Teslas do this already with the center screen.
lol my kids are always disappointed when we’re done charging on road trips because they weren’t done with the episode of their TV show. We can’t even make it through one whole movie 20 minutes at a time on an all-day road trip. Supercharging really only allows enough time to stretch your legs and go for a quick walk before getting back on the road every ~200 miles or so, which you should absolutely be doing anyway.
Supercharging really only allows enough time to stretch your legs and go for a quick walk before getting back on the road every ~200 miles or so, which you should absolutely be doing anyway.
Tell that to my Canadian friend who considers anything under 7 hours an easy drive
Canadian here. 7 hours is for chumps. Can’t even get to a good city in that time.
Enough time to squeeze in an episode of Frasier. I’m down.
A better idea is a vacuum nearby the charger. Meanwhile you pay for the charge you could also pay to vacuum the car. Maybe pay for that water less car wash
A car wash and snack bar is a better was to spend 15-30m. This isn’t 2004. EVs don’t need a movie’s length of time to charge unless you’re at home.
The drive in theater option would be great for people who live in apartments with no access to a charger. To fully charge, not just top up.
I’d start with a trash can nearby. Almost none of them that I’ve been to have a trash that’s anywhere close.
I like this!
Yeah, all I can think of is that they would play ads 24/7 right in front of the parking spot.
I like this idea just for bringing back drive-in theaters. They’re pretty non-existent around me. Used to be several and it was always more fun than a regular theatre.
We have 2 near me. I don’t go as much as I’d like but they’re pretty fun
I’m sure corporate America is ready to charge you $100 to watch that movie too.
Drive in movies are often cheaper than regular movie theaters.
Not anymore. In LA at least.
Drive-in movies where you charge your car?
You’re only charging for 15ish minutes.
Oh wow you’re right. Those supercharger stations must be pushing a lot of amperage. I had no idea it only took 15 minutes for 200 miles range. I assume there would be battery degradation over time but still impressive.
So batteries are happiest to charge with high power between like… let’s call it 25-60%. Most of the time the cars will have you pull over to charge at 10-20% and you’ll only charge up to 70-75% tops.
Charging in that band would take like 15-20 mins. If you charge to 100%, it could easily take 30 mins just for the final 30% because the batteries can’t fast charge as they top off.
It really depends on the vehicle. The fastest ones (Kia/Hyundai) will charge 10-80% in ~18 minutes (350kW max). Something like a Nissan Leaf can take an hour or more.
I assume there would be battery degradation over time but still impressive.
There is degradation over time. Long term results are showing 10% capacity loss over a 10 year period. So if you start with a 300 mile range, after 10 years of use charging and discharging, you have 270 miles of range.
Anywhere from 150 to 350 kilowatts! Usually 400-800 volts. It’s pretty serious.
IMO, there’s a lot of things EV charging stations should have that they do not. Free WiFi for one. It doesn’t need to be fast, just enough that you can use the stations app or whatever to buy the electricity. There’s a nontrivial number of stations in places with poor or no 3G/4G connectivity. But it’s obvious that the station has internet somehow, so it can process transactions.
Then, for any locations that don’t have nearby amenities, maybe a covered area, or small indoor area with vending machines? Like the ones that dispense “fresh brewed coffee” which never seems very fresh. Even if it sucks, it’s something, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
Toilets. I think this is obvious, so I’ll leave it at that.
Maybe some picnic tables or benches to rest on so you’re not glued to your driver’s seat.
Make charging stations actual rest stops.
For the TV thing, that’s not bad, but I wonder how it would work to pick a movie or something. Alternatively, you could tune it to the local over-the-air channels, then turn the TV on or off based on the presence of a vehicle in the bay.
IDK, there’s a ton of work still to do.
This actually exists here, the first two rows at the Aschheim drive in cinema have chargers.
Are there many EVs that don’t have a giant screen with the capability of watching movies?
It will be really cool when AR becomes a bigger thing. Then you can watch movies or whatever anywhere.
Legitimately solid idea here, my friend!
There’s a new charging technology that allows to charge 50km of range in ten minutes already being rolled out by either Renault or Stellantis. Next step will be full charge. I like your idea but: is it necessary?
The lithium fire would make it dinner and a movie.
I would rather stop at a gas station, fill up my tank which takes like two minutes, pay and be on my way.
I 100% Guarantee you that EV owners spend less time charging their cars than you do getting gas. You don’t have a gas station in your garage (or destination chargers at work, shopping centers, hotels, parking garages etc) that add range to your car while you’re doing literally anything else. You also don’t start every day with a full tank. These destination chargers in parking lots etc are often FREE.
DC fast chargers are only used when you need to travel 200+ miles away. Which isn’t very often.
Example: With the amount that I drive I would need to go out of my way once per week to get gas. This would be conservatively 15 minutes to get to the gas station, pump the gas, and get back on track. With 52 weeks in a year that is about 12-13 hours spent pumping gas into my car. When I get home I plug in my EV and walk away, its fully charged by morning. I spent 0 minutes fuelling it. With occasional road trips I need to use superchargers about 10 times per year at 20 minutes each. ~2 hours vs 13. You would need to fast charge about 50 times per year to start to break even. At 200 miles of range each charge that means you would need to be driving 10,000 miles per year above your normal around-town and commute habits for this to make sense. Like needing to drive straight from NY to LA and back twice every year.
This is a terrible argument against electric cars that needs to die.
EV owners really need to stop being elitist snobs to people who may not live like them. We do not all live in affluent urban settings with free plentiful chargers, never driving any distance. This classiest combative attitude never convinces anyone that an EV is better or will serve their needs.
In this case it was the gas car driver who had the smug and snotty attitude and the EV driver merely disabusing them of flawed assumptions.
