$8.50 a Gallon

Despite the crazy drivers and the legendary traffic jams, the availability of good cheap public transportation and the concentrations of people in urban centers, it quite possible to live in most of Europe without owning a car. This is true in some American cities – like New York or Washington, D.C. – but hardly all. But if you want to drive a car in, say, Amsterdam, prepare to face prices at the pump that are double what we see here in the states. It’s that way all over Europe as fuel taxes serve as driving disincentives, forcing car engines into less power and less displacement, luring folks to public transportation. Exorbitant fees and difficulty finding a space make parking a seeming luxury, and in some urban capitals, just having the right to drive into the center of the city requires a separate fee.

But people like their cars, the freedom to take a drive into the countryside on the weekend or perhaps the necessity of a vehicle to commute to or in connection with your work. So along with the desire to reduce the number of cars is a countervailing pressure to remove gas and diesel-burning vehicles from the road, European nations are addressing the issues of alternatively-fueled cars and trucks. Driving distances can be relatively short in many spots on the continent, so range is somewhat of lower priority than across the vast American road system. Thus, electric cars have a strong local appeal, and some European nations have prioritized this form of powered vehicle, including the infrastructure to maximize viability.

“Despite gaining its wealth from oil, Norway has staked its future elsewhere. In alternative transport, it’s now the world center for electric cars. Per capita, it has the most in the world, with 4,000 now running around its capital, Oslo… In small cars, electric models now outsell all others, but new [electric] models are appearing for sale in every car type, including sports cars…The cars get free parking, can use bus lanes and avoid congestion charges, so these incentives are driving ownership. As is, as one new owner [noted], that although they are more expensive to buy they are much less expensive to run… A typical range is 150 miles and that costs around $2.90 in Norway for an overnight charge.” Care2.com, April 6^th, 2012.

But it is often about infrastructure. Think about how many gas stations are in the United States. Although the number of such retail outlets has been steadily declining over the past decade, from over 200,000 in1994, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, today there are slightly more than 121,000 such facilities. To add electric charging capacity is a challenge, since even a fast charge can take 20 minutes, and a battery swap is a feature that most drivers aren’t really comfortable with.

That challenge has been taken up by the Netherlands, which is still trying to boost the sale of electric cars, which despite brisk sales still lags behind projections, to meet national pollution standards. “To encourage electric driving, the country is developing a rapidly expanding national grid of charging stations in cities and along highways; and Amsterdam offers owners of electric vehicles free street parking and charging. With hefty tax breaks, promotional leases and cheaper operating costs, the vehicles offer driving costs no more than those of conventional cars, some analysts say.

“The number of plug-in electric vehicles in the Netherlands soared eightfold to about 7,500 last year, and charging posts dot the sidewalks. ‘In a few countries you’re starting to see a number of E.V.’s [electric vehicles] on the road, especially in capital cities; they’re very visible,’ said Peder Jensen, a transportation expert at the European Environment Agency.” New York Times, February 9^th. With enough cars in the system, where the electrical grid can support the load, it is possible to combine parking meters with recharging capacity.

Still, there are pressures to use the resources we have. Oil-based gasoline and diesel fuel have the history and the infrastructure. Hydrogen-power fuel cells really haven’t caught on yet. And there are pressures in North America to turn our vast natural gas resources into viable alternative fuels for most cars. But this is a “burning fossil fuel.” Still, as the changing weather patterns suggest, there is a bigger problem in our selection of power choices. If we are generating electricity primarily from coal, is a change to electric cars really that environmentally sound or are we just fooling ourselves? Governments seem to think that where conscious environmentally-sensitive power generation is possible (easier in a central facility than in millions of cars), however, the electric car is a good answer.

But getting people to change is a tall order, albeit probably inevitable. In the United States, even though the new Tesla S sedan is walking away with many “car of the year” awards, it is a limited production high-end car. Sales of the range-impaired plug-in-electric Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf were disappointing. Hybrid sales have been somewhat better. “Last year 120,000 plug-in electric vehicles were sold globally, according to a recent report byPike Research, an industry analyst group, which predicts 40 percent annual growth between now and 2020. In 2012, 52,000 were sold in the United States, which now has 12,000 charging stations, according to the automotive consulting firm J. D. Power; but they are dispersed over a large area. Those statistics include pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids, which can run on gas or propane once the battery loses power.

“Though many analysts had assigned electric vehicles to the second-car niche, a 2012 survey of Dutch drivers of the cars by the consulting firm Accenture found that most of them ended up being used as a family’s primary vehicle.

“Drivers learned to figure out how far they could drive on a charge, overcoming what has been dubbed ‘range anxiety.’ They started off cautiously driving straight from home to the office, knowing they could charge at one or both sites. Over time, they expanded their driving repertory, learning where to find charging points in garages and along highways — a smartphone app contains them all — much as people learn the locations of convenient A.T.M.’s. That task was made easier by the growing number of chain stores and restaurants offering parking spots with charging outlets, so that customers can refuel while they dine or shop.” NY Times.  Are you looking for a new car? Have you considered a hybrid or plug-in alternative? If gasoline were priced at over $5/gallon, would that change your mind? Trust me; we’ll get there sooner than you think.

I’m Peter Dekom, and getting folks to change their habits happens one consumer at a time.