The humorist Dave Barry once described Man on the Street interviews as (and I’m paraphrasing) “Finding an unsuspecting stranger in a supermarket lot and badgering him into having an opinion about something.”
I’ve met my share of strangers while charging EVs in parking lots and had interesting, mostly badger-free conversations. At these water coolers of the electric world, we’ve talked about cars or commiserated about the dodgy state of (non-Tesla) charging. Fortunately, these owners aren’t pushing fast-moving shopping carts.
Every public plugger is stuck in place for at least 10 minutes, usually more, a captive audience twiddling on smartphones or obsessively monitoring an energy screen while the miles add up. It’s easy to strike up conversations, especially when you roll up in a sparkling new or exotic model that few people have seen in person.
Some people asked me about what I was driving here, even with the Honda Prologue Elite as my test car—as blandly handsome and passably talented as a CW Network star.
Photo by: Electrify America
Electrify America EV Chargers
A word about methodology: With a hat tip to Barry, I wasn’t here to quiz people about Chinese tariffs or harangue them for thoughts on the Inflation Reduction Act. Consider this a random snapshot of people who are buying EVs and making charging part of their everyday lives. And as the number of EVs on U.S. roads has tripled since 2021 to more than 5 million by the end of last year, I’m definitely struck by the wider cross-section of owners I meet.
It’s no longer just early adopters or techies up-to-speed on all things EV, but regular folks who can’t always tell a kilowatt from J.J. Watt. That’s not a knock: I’d argue it’s a good sign to meet EV owners who know as little about how their cars work or what a BYD is as ICE drivers who can’t tell you how many cylinders their cars have. They don’t need to know as long as their car does its job, has the requisite number of seats, and fits their budget. When the full EV experience requires that little homework or advanced knowledge—and we’re not there yet, despite what plug-in Pollyannas might say—then everyone will drive an EV.
But don’t take it from me. As these diverse owners migrated through electric watering holes in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, here’s what the electric vox populi had to say.
Photo by: Google Maps
Walmart Supercenter, Providence
Four Electrify America posts with eight total plugs, including two 350-kilowatt plugs and one lonely CHAdeMO.
If a second car plugs into a dual-outlet EA post, the one already running instantly shuts down. For months, owners have been warning prospective users that there is strictly one post per customer. EA reps claim to be aware of the issue but have done little to solve it.
A hefty 64 cents per kWh, or $27.77 to add just 125 miles to my Prologue over 23 minutes. At a Rhode Island average of $2.95 for a gallon of unleaded, that’s the equivalent per-mile price of an ICE car that gets 13 mpg. Ouch.
Photo by: Lucid Motors
Tim and Allyssa are lording it at this always-hopping EA station, pulling up in his-and-hers Lucid Airs with two toddlers strapped into the back of Alyssa’s Touring model. The young marrieds would normally be juicing up at their nearby home, but like an updated I Love Lucy episode, Alyssa ran over the charging cord. They’re waiting on an electrician to fix it, taking advantage of Lucid’s free EA charging. Tim was formerly a loyal German luxury owner.
“I hated EVs,” Tim admits. “I was one of those people, thinking it wasn’t realistic. But people just need proper education on the cars.”
Tim initially drove a Tesla Model S and loved the big screen but hated the fit-and-finish. In contrast, his leased Air Grand Touring “is literally the best car ever,” not least for its 450 miles of real-world range, enough for the family to drive to New York and back with miles to spare. “It’s a game changer,” he says.
Tim can’t wait for Lucid to adopt Tesla’s NACS plug to gain access to its unrivaled network. After a speedy opportunity charge, from 10% to 38% in eight minutes, the couple departs, but not before Tim offers an unsolicited opinion: “Oh, and Electrify America sucks.”
Photo by: InsideEVs
Xavier, who works in the medical department of the Wyatt Detention Center—a prison in nearby Central Falls—arrives and hooks up a black Kia EV6. She’s part of a group that raises my eyebrows while earning my respect: the person who buys an EV despite having no garage, driveway, or access to home charging.
“Some people thought I was crazy,” Xavier says. “They’d be asking, ‘No gas? Not even half gas’? The first week, I was definitely in panic mode.”
The panic subsided, and these charging stops have become a welcome refuge. “I can relax, send emails, take a nap,” she says. “It makes me plan more, which I don’t mind. Some people just don’t have the patience.
“This station gets crowded, and sometimes the screen will go all black, but you can still charge.”
