Zero E-Michigan

EV Road Trip Plan - Day 2 Litchfield, IL into Michigan Day 2 Route: Litchfield, IL to Benton Harbor, MI Assuming Day 1 has gone as according to the plan laid out in the prior blog entry , I should be in Litchfield, IL on the morning of Day 2 with a full charge courtesy of  Victory Lane Ford  and/or Level 1 (120 V) charging from whatever hotel I select. Day 2 will trace along Interstate 55 and Historic Route 66 into the Chicago outskirts.  Thanks to several EVGo DC Quick Chargers (DCQC), I anticipate zipping along the southern edge of Lake Michigan rather quickly. And I'm Off On a normal road trip, I tend to check out of the hotel, refill my coffee cup and hop on the highway.  In this case, range and speed efficiency is everything.  Therefore, I'll stick to back roads where I can travel 45-50 MPH. Interstate Highway and Adjacent Access Road (arrow) Access Roads Along many Interstate highways including I-70 and I-55, there are often acce...

Can Electric Vehicles Go On Road Trips? Gas stations?  We don't need no stinkin' gas stations! I frequently attend electric vehicle (EV) outreach events such as National Drive Electric Week, car shows, and sometimes I even get accosted at public EV chargers.  In addition to questions like "how far can you go on a charge?" and "how long does it take to charge?", one of the most frequent questions I hear from drivers unfamiliar with EVs is "what happens when you want to go on a road trip?"  Although people prefer a simple answer, in this case, it's complicated and it's heavily dependent on what type of car you have. The quick answer:  Yes, but it may not be convenient...yet. Road Tripping in a Plug-In Hybrid For those unfamiliar with the term plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), sometimes called an extended range electric vehicle, these cars have an electric drive train with an internal combustion engine (ICE) as a range ex...