Via California - March/April 2020 - 32

left to right: Chargers everywhere: Walmart in Yreka, Calif.; the Sea
Rock Inn in Mendocino; Green Springs Inn outside Ashland, Ore.

the United States. Tesla drivers already have access to more
than 800 Tesla Supercharger locations, which can supply
up to 120 kilowatts. The company's latest Superchargers-
available only to Tesla's vehicles-can go up to 250 kilowatts. But all EVs, regardless of brand, will soon have access
to approximately 3,000 fast-charging stations around the
United States.
"In the next year or two, you'll have access to fast charging every 100 miles or so almost anywhere in the country,"
says Abuelsamid.
Charging speeds depend on how full the battery is.
Empty batteries are like dry sponges that thirstily soak up
energy. But as they fill up, they absorb electrons more reluctantly and the charge slows to a trickle. That's why experienced EV drivers who want to minimize charging time wait
until their batteries are nearly depleted before stopping for
a fast charge, and they unplug before the battery is full.
At the Benbow Historic Inn, our Audi gets back up to
200 miles in range well before we finish our burgers. The
added 112 miles of range costs us $15.60. Charging at home
is dirt cheap, about the equivalent of $1 per gallon in gasoline. But highway locations are often closer to the equivalent of $4 per gallon gas, depending on the car's efficiency.
Some charging stations bill by the kilowatt-hour. (The
efficiency of EVs is often expressed in terms of how many
miles you can travel per kilowatt-hour-usually about three
to four.) Others charge by the hour; you get as much power
in that time as your EV's battery can absorb. Still others
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charge a flat fee per session. And many are free.
You couldn't put a price on our next few miles, cruising
the Avenue of the Giants. We drive through the redwoods,
the sunroof open, the breeze fresh and sweet. Another 130
miles up the coast we stop in Crescent City, Calif., where
we discover four Electrify America charging pedestals in
a Walmart parking lot. My perfectly good credit card is
repeatedly declined at the first two. I manage to get the
third to initiate a fast 150-kilowatt charge, but the process inexplicably stops when the vehicle is less than half
charged. After a few more tries, with the sky darkening, the
Audi finally has enough charge to reach Grants Pass.
The day's remaining light lingers in the sky as we travel
along Highway 199, a black strip dancing first back and forth
next to the Smith River, then over the state line following
tributaries of the Rogue. The E-Tron-with its heads-up
display and massaging seats-makes driving the twisting
two-lane road easier. That's one thing about EVs: They get
the good car tech early. They're also powerful. The whisperquiet, dual-motor engine makes it feel like a spaceship
zooming through an enchanted forest.
Our motel in Grants Pass doesn't have a charging station, but the next morning we still have some juice left
over from the day before. We spend a few minutes at a fast
charging station in Grants Pass before starting the easy
50-mile jaunt to Ashland. We drive through the bucolic
southern Oregon wine country and tranquil, historic
towns-and then we notice that our range indicator has
fallen to 20 miles. Maybe we should have spent another 10
minutes plugged into the charger in Grants Pass.
It's actually hard to run out of juice in an EV. You'd have
to completely disregard the estimated remaining range

Via California - March/April 2020

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