NYT reporter blames Hertz for his own ignorance of EV range and charging
We’ve all read so-called “range anxiety” stories — and most EV owners know they amount to a hill of beans when it comes to the lived experience of electric cars. And yet, there seems to be a narrative in mainstream media that range anxiety is the key issue when it comes to EV adoption, one that they’re rather keen on pushing whenever the opportunity arises.
The New York Times published an article this week in which one of its climate reporters — one who claims to have had experience driving and charging Teslas in the past — describes an incident that ended with his depleted rental Volvo C40 Recharge being towed away by Hertz in rural Minnesota.
The blame, according to that Times reporter, lies at the feet of Hertz for not informing him of the few charging stations where he was headed (how would they know?), the C40 Recharge’s “slow” recharge speed (it supports 149kW DC), and the general state of US charging infrastructure (read: the one charger he found was too slow).
The reporter also briefly blames himself for choosing an EV for a trip into rural farming country without checking on the availability of charging stations, but this seems rather beside the overall story he’s attempting to drive home here: EVs and EV infrastructure aren’t “ready” for regular Americans. From the article:
But for now, if electric vehicles can’t get me from Minneapolis to the South Dakota border and back, they’re almost certainly not ready for the great American road trip.
The facts of the story are as follows.
- The reporter rents a C40 Recharge from Hertz in Minneapolis.
- He says the vehicle has 200 miles of indicated range (read: it probably wasn’t fully charged — the C40 offers 226 miles of EPA range), but knows that he has planned a 308-mile round-trip journey with deadlines.
- He finds a single (6kW) charger while en route and stops to use it, but it’s Very Slow (“2%” added in 30 minutes).
- He decides to go on anyway, hoping there will be more charging stations ahead (he does not appear to research this at all). There aren’t any.
- He arrives at a farm near the South Dakota border with 20% charge remaining (45 miles) and charges the car on an AC wall outlet for 15 hours, adding 20 miles of range (so, 65 miles, presumably — this will become important later).
- He decided that because there are no chargers within 50 miles of the farm, he has to call Hertz and have them tow the car, which they do, and he gets a ride with a friend back to Minneapolis.
- Hertz charges him a $700 tow fee, and he works with Hertz PR to get this refunded because he believes the fee is unjust.
A few things come to mind.
First, I can’t even begin to understand how any of this is Hertz’s problem. This person used a rental vehicle in a way that was likely to leave it stranded and is blaming the rental company for this? Is this any different than renting a Ford Mustang and then blaming Hertz when it gets stuck on a washed-out dirt road in the backcountry? Did he even tell Hertz what his route was? Did he truly expect them to say something like, “Hey, this is probably going to mean planning your charging carefully”? His justification here is borderline ridiculous.
But Hertz deserves some blame too. The company rented me a car that was slow to charge, and did nothing to warn me about the dearth of charging stations outside of Minneapolis. Surprising me with a huge fee poured salt on the wound.
Second, his assertion that this was a “slow charging” car. Now, this is just flatly wrong — the C40 Recharge supports 149kW DC fast charging. While you’ll be lucky to find something like that out in the Minnesota sticks (barring Tesla Superchargers), a 50kW charger plugged in for an hour would likely have avoided this whole debacle.
Third, the whole chain of events here is a comedy of errors. I bothered to actually do some Google Maps sleuthing, and everything about this outcome was utterly avoidable. The reporter claims that a 6kW Blink charger was the “only” option on his way back to Minneapolis, but that was only after he’d passed a 50kW ChargePoint about 60 miles into his journey, presumably with around 140 miles of indicated range remaining on the C40. Had he stopped there and charged near to full, he’d have been able to hit the same station on the way back for a brief second charge before returning the car the next day.
All this is to say: The person who ended up in this situation was a victim of their own ignorance. Nothing more, nothing less. In choosing to use a vehicle with an understood set of capabilities and limitations, he chose not to inform himself and instead ended up in a debacle whose summary analysis should have started and ended at “well, that was stupid of me.”
As icing on the cake, his claim about the car being unable to reach another charging station after adding 20 miles of range at the farmhouse overnight seems dubious. A ZEF 50kW station in Marshall, Minnesota, is at most 65 miles from wherever this person was headed, and likely a bit closer (I picked a town that would have actually made for a round trip longer than the 308 miles the reporter claimed).
The article says that the car showed no chargers “within 50 miles” of the farm, so presumably that means anything beyond that radius just… didn’t exist?
I get it: When traveling for work, considering the peculiarities and planning necessary for your means of conveyance is probably not the first thing on your mind. But when you’re taking a 300-plus-mile road trip in rural Minnesota in an electric car, you should probably be thinking about this stuff.
And as for Hertz refunding that $700 tow fee, while I’m not going to say I love anything about Hertz as a company, it sure seems like they did it to avoid the ire of The New York Times more than any belief this person had a valid grievance.
