Does that EV have a heater?

EV have a heater?

Several weeks ago, when we were still in the grips of some pretty cold weather, I was asked, “does your EV have a heater?” As it happens the questioner was joking. However, it points out a problem that electric vehicles (EVs) still have: there is a sense in the everyday that EVs are not like other cars.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Self driving?

There are two basic reasons for this and I’ll take the least likely first. EV development has gone hand in hand with self driving development, particularly at Tesla, and there is an assumption in some quarters that EVs are self driving. EVs are not inherently self driving, period, and even a Tesla can be driven by hand.

Further self driving technologies are available in several General Motors (GM) and Ford internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. A car does not have to be an EV to have self driving technology and being an ICE car does not preclude self driving.

To change or not to change

The second reason for the ignorance surrounding EVs has to do with change. Humans are understandably reluctant to change! Gasoline cars work, why change? And at the point of change, what exactly is changing? How deep do the changes go? Does your EV have a heater??

And I’m ignoring the politics that has been laid down on EVs from all sides.

So, allow me to reassure everyone: The only real difference between and EV and an ICE vehicle is the source of power. Electricity vs gas/diesel.

That’s it.

They both have tires and wheels, seats to sit in, a steering wheel to steer with, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, etc. etc. etc. And, of course, a heater!

They’re just cars! And in some cases trucks.

Exotica

Which reminds me, all too many times, car makers have thought they needed to make a car look exotic to get it to sell. The BMW i8 to the right for instance.

If you truly want to sell something, it really should appeal to more people.

And sometimes something is built seemingly just to get attention, like the Cybertruck, also to the right.

Its no wonder the average driver thinks EVs are too different, too out there to even have a look at.

Check out Ford‘s Blue Cruise self driving tech here and GM‘s Super Cruise here.

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