Your home for EVs in Rural America
Here is a summer recap. Unfortunately we recorded it in September and we’re already two-thirds of the way through Fall.
It’s been a busy year, but we love recording and talking all things EV. Hopefully we can get our act together and finish the year strong.
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a·nath·e·ma /əˈnaTHəmə/ noun Something or someone that one vehemently dislikes.
car·math·e·ma /car MATH amuh/ noun The reluctance of people to do basic math regarding EV ownership (which is anathema to me).
Kentucky now has an EV tax in place supposedly to offset waning revenue from the 26 cent per gallon gasoline tax. A spokesman for EvolveKY, an EV advocacy group headquartered in Louisville, said that he was not surprised and that “it needed to come. We need to pay our fair share.” The fee is $120 and will be paid when the car is registered every year (another tax). There is also a 3 cent per kWh tax on public charging to be collected by the station owner and paid to the state monthly.
Make no mistake, any EV owner in Kentucky knew this was an eventuality, but this prompted me to question what exactly is a “fair share”? Turns out that if you do a little math, a flat tax on an EV is comparing apples to oranges with regards to the traditional “use more, pay more” model of the standard gas tax.
A fundamental difference is that the gas tax is “hidden” in the price of a gallon of gasoline. The EV tax smacks you in the face when you renew your tags.
Would traditional drivers change their driving habits if they had to pay their taxes in one lump sum the way EV drivers are now being asked required to?
After examination, I think the way we assess these taxes is inherently flawed, but in reality it all comes down to choice. A Suburban driver is taxed more than a Subaru driver based on fuel efficiency alone, but what you drive is a choice. Toyota Tundra owners know driving a truck is more expensive than driving a Camry. It’s a choice they make based on what they value. I believe it’s worth $120 a year to drive an EV, but that’s my choice.
In my opinion, there is room for improvement for the entire system, but try to find a lawmaker that wants to do the math. The bottom line is that taxes are inevitable, but calling it “fair” is a bit of a stretch.
Let us know what you think?
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We are back. Welcome to 2024. We recorded this episode on January 22 in the middle of a polar vortex. As you can see, it took me (Ben) a while to get it posted. I do apologize and hope to do better. Every day is an adventure, huh?
In mid-January, our part of the world experienced heavy snow (more than usual anyway) followed by bitter cold. This was true for most of the eastern part of the U.S. and we were greeted by several news stories where Tesla drivers were having trouble charging. Either the car wouldn’t charge or it took extraordinarily long.
To say the least, the tone for most of these was “See? EVs SUCK!”
We try to educate, mostly ourselves, but sometimes it bleeds over to you, our loyal listeners. So, let’s discuss what’s going on and what we can do about it.
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Last week, Kentucky announced the first round of National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure grant recipients. Sixteen projects submitted by six entities are now funded with $10.9 million in tax payer dollars. While I agree this is good for EV promotion and adoption, I was a little dismayed when a map of said projects showed an obvious lack of development east of Interstate 75, allowing eastern Kentucky to remain a public infrastructure wasteland.
Admittedly, I’m a bit of a conspiracy theorist only because so many theories have been proven as fact, so my default attitude is distrust and I am looking for ulterior motives especially when it comes to government activity. (I still have no idea who killed JFK, but I do have my suspicions). When the accompanying map showing the location of the projects was unveiled, I immediately began to question why the most rural parts of the state were being overlooked for infrastructure projects, even though I see more EVs on the road in my area daily. I settled on three possible causes: population density, median household income and political ideology. In this episode, we compare rural America and Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) states in regards to these causes.
By the U.S. Census Bureau defintion, I don’t live in a rural area as there are more than 2,500 people in the region, BUT I do live in “small-town America” (STA). The population of Laurel County, where Brent and I live, is 62,000+ and we claim the original KFC although its in the next town down. There are fewer potential EV owners here than many “towns”, much less cities, in other states.
The mean annual income is less than a base model Tesla Model 3, another reason not to target this area. Financing over 72 months would require the populous to spend 20% of their pre-tax income on a vehicle. It’s a tough task given the fact that EVs are still proving themselves as a viable alternative, part of which is due to the next reason, political ideology.
Rural America is much more conservative than all of the ZEV states and this is demonstrated by any Red State/Blue State map. We’ve said all along, the environmental movement, including the promotion of electric vehicles, is deemed a Liberal idea and is quickly met with opposition “in these parts.” I think this is stupidity on display, but it is still an obstacle to EV adoption in STA.
Rural Americans deserve the benefits that EVs offer, but I have to remind myself that we are still in the infancy of this movement. Improved infrastructure in STA will come with time. Enjoy our discussion and let us know your thoughts.
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Patience is Cumbersome.
That pretty much sums up this entire episode in three words. As we resume our discussion of the road trip recently taken by the Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, the author of the NPR article, Camila Domonoske, makes her arguments for why non-Tesla EVs have a “road trip problem”.
First, she sees planning a road trip as cumbersome. Second, there is a lack of infrastructure, which contributes to the first point. Third, the chargers are not fast enough. And finally, the charging infrastructure is unreliable.
She’s not wrong, but there are several things to consider. We are in the infancy of EV adoption. It seems like we are farther along, but realistically, we are just a toddler attempting the first steps of a marathon long course. JD Powers says that worry about public charging is the number one reason people are hesitant to change to electric. It is a concern, but remember 90% of charging is done at home.