EVs aren’t complicated. This person’s trip was entirely feasible — with five minutes of planning. They chose not to put in that five minutes and ended up stranded. I don’t think electric cars or their infrastructure are to blame.
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The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released an encouraging new report revealing that 90% of wind turbine materials are already recyclable using existing infrastructure, but tackling the remaining 10% needs innovation.
That’s why the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has allocated over $20 million to develop technologies that address these challenges.
Why this matters
The wind energy industry is growing rapidly, but questions about what happens to turbines at the end of their life are critical. Recyclable wind turbines means not only less waste but also a more affordable and sustainable energy future.
According to Jeff Marootian, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, “The US already has the ability to recycle most wind turbine materials, so achieving a fully sustainable domestic wind energy industry is well within reach.”
The report, titled, “Recycling Wind Energy Systems in the United States Part 1: Providing a Baseline for America’s Wind Energy Recycling Infrastructure for Wind Turbines and Systems,” identifies short-, medium-, and long-term research, development, and demonstration priorities along the life cycle of wind turbines. Developed by researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, with help from Oak Ridge and Sandia National Laboratories, the findings aim to guide future investments and technological innovations.
What’s easily recyclable and what’s not
The bulk of a wind turbine – towers, foundations, and steel-based drivetrain components – is relatively easy to recycle. However, components like blades, generators, and nacelle covers are tougher to process.
Blades, for instance, are often made from hard-to-recycle materials like thermoset resins, but switching to recyclable thermoplastics could be a game changer. Innovations like chemical dissolution and pyrolysis could make blade recycling more viable in the near future.
Critical materials like nickel, cobalt, and zinc used in generators and power electronics are particularly important to recover.
Key strategies for a circular economy
To make the wind energy sector fully sustainable, the DOE report emphasizes the adoption of measures such as:
- Better decommissioning practices – Improving how turbine materials are collected and sorted at the end of their life cycle.
- Strategic recycling sites – Locating recycling facilities closer to where turbines are decommissioned to reduce costs and emissions.
- Advanced material substitution – Using recyclable and affordable materials in manufacturing.
- Optimized material recovery – Developing methods to make recovered materials usable in second-life applications.
Looking ahead
The DOE’s research also underscores the importance of regional factors, such as the availability of skilled workers and transportation logistics, in building a cost-effective recycling infrastructure. As the US continues to expand its wind energy capacity, these findings provide a roadmap for minimizing waste and maximizing sustainability.
More information about the $20 million in funding available through the Wind Turbine Technology Recycling Funding Opportunity can be found here. Submission deadline is February 11.
Read more: The California grid ran on 100% renewables with no blackouts or cost rises for a record 98 days
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Mazda is finally stepping up with plans to build its first dedicated EV. The upcoming Mazda EV will be made in Japan and based on a new in-house platform. Here’s what we know about it so far.
The first dedicated Mazda EV is coming soon
Although Mazda isn’t the first brand that comes to mind when you think of electric vehicles, the Japanese automaker is finally taking a step in the right direction.
Mazda revealed on Monday that it plans to build a new module pack plant in Japan for cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells.
The new plant will use Panasonic Energy’s battery cells to produce modules and EV battery packs. Mazda plans to have up to 10 GWh of annual capacity at the facility. The battery packs will power Mazda’s first dedicated EV, which will also be built in Japan using a new electric vehicle platform.
Mazda said it’s “steadily preparing for electrification technologies” under its 2030 Management Plan. The strategy calls for a three-phase approach through 2030.
The first phase calls for using its existing technology. In the second stage, Mazda will introduce a new hybrid system and EV-dedicated vehicles in China.
The third and final phase calls for “the full-fledged launch” of EVs and battery production. By 2030, Mazda expects EVs to account for 25% to 40% of global sales.
Mazda launched the EZ-6, an electric sedan, in China last October. It starts at 139,800 yuan, or around $19,200, and is made by its Chinese joint venture, Changan Mazda.
Based on Changan’s hybrid platform, the electric sedan is offered in EV and extended-range (EREV) options. The all-electric model gets up to 600 km (372 miles) CLTC range with fast charging (30% to 80%) in 15 minutes.
At 4,921 mm long, 1,890 mm wide, and 1,485 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,895 mm, Mazda’s EZ-6 is about the size of a Tesla Model 3 (4,720 mm long, 1,922 mm wide, and 1,441 mm tall with a 2,875 mm wheelbase).
Inside, the electric sedan features a modern setup with a 14.6″ infotainment, a 10.1″ driver display screen, and a 50″ AR head-up display. It also includes zero-gravity reclining seats and smart features like voice control.
The EZ-6 is already off to a hot sales start, with 2,445 models sold in November. According to Changan Mazda, the new EV was one of the top three mid-size new energy vehicle (NEV) sedans of joint ventures sold in China in its first month listed.
Will Mazda’s first dedicated EV look like the EZ-6? We will find out with Mazda aiming to launch the first EV models on its new in-house platform in 2027. Stay tuned for more.
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