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Milestone: Chevy Spark Has The Option To Charge In 20 Minutes

CleanTechnica -- Electric vehicle charge time may appear to be primarily a convenience issue, but fast charging makes a tremendous difference where practicality is concerned.

The Chevy Spark is reportedly being offered with a fast-charging option that will charge the vehicle in 20 minutes. Relatively fast charge times of 20 minutes mean that it is more feasible to recharge your electric vehicle in public if you are almost out of range.

The Chevy Spark electric vehicle can apparently charge to 80% of its capacity in 20 minutes with the fast-charging capability.

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Submitted Dec 26, 2012 By: BennoBlue

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1006 Champion Author Birmingham Posts:1,105 Points:1,354,440 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Dec 30, 2012 4:13:19 PM Ignore 1006 Report Abuse did you get your points sjf238?
sjf238 Champion Author Philadelphia Posts:1,215 Points:647,955 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Dec 27, 2012 1:03:45 PM Ignore sjf238 Report Abuse Ok.
Houckster Champion Author Atlanta Posts:9,345 Points:693,460 Joined:Sep 2003	Message Posted: Dec 27, 2012 11:54:04 AM Ignore Houckster Report Abuse With recharge times holding back electric cars, it seems that it would be wise to standardize electric car batteries and design the cars so that a recharge station could simply remove the depleted battery and install one that's charged.
DanMtz Champion Author Oakland Posts:3,355 Points:1,243,325 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Dec 27, 2012 11:29:21 AM Ignore DanMtz Report Abuse Hmmm, does that affect battery life?
jrs4125 Champion Author Indiana Posts:2,758 Points:591,745 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Dec 27, 2012 6:20:29 AM Ignore jrs4125 Report Abuse Alrighty then
7SPEEDY7 Champion Author Flint Posts:1,291 Points:605,675 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Dec 27, 2012 12:09:01 AM Ignore 7SPEEDY7 Report Abuse Cool!
Marson Champion Author Scranton Posts:8,947 Points:2,078,160 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 9:48:43 PM Ignore Marson Report Abuse If it has a good range on that charge it ouwld be very valuable.
pgriff1 Champion Author New Orleans Posts:4,363 Points:1,720,705 Joined:May 2004	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 7:56:06 PM Ignore pgriff1 Report Abuse Depending on the range, 20 min. charge time would be workable if I could stop at a coffee shop and get an internet connection.
gasrat6083 Champion Author Long Island Posts:3,481 Points:1,163,105 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 6:46:24 PM Ignore gasrat6083 Report Abuse Convenience issue? Nonsense. Baseline practicality issue.
JamesCalvin Champion Author Lancaster Posts:3,186 Points:519,555 Joined:Nov 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 6:31:56 PM Ignore JamesCalvin Report Abuse Speedy!
nskmda Champion Author Grand Rapids Posts:1,285 Points:787,305 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 4:12:27 PM Ignore nskmda Report Abuse really? it makes more sense now...
ceklea Veteran Author Twin Cities Posts:353 Points:1,287,920 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 2:50:07 PM Ignore ceklea Report Abuse As the article states, "Many chargers are still designed for slow charging, as the fast-charging ones are larger, more powerful, and more expensive, but the ability of batteries themselves to charge faster has improved quite a bit."
schvanda63 Champion Author Lansing Posts:1,316 Points:264,615 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 2:44:27 PM Ignore schvanda63 Report Abuse bouncing4fun wrote "I have the same question as Cellsite. Who is paying for the electricity?" Plug in your car, plug in your credit card. Make them pay for what they use. No public funded charging stations.
orphancarguyPE Champion Author PEI Posts:3,848 Points:734,990 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 2:29:57 PM Ignore orphancarguyPE Report Abuse People might put up with inconvenience if they save money. THAT is the argument being used to sell people on natural gas cars and trucks--its very inconvenient right now, takes longer to fill, has safety issues, and costs $11,000-$50,000 for a conversion. $11,000 is the extra cost for a new pickup truck--so you have to chew through a lot of fuel at $2.00 a GGE to make CNG a worthwhile option. Electric? Filling up is always the weak point, but it is WAY CHEAPER to run than natural gas, propane, gasoline, diesel, or hydrogen. Forget all you know about how many dollars per gallon,. What you need to know is how many cents per mile it costs to run a vehicle. Here is a handy thing to remember: For the -distance- you can run on $5.00 of gasoline, in similar cars it would cost $3.50 for diesel, about $2.00 (with a huge up and down depending where and how) for CNG, and 80-90 cents worth of electricity. You do not want to know what hydrogen would really cost in the real world in a free unsubsidized market--just think 'clean but PRICEY' 20-30 minutes is about the minimum amount of time someone spends in a supermarket, or at a shopping mall, or at a hospital outpatients, or a doctor or dentist office, or dinner out, or out meeting friends, or just about 90% of all your real stops. So if it is easy to 'plug' in in a lot of useful places, well before a battery is fully flat--you might not even need that much time. If a container is 3/4 full, it needs less put into it than if its half full, or 1/4 full or empty. Just think about it for a second. And that is with 'plug' charging. The 'next thing' close on the horizon is wireless proximity (induction) charging--you don't even need a plug. The technology has been in use for years for smaller devices; its just 'details' for vehicles, and the 'self-parking' technology that Ford and others use is the last major piece of the puzzle needed to adopt it. Having a smart phone that tells you/directs you to the closest charging point to your stop will make it all really simple. Changing your thinking about HOW you go about things means that you might never waste 5 minutes of your time filling up at a station ever again. You car fills up or just 'tops up' without you being there, with or without a plug. When you come back, it is all ready for you. [Edited by: orphancarguyPE at 12/26/2012 2:32:44 PM EST]
tankumo Veteran Author Vancouver Posts:397 Points:69,760 Joined:Dec 2012	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 2:08:21 PM Ignore tankumo Report Abuse Still waiting for better technology. It's much faster if you use gasoline, natural gas, diesel or hydrogen.
leemun Champion Author Utah Posts:5,533 Points:1,040,125 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 12:42:34 PM Ignore leemun Report Abuse I can recharge at the gas pump in less than 5 minutes.
fedupMN Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,954 Points:573,455 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 12:41:11 PM Ignore fedupMN Report Abuse Fast charge sounds like a winner to me.
darkform Veteran Author Illinois Posts:352 Points:368,760 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 12:39:40 PM Ignore darkform Report Abuse Good
schatzila Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:4,949 Points:1,016,620 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 12:05:38 PM Ignore schatzila Report Abuse Not bad. Time to shoot for 5-10 min. charges.
must87searcher Champion Author Maryland Posts:8,980 Points:1,780,410 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:59:19 AM Ignore must87searcher Report Abuse This is an advance ment of the EV.
Red7002011 Champion Author Mississippi Posts:3,332 Points:668,720 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:45:36 AM Ignore Red7002011 Report Abuse 20 minutes or 3 minutes?
Holly123 Champion Author Charlotte Posts:3,202 Points:790,210 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:44:29 AM Ignore Holly123 Report Abuse That's awesome!
NightRider Champion Author Dallas Posts:1,401 Points:76,520 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:31:32 AM Ignore NightRider Report Abuse This is a media blitz to push a technology that is too expensive, has lots of environmental baggage and the majority of the public does not want.
Hangnail309 Champion Author Manitoba Posts:6,024 Points:1,677,180 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:27:29 AM Ignore Hangnail309 Report Abuse not sold on all electric vehicles yet ...
AriesMMD Champion Author Sacramento Posts:1,491 Points:412,215 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:26:46 AM Ignore AriesMMD Report Abuse Only good for people who never go more than a few miles from home.
AcuraTSX Champion Author Ohio Posts:5,494 Points:2,182,130 Joined:Dec 2005	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:22:29 AM Ignore AcuraTSX Report Abuse Charge for 20 minutes. Drive for 20 minutes?
Lizzylou Champion Author Stockton Posts:8,818 Points:2,357,285 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:21:37 AM Ignore Lizzylou Report Abuse The faster the better???
bouncing4fun All-Star Author Sacramento Posts:587 Points:145,165 Joined:Jun 2012	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:20:15 AM Ignore bouncing4fun Report Abuse I have the same question as Cellsite. Who is paying for the electricity?
Wesk8 Champion Author Michigan Posts:2,116 Points:1,345,980 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:20:06 AM Ignore Wesk8 Report Abuse But will it pull the boat I don't own up the mountain I don't live by?
