Military adding more electric vehicles to fleet

[JamesMcQuaid]

From Stars and Stripes:

http://www.stripes.com/news/military...fleet-1.184928

So far, the military has acquired 168 road-capable, plug-in electric vehicles, such as the Volt, and more are on the way, according to Air Force spokeswoman Tonya Racasner, whose service branch is overseeing the military’s effort to acquire more electric vehicles.

[joebert]

Good idea. There are a lot of "company cars" that generals and such get for driving off base when they're allowed to.

Once you hit a certain level, you're kind of required to be on base 24x7, and when you leave, your backup lives on base 24x7 until your return. If you're forced to live on-base, they could also issue you a car for use for daily driving on base, and the coffee run off base when permitted.

Some of the bases I've been on are huge, so a golf-cart isn't going to cut it.

[volt11]

At the Army bases I've been at, there's no such thing as a charging station. And in general the military and the people it attracts tend to favor right wing politics, so plug-in cars like my Volt haven't seemed to receive the warmest reception. This article surprises me.

[flmark]

While I normally ignore the idiots who make comments, I decided to tackle the whiners already popping up, given the nature of this publication. I posted the following:

Too bad the whiners come here to complain, too.

If you think a Volt is much more expensive (and are worried
that the government is spending too much), Google the Kiplinger study to see a
five year pay off period covering a $20K spread in initial purchase price. There is gas, depreciation, and maintenance
that are not being paid for when you aren’t burning dino juice. And many of these military vehicles are
operated in short spurts- before the engine has the chance to heat up,
providing the worst gas mileage. An
extra plus for EVs.

An advertisement for Volts??
Check out who is making an extended range electric vehicle and you’ll
see…hmmm…NO ONE ELSE OUT THERE but GM.
Fisker? $100K+ and 20 mpg when
burning gas. Ford and Toyota? Push the
pedal too hard or go above 60 mph and they aren’t electric anymore. And all the other entries are dead when the
battery runs out. Only GM, for now, is
solving the problem of how Americans actually drive and cutting out the
gasoline as much as possible.

Who better than the military to take the plunge and get us
off foreign oil? How many less military
body bags will we need to purchase when we can stop protecting the world’s oil
supply chain? And don’t kid
yourself. We have known N Korea had WMD
for many years before we went into Iraq.
Oops, no oil there, so who cares.

And before you criticize the Volt, go take one for a test
drive. You’ll find out why so many of us
who bought one…bought ANOTHER!

LCDR, USN, Retired

[Roadburner440]

Being in the Navy and having both a Leaf and a Volt I have a unique perspective on this... While I will agree with the sentiment that most military personnel are Republican/right leaning (including myself) them flat out rejecting the cars are far from the truth. In the beginning sure there was a lot of poking, and the like. However as time has gone on, and people realize that I drive the Volt to work everyday (yes, some people check as they are waiting to point out the day that it is not in the parking lot). However most people at my work that ask know the car has over 11,000 plus miles on it, and it has inspired 1 other person to get a Volt. Another black Volt ironically. Now that gas prices are also on the rise people are asking more and more again about my cars. So we shall see. In my opinion though the public perception of these cars are changing drastically no matter what your political beliefs.

On the flip side I have seen a lot of Ford Fusion hybrids with government tags. It seems these are replacing the standard vehicles. I even saw a lot of them when we took a trip to Washington D.C. last weekend. So it seems to be the government as a hole is turning over a new perspective on fuel efficiency.

[Raymondjram]

So it seems to be the government as a hole is turning over a new perspective on fuel efficiency.

I hope you mean "whole" because some anti-establishment guys will take that phrase as something else.

Barrack Obama promised to buy a Volt when he leaves office. I know he has the money to buy one now, and so does most of the other Government officials , including Congresspersons. Why wait until after the elections?

[larry4pyro]

The military is not only embracing electrification in ordinary cars, but they are actively looking at electrifying military vehicles like Humvees and tanks. Apparently it costs a lot of money to get a gallon of fuel deployed, I've read it averages over $400 a gallon, so hybrids make sense as a way to reduce fuel usage. I think hybrids are being considered because they are quieter and have a reduced IR signature.

[Noel Park]

At the Army bases I've been at, there's no such thing as a charging station. And in general the military and the people it attracts tend to favor right wing politics, so plug-in cars like my Volt haven't seemed to receive the warmest reception. This article surprises me.

While I take your point about the politics of many members of the military, the military is actually providing a lot of leadership in trying to find ways to reduce fuel consumption.

The LA Times did an extensive article about this some months ago. First, a large percentage of the casualties in Iraq and elsewhere were related to fuel tanker convoys and providing security for same. Second, they calculated that the cost of delivering fuel to the end users, considering the cost of hauling if from Kuwait, providing security, the loss of equipment due to enemy action, the cost of the casualties, and so on, was $24/gallon. So the incentive to save same is huge. And they have to start somewhere, even if it's just driving Volts around military bases.

[Noel Park]

The military is not only embracing electrification in ordinary cars, but they are actively looking at electrifying military vehicles like Humvees and tanks. Apparently it costs a lot of money to get a gallon of fuel deployed, I've read it averages over $400 a gallon, so hybrids make sense as a way to reduce fuel usage. I think hybrids are being considered because they are quieter and have a reduced IR signature.

Well you beat me to it there, LOL. If it's actually $400, then all the more incentive. They were also experimenting with ways to insulate tents. It seems that a lot of electronic gear is housed in tents which have to be air conditioned to keep same alive. So imagine hauling $24/400/gal fuel across the desert to run generators to air condition tents. Pretty frustrating for the fuel haulers I would think.

[bonaire]

There are a lot of solar projects going on for some bases. That's far from right-wing in many cases. I think EVs and renewables are really not left-wing but rather when it comes down to the subsidies for them to get ignited into the marketplace, the conservatives rail against the government checks being written and would rather see market forces dictate new emerging technologies. I liken government incentives to a student grant or loan where you are investing in a student to grow their skill set and be a productive part of society. They are a necessary part of this and many other countries budgets. Jut as you wouldn't want your student education grant going to pay for a kid's partying and C- grades - government shouldn't pay for sub-par solutions in these spaces either and strict and intelligent auditing and claw-backs need to be done rather than generous blind grants (ie. Solyndra was poorly overseen and never had a chance from the date the checks were written).