DETROIT (WXYZ) — Gas prices have many metro Detroit drivers looking at electric and hybrid vehicles, but making the switch can feel overwhelming. However, a Detroit man is making it his mission to change that.
Watch Ali Hoxie's report below
Ray Smith reached out to me following a story I did a few weeks ago, speaking about a lack of charging stations in the state.
Watch our previous coverage
He said there are practical ways to get the most out of an electric vehicle; you just have to know where to start.
This is Ray Smith, and he has a passion for teaching people all about EVs. He is the program director for Blast Detroit, a non-profit organization leading the way in electric-vehicle training.
“We started in a local garage here, small," Smith said.
“Do you feel like there’s a misunderstanding when it comes to EVS?” I asked Smith.
“There’s a lack of instructors," he replied. “So that is one of the pathways, to train people with a mechanical background, and put them more in an EV space.”
He has connected with Michigan Works and Macomb County Community College to help educate students on how to operate and fix EVs. I spoke with one of his former students, Stephanie Marshall.
“It’s the way of the world, it’s what's happening now, so if I am going to be in the electric field, this is something that I need to be educated on," Marshall said.
Being educated is something Ray tells me is part of the issue, including knowing the pros and cons of EVs. So he put me in touch with Kelli Sloan, the Vice President of the Tesla Owners Club of Michigan.
She gave me a tour of her Cyber Truck, including showing me ways to look up charging stations right from the truck. She says drivers should not be turned off by "range anxiety" and that most EVs have this feature.
“We’ve been to California, we’ve been to St. George, Utah, we’ve been to the Florida Keys, we’ve been to Virginia, we’ve been to Washington DC. The truck has not sat still very much since we had it, and we have had zero issues charging the vehicle," Sloan said.
But there are other concerns, including outlasting rough weather.
“If you buy an electric vehicle in the summer, you expect a certain range that you’re told about, and when cold weather sets in, your range is significantly reduced," said Luke Deptula, a trainer at Blast Detroit.
A recent study from AAA found that extreme temperatures drain both efficiency and your wallet. In heat, hybrids lose about 12 percent in fuel economy, and EVs are in the 10 percent range. The cold cuts fuel economy in hybrids by around 23 percent, and EVs lose nearly 40 percent in range, and it can cost more to charge at public charging stations in extreme cold and heat.
But there are some good perks to driving EVs, including avoiding the sky-high gas prices and a nice, smooth drive, compared to gas-powered vehicles.
“I think that every motorist should at least have some knowledge of EVs, because it does give you choices," Smith said.
You can learn more about Blast Detroit at this link, as Ray told me that there are excellent pre-owned Electric Vehicles available at Dealer Auctions for half the cost of New Vehicles, and Blast Detroit can help with finding the right one for those interested.
