The Electric Lure

When I made the decision to switch from an integrated combustion engine (ICE) vehicle to an extended range electric vehicle (EREV), I did so with the full knowledge that there would be days when I would have to use at least a little gasoline. In fact, I absolutely expected that I would have work days where I would need to travel multiple locations for meetings, site visits, etc and even with an opportunity to fully charge once at work, the ICE built into my Volt as a generator would run at times.

This was the main reason I chose the Volt. It was not the only reason, but it was definitely an crucial factor. There was also the fact that the Volt is a sporty car, and apparently I am that superficial. But function was definitely ahead of form in the decision making process.

Fast-forward to the present day. True confession time, folks.

I HATE to use gasoline. I abhor the need to switch from the beautiful battery screen to the (blech) gas pump screen. It makes me want to scream. My blood pressure rises when my battery level reaches zero. I get downright angry, mostly with myself, for allowing such a thing to happen.

There is no logical, rational reason to feel this way. Even when running on gasoline, I get excellent mileage. And of course we all know I have yet to open my pressurized gas tank to add gasoline. In fact, my gas tank is still 60% full with 5.6 gallons of the (probably crap 87% octane) gasoline with which I drove off the Autonation lot on May 30.

So what am I to do? I have mastered the fine art of hypermiling, I think, for the most part. I have avoided making unnecessary stops on the road because the simple process of restarting the car always "burns" a couple of miles of battery without going very far.

I plug my car in when I get home from work instead of using it to tote kids around, even though taking Brian's Journey is most definitely a bigger waste of gasoline.

Perhaps in time I will get past this feeling of "wasting" the power of my Volt by driving it using the ICE generator. In my head, when I intellectualize with myself, I know that even if I take the Volt every time I leave the house, I am still saving money, saving gasoline, and doing what is best for my family and the environment. But my commitment to using battery power as much as possible is too strong, at least for the time being.

What does all of this mean? If I search within myself, I don't need to dig too deep to know that my next car will be fully electric. I'll be driving the Volt until November 2020, when Sheridan gets her driver's license. Whether it be a Tesla Model 3 or some other vehicle that has yet to be released, I will certainly be ready at that point to make the most full commitment a person can make towards zero emissions driving.

Hopefully by then, we will have photovoltaic panels on our roof as well and CAN be truly zero emissions humans.

It's worth noting that in 2020, I'll turn 50. At that point, I may just change my mind and buy a Corvette. Who knows?