Get an electric Accord!  Yes, it is a coupe, too.

I began writing this post to complain about poor electric vehicle infrastructure and how it seriously hinders the feasibility of electric cars.  I mean, look at that! It’s a 110 (120?) volt plug that would take a Chevy Volt all night to charge a paltry 35 mile range.  No wonder electric vehicle sales are still so low in the US.

However, after a minute of using just 10% of my brain (thanks Lucy!), I realized that the future of electric vehicles will never allow for the same type of operation as the gas automobile.  It consists of consistent charging, providing amps here, there, and everywhere.  Charge for 30 minutes when you are in Starbucks, as I am while writing this (minus the electric vehicle).  Electric vehicles won’t travel from full to empty and back to full like their gasoline counterparts.

This is purely speculation, and I’m sure I will be proven wrong in the future, but it provides an exciting theoretical where we can begin to imagine all the future “quick charge” possibilities.  Why not tap into the under-street power grid and provide chargers at parking meters?  Induction charging in the pavement at red lights could be an ambitiously expensive way earn back a mile of range.  Could AAA bring a battery to your car instead of an extra few gallons to provide a quick 30 miles?

There are endless possibilities to the future.  No wonder nobody knew the profound impact the internal combustion automobile would have on our culture.  In much the same way, we still have yet to grasp how electric vehicles will once again transform the landscape.  Maybe a parking garage investing in slow 110 volt chargers instead of more expensive fast-charging stations is a prudent decision.  Maybe Tesla will look foolish in 15 years for wasting so much capital on their supercharger infrastructure.  Maybe Tesla will set the standard for future proprietary charge stations.

I will never be the legislator, inventor, or engineer who revolutionizes the electric car with a future charging standard, but I can’t wait until there is one.  It could be you.