Electric Transportation — What Will It Take?

Paul Minett wrote a very cogent response in response to my post about the dubious validity of EV research. He is completely right that there are numerous battles to be fought along the way — and he nailed many of them.

In particular, Paul talks about trust — a critical aspect of the equation to be sure — and suggests that car salespeople need to rely on the trust they’ve built with customers to form the bridge from internal engines to EVs.  While I’m not sure people trust car salesmen, they certainly trust the power of their own observation and the reports of their friends.

I harken back to an early article I wrote on the migration to EVs when I first began to learn about the subject a couple of year ago.  I urged the industry: just let’s get a few of them out there.  I suggested: “Once there are a few thousand full-size EVs (Teslas, LEAFs, etc.) traveling among us, pulling up to lights next to us, parking near us — the game is over.  As soon as even a small percentage of us has a trusted neighbor or friend, or even a friend-of-a-friend zipping around, saving money in a car that lasts 10 times longer than the eco-polluter we’re driving ourselves, watch out. The internal combustion engine will be on its way out — and fast.”