Mike Couick
My youngest son just turned 15, and he is studying for his written driver’s test. It reminds me of preparing for my own license exam in 1975 and the hot pursuit of my first car.
When I landed my permit, I told Dad that I “deserved” to drive something other than the farm pickup, which, in retrospect, wasn’t all that bad. It was a double-cab Ford, complete with air horns that sounded like a Freightliner going through the middle of Clover.
I had in mind a car that would make a statement about Mike, the new driver. I knew Dad would never go for a Corvette, but I was looking for something that would say, “This guy’s got style.”
Imagine my shock when my first car turned out to be a 1962 Ford Thunderbird. Dad had purchased it from a friend whose elderly mother was no longer comfortable driving.
The T-bird had its perks. It came with every option Ford offered in 1962, including leather seats and 14-speed windshield wipers. It also had a 390 V-8 engine that guzzled gasoline every time I turned the key. Remember, this was just two years after the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo. I worked hard to keep gas in that car at the then-exorbitant price of 57 cents a gallon (believe it or not). I cut grass at $2 per hour so I could afford to drive around on the weekends. It was my first exposure to the value of energy conservation and the real-world economics of transportation.
Today, with gas in the $3-a-gallon range, millions of drivers face an entirely new set of economic realities when it comes to cars. Take electric vehicles, as an example.
In 2010, the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf were the first of a new generation of practical, production-model electric cars. Just five years later, the market is filled with electric vehicles that run the gamut from compact commuter rides to family sedans to luxury roadsters that take full advantage of the head-snapping acceleration offered by electric motors.
According to Brian Sloboda, an energy expert with the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, there are more than 215,000 electric vehicles on American roads today, and that number will continue to grow. A recent survey by Consumer Reports found that 60 percent of Americans will consider an electric vehicle when they make their next car purchase.
What does owning an electric car say about the driver? Electric cars produce no greenhouse gas emissions, and a study by Navigant Research shows that electric motors are three times more efficient than internal-combustion engines, making electricity a cheaper fuel per mile traveled than gasoline.
As prices fall, technology improves, and more new models hit dealer showrooms, consumers will buy electric cars for all the emotional and practical reasons they buy a gas-powered car today, but I believe the common thread will be the underlying personal statement, “This driver is smart.”
For utilities, electric cars present challenges and opportunities. Daily charging of an electric vehicle can increase a home’s total electricity consumption 13 to 40 percent, depending on the miles driven. As electric cars become common, co-ops may have to upgrade their infrastructure, but they’ll also be able to work with members to improve service across the board.
The massive batteries inside electric cars can store energy and help supply power to the home or back to the grid when needed. And if cars are routinely charged during the overnight off-peak hours between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., utilities will be able to fill in the gaps of the morning and evening demand spikes, effectively keeping electricity rates lower for all consumers.
My son’s first car may or may not be electric (his mother and I are putting off that decision until he has a license in hand), but I’ll wager a set of hubcaps for a 1962 Ford Thunderbird that electric cars will definitely be a part of his—and every driver’s—future.