Electric Car

Two electric car charging stations were installed on campus during the second week of December.

Larry Colvin, director of facilities, said that the total cost to install the charging stations was around $2,800. Colvin also said, “There is a Board of Trustee member whom has indicated he will cover the complete cost of both of these, and these charging stations include a rebate from Consumer’s Energy, otherwise the cost would have been around $8,000”.

Junior, Andrew Todd, is the owner of the only electric car that is currently on campus. Todd’s car is a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. Todd said in an email, “To clarify, the Chevrolet Volt is not a purely electric car; it is a hybrid, this car has two modes: 100% electric mode and then, when the battery runs out, 100% gasoline mode, the car also has a 9-gallon tank as well as a gas-burning engine that kicks on seamlessly (while you are driving) when the battery dies.”

Todd also said, “The battery allows the car about 40 miles of electric driving (zero gasoline

used) and then switches to gasoline mode, burning its 9 gallons at about 40 miles per gallon for 360 miles of gasoline range.”

Todd’s gas expenses have also changed by about half the cost. “My gas expenses typically were around $80 to $100 per month when I had my old Nissan Altima that got around 25 miles per gallon; with the Volt, I typically spend around $30-$40 per month on gasoline, one additional expense with my Chevy Volt is that it requires premium fuel instead of regular, but the savings in fuel greatly outweigh the increase in per gallon cost.”

According to GreenCarReports.com the first Chevrolet Volt was released in January of 2007 and was later discontinued in November of 2018 as it was no longer meeting sales targets. Although this car has been taken off the market Andy still seems to enjoy his.