ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
For me having to plug in to charge and unplug before leaving on each trip at home seems more inconvenient than just filling up at a nearby gas station every few weeks.
If you're just doing ~20 mile daily trips and have an EV with a 300 mile range then you don't need to charge it every night. Don't have an EV but would imagine for most the cable at home is right next to the car, might take 15 seconds to plug/unplug, certainly not an inconvenience.
Not owning an EV, I've wondered about this. On one hand, not going to the gas station, and standing in the cold sometimes, or just 'wasting time' standing around on a nice day, is certainly a plus.
But plugging in when I get home is somewhat of an inconvenience, and I'd have to do it far more often than getting gas (I'd want to keep it near topped off, just in case I needed to make an unexpected long trip, which is not usually a problem with an ICE, just go fill up). Most of the time, when I get out of the car, I've got something in my hand - I went shopping, I picked up the mail, etc. It's a little inconvenient to grab a cord and plug it in.
Overall, I would still think the EV has the advantage here, but I just don't think it's a 100% advantage, maybe 70-30? Not a deal breaker by any means, just a thought.
I like the idea of a simple robotic arm that would plug in autonomously. Doesn't seem that difficult, if you park within a fairly consistent space, a simple arm should be able to extend, find a target, and make contact.
-ERD50