Smartlet Charging Stations An Idea To Recharge Your Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle

Cool idea - so basically, your car's plug would have a credit card magnetic stripe on it and whenever you plug your car into a parking meter-like device to charge, the electric company would know who to bill. Sounds good to me.


The article says "..an estimated 40 mile range of the electric motor of the upcoming Toyota just don’t cut it for many commuters."

Did I miss something? Is Toyota coming out with a new EV?
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I think the article is assuming the Prius plug in that is rumored to get around 40 on just electric.

It will be interesting to see the price model. On average it cost about $.75 in electricity to charge a battery capable of driving a car for 40 miles and takes 6-8 hours to fully charge. I really think that at first places will charge for such a thing, but in the future it will be used as a perk. Just like Wi-Fi. Every restaurant and coffee shop in the future will have "Free EV plug in for customers". It's similar and cheaper than validating parking!

 

Greedy as they are, Starbucks NOW charges for WiFi !
I remember I had gone there one day and it was free, and I went there the following day, and it said $10 for an access code, and I said "Wth?!!!" I go to their competitors who still offer free WiFi. Starbucks is bad news - next thing you know, they'll start charging admission to walk in the door.