Who are you? Who, who, who, who? 'Cause I really wanna know

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – my plan is for our household to always have an EV.  Of course, I have no idea which EV that will take up residence in our driveway when my ActiveE lease expires.  The reason being is that at the moment it doesn’t look like a single manufacturer will be building and selling the EV that I want by 2014.

Lamborghini 350 GTV

One thing’s clear about participating in this field trial, you quickly learn what you do and don’t want in a production EV (in fact, there’s even a Learnings for BMW i subforum in BMW’s ActiveE Forum so that Electronauts can publish their likes and dislikes for BMW to utilize for the i3 and future EVs).  Clearly this situation is that same for anyone who buys anything – you determine what you do and don’t like about your current product, and next time you’re in the market you look for one that best meets your needs.  In this case, for a product that is relatively new and for which manufacturer’s are still guessing what the consumer wants, it’s quite possible that nobody makes what you do want.  Since I’m not one of the Ferruccio Lamborghini's of the world, I don’t get to tell Carlos Ghosn how to build the Leaf, and then form my own EV company when he scoffs at me.  I pretty much have to settle for what’s out there if I want to continue driving electric. 

Me - when it comes to EVs

So when it comes to an EV, who am I?  Oddly enough, I’m a pretty simple creature.  Sure there are plenty of minor things I’d like to see improved upon from the ActiveE but would live without just to have an EV – ability to charge to a pre-specified battery percentage rather than just ‘filling up’, tweaks to the digital displays related to energy useage, adjustable regenerative braking, memory seats, etc.  Ultimately though, there are those things I want or need that I’m not [currently] willing to compromise on.  Some are technical aspects of the vehicle, while others are more about the ‘essence’ of the vehicle. 

Of the things I’m not willing to compromise on, all are currently included on at least one of the EVs that are already on the market, or planned to be marketed by 2014 - its just that none of them have everything I want.  Well, sort of.  From a technical aspect there are only three musts.  A 7.2 kW charger, minimum (to ensure minimal charging time), a large battery capacity (one that would be expected to deliver 140 miles of pure highway driving) and ability to charge from a DC Rapid Charger.  You might argue that the Chevy Volt and the upcoming BMW i3 have range extenders that would meet my range needs, and technically you would be correct.  In this case, however, my ‘must’ is battery capacity.  I have no interest in having to put gas in my EV.  Why?  Because infrequently used gas engines are a PITA.  How easy is it to get that snow blower running at the beginning of the winter, and how much maintenance does it need?  Thanks, but I’d rather have extra battery capacity in my EV than having to deal with that in my car.

From an ‘essence’ standpoint, I want a driver’s car that looks like a driver’s car – are you listening, Carlos?  I don’t want to be driving around in a bubble on wheels, even if it performs like a BMW.  Technically, the Telsa Model S meets all of these EV musts – but there’s one requirement that isn’t EV specific that it doesn’t meet – proven track record for the company.  I prefer not to buy the first model year of a vehicle, let alone the first of its kind vehicle from a company that to this point has hemorrhaged money. 

So where does that leave me?  I know who I am, but I’m pretty sure that today’s EV manufacturers don’t know me and are catering to a different audience.