But Ms. Domonoske’s points are valid. We want to go when we want to go and we don’t want anything to slow us down. Look at it this way, walking requires rest breaks, horses need water, cars need to refuel, and EVs will need to charge. As technology advances, this argument will become smaller and smaller, but all forms of travel require us to interrupt our journey at some point. There aren’t enough fast, reliable charging ports available, but that is why there is such a push to build the infrastructure to support a mass fleet of EVs.
The bottom line is this is a process and it requires patience. “Patience is when you’re supposed to be mad, but you choose to understand.” I don’t know who said it, but no truer words have been spoken.
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Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, set out on a whistle stop tour of the south east to promote EVs and EV adoption recently. Embedded in her caravan was an NPR reporter, who, like Madame Secretary, is a long time EV owner. The four day trip covered several stops for town hall style meetings from Charlotte, North Carolina to Memphis, Tennessee. Everything was business as usual, until a local sheriff department outside of Atlanta was called…
Okay, those are the facts of the story and in this episode, we look at what happened. Basically an over-zealous staffer thought he would do Mrs. Granholm a favor and save a charging port for her by ICE-ing out other people waiting to charge. For us, though, the bigger story is a statement made by the reporter, Camila Domonoske; “EVs that aren’t Teslas have a road trip problem…” This is the setup for a longer exploration of this question on the next episode. Ms. Domonoske makes some valid points and offers topics for consideration.
On a side note, Brietbart had a very different take on the story. In fact, after we recorded, they had three articles by three different people on the same story. None of them were positive toward EVs, once again proving that EVs are very political and have become a hot-button buzzword to activate the fringes of both sides of the political spectrum. From a common sense perspective, EVs are very practical but there is a long way to go before they become the first choice for consumers without any coercion. We think EVs will stand on their own merit once the infrastructure is in place and people can see how practical they really are.
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Last week we discussed the BMW tweet where they called everyone “boomers”. We found out after the fact that the article was almost two years old but we thought the question they asked was still valid and relevant- “What’s your reason not to change?”
After much thought, the answers to such a question are varied. Perhaps the idea of being an early adopter (yes, it’s still early) seems daunting and you want to see what other people do. Or, maybe, there’s too many things to consider and staying with gasoline or diesel seems the easiest route. It could be you have a tinfoil hat and EVs are just a government conspiracy to control where we go and what we do by forcing us into them and then limiting the energy to use them. (You’re not alone.) Conceivably, you’re not comfortable with change or what it may bring with it. Whatever the reason, it all boils down to FEAR; fear of being first, fear of the unknown, and fear of making a mistake. Sometimes fear is justified, but most often it’s not. It’s an internal dialogue you have with yourself that can blow things out of proportion and cloud your judgement.
I’ve found, as it is often expressed, that the best way to overcome fear is to take action. I’m not saying you should face your concerns by going out and buying a Tesla, but you can start doing research on one. You can investigate available charging networks in your area or talk to your EV owning co-worker. Identify your concern, clearly assess the situation and look at the evidence. I promise you that you are not the first EV owner and seldom is adopting one going to prove fatal. You can always go back to ICE… for now, but that’s another topic for another day.
EVs are coming because change is coming. You can let the change happen or you can control the change. For us the answer is “There is no reason not to change. Bring it on!”
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This episode is just a wrap up of EVolveKY’s EV education event hosted in conjunction with the Laurel County Kiwanis Club. There was a bevy of EVs from A to Z (Nissan Ariya to many other Zero emission vehicles.)
Ben and Brent discuss their impressions and take aways from the event.
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A startup called Ample is working with Fisker to create battery exchange stations for EVs that would rival traditional gas stations in speed and convenience. They can be constructed quickly and may be a better use of taxpayer dollars going toward infrastructure were it not for one thing: A lack of standardization in the EV world.
The automotive industry has standardized many things in the name of safety and service. Many things, like spark plugs, are interchangeable between manufacturers, most supplied by third-party manufacturers supplying the industry. Many things are still proprietary. Why not make batteries interchangeable and boost EV adoption through something easily replaceable?
Battery exchange isn’t necessarily a new idea, but now Ample is working on proof of concept. We think this could be a great way to remove barriers of entry and many concerns people have about EVs. What do you think?
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Have you ever bought something that didn’t really live up to the hype? I know I have.
There is a YouTube channel called Jetters Garage and our attention was directed to a video entitled “Ford Watched My Viral Lightning Video – Amazing What They Said” which was a follow up to a video entitled “Why I regret buying a Ford Lightning! (EV Electric Truck)“. Jet is not new to EVs, having owned a Tesla Model S for seven years in San Diego, California.
That is a click-bait title if ever I’ve seen one, and I admittedly fall for click-bait often, but I was intrigued and started with the first video. Jet outlines the pros and cons of his new 2023 F-150 Lightning in the video and reveals his experience on a recent road trip. (At the time of this post, the video is 2 months old with 571K views.) His observations are interesting, yet not unexpected, regarding a newly introduced car model. These videos are must-see if you’re considering purchasing an F-150 Lightning.
This brings us to our discussion of his videos and his experience in general. Brent and Ben discuss some of their perceptions of living in southeastern Kentucky (SeKY) versus SoCal. We talk ownership, charging in public, and electric rates, including time of use (TOU) and why it makes sense there and not here.
Does Jet’s experience differ greatly from someone in small-town America? Listen to our opinion and feel free to weigh in with your own.
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