On evs & phevs

In this blogging section, I’ll riff on EVs & PHEVs, from both a practical perspective and from a political perspective.

Tire makers need to make better tires for electric cars

Christof Demont-Heinrich
So, after writing a blog entry about my less than impressive experience with tire wear and electric car driving across the past four and a half years, I've got a cadre of "fans" in a Chevy Bolt Owner's Facebook Group who are saying -- many in very patronizing fashion -- that the problem with my Chevy Bolt tires is not the tires: It's me!

Premature tire wear appears to be biggest maintenance issue for electric cars

Christof Demont-Heinrich
So, the standard line about electric cars and maintenance is that they require a lot less maintenance, and money, than gasoline cars. With four-and-a-half years of electric car driving under my belt, I can attest to the truth of this statement: My personal experience has shown that EVs require A LOT less money to maintain than gas cars. This is true for everything -- except when it comes to tires!

Denver to Santa Barbara in a Chevy Bolt: Day 3, Las Vegas to Goleta, Calif.

Christof Demont-Heinrich
I was envisioning feeling triumphant when we got to my sister's in Goleta, Calif., three days, and 1,200 miles, after starting our long-distance road trip in our all-electric Chevy Bolt in Littleton, Colo. In fact, I did feel pretty triumphant driving the final leg of our trip from Victorville, Calif. to Goleta, Calif., which is about a 170-mile drive. Although we hit some "bumps" along the way -- including a confrontation I had with another Chevy Bolt driver at a EV-Go DC fast charger in Victorville today after he unplugged me while I was in the mall with my kids -- it felt pretty good to be zooming along California 101, on a beautiful late July evening as the sun set on the Pacific ocean.