Despite these efforts, the evidence is increasingly clear: Electric vehicles are not ready for prime time.
People buy vehicles to get them where they want to go, when they want to go there, with the things they want to take along with them. Yet a June study from AAA found that electric trucks lose nearly 25% of their range when they haul heavy loads. Even when they’re carrying 100 pounds less than their maximum load, their range drops off precipitously.
Trucks powered by combustion engines can lose range, too. But when you compare them with electric vehicles, traditional vehicles have a clear advantage. Atowing test, carried out in July 2022, compared the capacity of a Ford F-150 Lightning to a gasoline-powered GMC Sierra when both trucks were towing a 6,100 lb. trailer at highway speeds. The gasoline-powered Sierra managed to pull the trailer 156 miles with an estimated 65 miles remaining in the tank, for a total of just over 220 miles.
It’s not just trucks. Electric vehicles, as a whole, are less convenient options for getting people where they want to go. Thedescribed a nightmare of an EV-powered trip from New Orleans to Chicago, highlighting range anxiety as well as extended charging times. Certainly electric vehicles have their staunch defenders, and they appear to be OK for short trips around larger cities, where ample charging infrastructure exists. But they will fail to meet the needs of many drivers who live in rural areas or routinely need to travel on highways. Politicians are floating