Driving the Kia is just as rewarding, even after using up her 1,000-kWh allotment of free EA electricity. “I always forget my car is on. But I like the silence. The EV6 is fast, it’s spacious, and I feel these EVs are affordable. I absolutely recommend them.”
Those aforementioned EV newbies include a relatively recent demographic: People who rent rideshare EVs through Avis. In short order, I meet three side-hustling Uber drivers renting a respective Chevy Bolt, Kia EV6 and Polestar 2. Their weekly rentals, including unlimited mileage, roadside assistance and liability insurance, range from about $260 to $420 a week. That sounds like a lot of money, but to drivers like Teofolo, it makes perfect sense: Before Teofolo rented the Bolt, the local man racked up 70,000 miles on his Nissan in a matter of months, shelling out for two sets of tires and constant maintenance.
Carlos Alarcon isn’t earning a dime right now. His Kia EV6 is stuck, drained empty, apparently having spent its last particle of electricity while he waited for a charging spot.
“Do you know a lot about these cars?” he asks me when his Kia refuses to shift into neutral or release its parking brake. (I assume the EV6 has some energy buffer or crawl mode for these situations, but I can’t be sure how Carlos got into this mess). I hop inside and manage to get the Kia into a rolling neutral, and we push the car into an open stall for desperately needed sustenance.
Tina Carvalho has become a regular here since renting her snazzy Polestar 2 just two weeks ago. The certified nursing assistant recognizes Carlos, a former high school classmate, and the two offer a warm hello. Tina says her wife recently lost her job, and her goal is to make $200 a day driving, but without the brutal wear-and-tear on her personal 2022 Chrysler Pacifica. Her personal high was $500 in one day around Newport, the posh coastal town and tourist destination.
“There are big tippers out there,” says Tina, who starts as early as 4 a.m. to take advantage of surge pricing. “The car pays for itself, and my bills get paid.”
“I just love it,” she says of the Polestar, which often draws questions from curious riders unfamiliar with the fledgling EV brand. “But I don’t like the charging part; I feel like I’m here a lot.”
Photo by: Plugshare
Electrify America Chargers
Wrentham Village Premium Outlets, Massachusetts
Four EA posts with seven total 150-kilowatt plugs and one CHAdeMo.
The charger repeatedly rejects two credit cards before an AMEX card does the trick. Then, the charge inexplicably cuts off, forcing me to start over.
A slightly less exorbitant 56 cents per kilowatt-hour.
When I pull up, a sleek Audi E-Tron GT—no owner in sight—is already filled to 100%. The charger’s 10-minute grace period is spent, and watching the idle fees pile up becomes more entertaining than Netflix. Filling in mental blanks on Mr. Audi, I’m betting he’s in the Burberry outlet, admiring himself in a plaid-cashmere bomber jacket.
Photo by: Patrick George
Near a shady copse of mall-planted saplings, backed by a massive transformer, Nick Thompson backs in a Kia EV9 and initiates a charge. Unlike the Lucid owners’ sleepy toddlers, Nick’s infant daughter Lily is in full cry as he pops the tailgate and changes her diaper in the cargo area. The Android engineer traded a Subaru Forester for the decidedly more attention-getting EV9.
“Every time he stops, people come out of the woodwork to ask questions,” Nick’s wife says from the back seat.
The Massachusetts couple wanted a family-friendly SUV that could hold their baby and sports gear. They had considered models including a Volkswagen ID.4, but weren’t impressed. Nick bemoaned the limited number of affordable electric choices across all body styles. That, he said, along with a lack of plug standardization and the random quality and availability of public charging, are what’s holding EVs back from the masses.
“It’s also a shame how EVs have become this political talking point,” says Nick, a former Army soldier who served in Afghanistan. “If you buy one and want to make any progress, you’re labeled as being in a certain camp. But I think that will change as other big manufacturers get into it. The switch to EVs is inevitable, so you might as well get in now.”
As I head for home in my Honda, the Audi E-Tron still hasn’t moved. Its owner has racked up $33.60 in idle charges, surpassing the $33.54 price of the charge. At least there are no frustrated owners waiting for the spot, indulging darkly pleasurable fantasies of keying a six-figure Audi. I scan the vast parking lot, but there’s not a Burberry bag in sight.
This charging station, like any other, takes all kinds.
Lawrence Ulrich is an award-winning freelance automotive journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. He’s also the former chief auto critic of The New York Times and a contributing editor at Road & Track.
