If you think about it carefully, gas stations and electric vehicle charging stations are very similar in their development over time. Automobile infrastructure history is repeating itself.
We’ve all heard the complaints about electric vehicles, “They have limited range,” and “Electric vehicle charging stations are too far apart.” Go back eighty years, and you’d hear the same complaints, “Gas stations are too far apart.” Funny how history repeats itself, and automobile infrastructure is no different. Nissan interviewed 97-year-old Charlie Yeager, a lifelong automotive enthusiast, about all the changes he’s seen in the automotive world since his first car.
Back in those days, there were no superhighways, drivers were happy to have a 60mi stretch of concrete from Chicago to Danville, and it was decades until the US Interstate Highway System was finally complete.
Gas stations weren’t on every corner, and drivers had to memorize where they were so they wouldn’t run out of gas between fillups. Today is the same with electric vehicles, about 50,000 Nissan Leaf alone, but instead of memorizing gas station locations, Nissan Leaf owners can use a smartphone app to find the nearest electric vehicle charging stations.
The last revolution in transportation occurred about a hundred years ago, and horse-and-buggy types, I’m sure, were sure to heckle new-fangled automobiles stuck on the side of the road when they forgot where the nearest gas station was. Today, though, the next automobile revolution is taking place, and the horse-and-buggy was left behind. I’m thinking we’re close to the point of seeing electric vehicle charging stations on every corner, and conventional automobiles could become a thing of the past.
