From NPR: The electric car is no longer just a project for smarty-pants MIT students. Here in the U.S., plug-in electric cars are now in showrooms and on the highways. What's missing, though, is a convenient way to refuel those cars with electricity.
That's what Russell Rankin has discovered. Rankin is an enthusiastic entrepreneur who has 13 electric vehicles charging up at the back of the Loews Hotel in Annapolis, Md. They're not quite cars, but they're more than golf carts — three rows of two seats, open on the sides, about 12 feet long. "Everybody kind of calls it a golf cart on steroids," says Rankin. "Or maybe something you'd see at Disney or something like that. It has a big bubble roof on it — it's very futuristic looking."
The vehicles are made by Global Electric Motorcars, owned by Chrysler. Rankin's company, eCruisers, uses them to squire people around the city for free. Advertising on the cars pays the freight.
After about 30 miles, the cars come back to recharge. "Our vehicles just run off a regular household outlet," Rankin says. "We have a regular three-pronged plug that you'd have on any household appliance." So that part is easy. The hard part is keeping cars charged when they're needed.
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US still lack charging infrastructures
14.12.10
MobiGreen
