bureaucrats and diplomats, etc).

The type not given to fandom of mass-market Japanese efficiency and Silicon Valley tech bro wunderthings.

Anyway, that’s our supposed future. Looking around your neighborhood, do you see evidence of a growing consumer acceptance of this new way of driving? Perhaps more importantly, do you see any evidence that your friends and neighbors, in the absence of a Euro-style, legislation-driven ICE disincentive campaign, are prepared to give green a chance?

[Image: General Motors]