vwilsonskis All-Star Author New Jersey Posts:737 Points:237,995 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:19:58 AM Ignore vwilsonskis Report Abuse Lunch, charge and go see we americans can be leaders
RichWLIN Champion Author Indiana Posts:4,096 Points:638,865 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:19:24 AM Ignore RichWLIN Report Abuse So what?
LuckyD43 Champion Author Long Island Posts:32,011 Points:2,168,070 Joined:Apr 2005	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:18:39 AM Ignore LuckyD43 Report Abuse Electric vehicles are not for me. If anything, I'd go with a hybrid.
YodaON Champion Author Ottawa Posts:2,927 Points:779,810 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:17:00 AM Ignore YodaON Report Abuse Not something I want yet
unclenorman Champion Author Tampa Posts:1,343 Points:139,275 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:15:44 AM Ignore unclenorman Report Abuse I don't get a charge out of this car.
kuma2000 Champion Author Honolulu Posts:3,223 Points:674,150 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:14:00 AM Ignore kuma2000 Report Abuse not for me - will stick with gasoline.
Mikeyl Champion Author Cleveland Posts:5,152 Points:1,185,770 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:13:06 AM Ignore Mikeyl Report Abuse Electric will have it's day... just not today.
rasprout Champion Author Tacoma Posts:3,367 Points:1,221,660 Joined:Jun 2009	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:12:56 AM Ignore rasprout Report Abuse If you are only going 100 miles then a pure electric vehicle is a smart choice. but if you are traveling any distance then go gas...
THEDodgeman Champion Author Denver Posts:7,997 Points:1,947,515 Joined:Apr 2005	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:11:27 AM Ignore THEDodgeman Report Abuse no thanks
leraar2 Champion Author Massachusetts Posts:3,764 Points:787,680 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:11:22 AM Ignore leraar2 Report Abuse only takes me three minutes to fill my fuel tank. electric vehicles are uneconomical, inefficient and NOT GREEN.
LongPlay Champion Author Albuquerque Posts:4,243 Points:1,240,050 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:10:47 AM Ignore LongPlay Report Abuse Electric cars are not generally useful unless you have enough money to have several vehicles.
firechief Champion Author New York Posts:3,446 Points:2,066,375 Joined:Mar 2004	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:10:33 AM Ignore firechief Report Abuse not practical for me
Topless2012 Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,432 Points:481,065 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:08:29 AM Ignore Topless2012 Report Abuse Quick is never as good. Just enough to go a little further?
donny47 Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:2,661 Points:986,415 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:08:22 AM Ignore donny47 Report Abuse battery wont last as long doing this
Cellsite Champion Author Appleton Posts:1,231 Points:287,135 Joined:Jun 2012	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:07:49 AM Ignore Cellsite Report Abuse Unless these charging stations are like a parking meter where you plug them with coins, who's paying for them and the electricity? All of us who patronize that facility, since they'll have to raise prices/rates to cover the cost. I don't want to pay for the electricity for someone rich enough to afford an impracticable overpriced vehicle that can only go 40 miles on a charge.
livewire300 Champion Author South Carolina Posts:3,370 Points:166,260 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:07:31 AM Ignore livewire300 Report Abuse Foresee a: Fire Hazard...
Discovery02 Champion Author Colorado Springs Posts:2,560 Points:310,665 Joined:May 2012	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:06:42 AM Ignore Discovery02 Report Abuse Keep innovating and building a supporting infrastructure.
RAE344 Champion Author Virginia Beach Posts:3,064 Points:661,520 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:05:17 AM Ignore RAE344 Report Abuse That is nice. I would prefer a battery I can change out.
Insuremn Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:4,952 Points:1,031,010 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:04:15 AM Ignore Insuremn Report Abuse I'll keep my Jeep.
checkitnow Champion Author Atlanta Posts:2,041 Points:572,545 Joined:Aug 2010	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:03:57 AM Ignore checkitnow Report Abuse range anxiety affects only EV drivers
Jorgie Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:9,967 Points:2,921,500 Joined:Jul 2002	Message Posted: Dec 26, 2012 11:03:06 AM Ignore Jorgie Report Abuse How far can you go before you have to do the 20 minute charge???