We drove these electric cars until they DIED!

It would have been more interesting if they actually tried to use the generator on all of them when they ran out of juice. I would have been curious to find out if that actually worked and how fast they would have charged. Most of them were just pushed to the EVSE, one used an extension cord with the car’s EVSE, or even towed in one case.


iPad ? Pro

 

The videos I've seen have been pretty unimpressive. The typical 1-2 kW generators are load sensitive so you have to set the car to a minimum current before using the generator. Then slowly increase the amps so the generator can keep up. Worse, those air-cooled generators are extremely inefficient. Most EVs get ~3-4 miles per kW.

A better approach, is to tow the car and let it get a charge from regeneration.

Bob Wilson

 

Or an onboard, always ready, charger.