I may be a bit slow on the curve, or perhaps I am at the curve, or depending on how you look at it, I may be even ahead of the curve, but for whichever curve I reside at, I am proud to say I have become part of the “EV-lution” by purchasing my first electric vehicle.
Yes, I have joined the ranks of those who are committed to shrinking their carbon footprint. I ask myself, “How did I become such a tree-hugger?” I recollect it all began as a child. I am part of the ecology generation. Remember the first Earth Day? Those earth shoes, Woodsy Owl and The Crying Indian? (I recently learned he wasn’t even a real Native American, he was Italian.)
My brothers will laugh when they tell you as a child my goal in life was to own a record shop and ride my bike to work (yes, environmentalism was in my blood even then and I’m told records are making a comeback). I’ve always been the first one to tell folks to turn off lights when leaving a room.
I began to get electrified by the idea of owning an EV (lingo for electric vehicle) around the time I got solar panels. The thought of “free” fuel generated by the sun made total sense to me. Then came the uber-price-gouging of oil companies, and soon, like Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer, I screamed, Enough is Enough!
In November 2021 I laid eyes upon my future – the Nissan Ariya. I clunked down a deposit and began a vigil which would extend longer than Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin.
I scrambled for morsels of information where ever I could find them. I soon felt like Ralphie in A Christmas Story salivating over his Red Rider bb-gun. I learned about kilowatts and charging speeds and charger ports and CHAdeMO and CCS, and it was all a bit like learning a new language.
That said, I quickly learned fueling an EV is just like an ICE (internal combustible engine or gas vehicle) – it just takes longer. Eventually, charging times will quicken, but being retired, when I visit a public supercharger station, I just sit and read the newspaper or a book while my Ariya is slurping down electricity bits. It’s quite relaxing.
While awaiting my Ariya, I learned a concept I had little used in the past – patience. I had to wait 1.3 years for my dear little EV, its production plagued by hard-to-find computer chips and other shortages. It seemed like its debut suffered from delay upon delay.
Then, two days before December 25 a miracle akin to A Christmas Story happened. I got a call from the Palm Springs Nissan dealership: “Manny, your Ariya should be here before the end of the year.”
Could it be? Was it true? Would I soon be sitting in my precious little EV?
Short answer, yes. Of course it came a few days into the new year, but still it had arrived!
You may ask yourself, “Why do you care when it came?” Well, see the government offers this little, old $7,500 tax credit. Nissan reservationists had been banking on the idea that we would get that credit when we got our vehicles in 2022.
Then, The Inflation Reduction Act was signed and we were all at risk of losing the credit which was being changed. Online forums became aflame with: “I’m cancelling my reservation!”
Nissan Corporate was very wise in that they had sent us purchase contracts before the Act was implemented so we could all be grandfathered. Dodged that $7,500 bullet.
Now that I am part of the EV clan, I have learned a lot about people’s perceptions and preferences. Online, the same talk that surrounded elections has arisen. “I will never buy one of these E-guzzlers,” “Your government is shoving them down my throat,” “Wait until there’s a power shortage!” (BTW my response to the last one is: “Uh, your gas pump is fueled by electricity so I guess you’ll be out of luck too!”)
So there.
I think people back around the turn of the last century said the same thing when Ford unveiled his first vehicles: “That metal contraption will never replace my horse and buggy.”
Yes, for the time being, those of us who have joined the EV-lution may be in the minority, but I am seeing more EVs every day. When I look up and see the blue, sunny sky, I say, “It looks just a bit brighter today.”
And with that, I end this as “Poolside from PS.”
Manuel Padilla Jr. 