Costco to Remove Electric Car Chargers Because Nobody’s Using Them

By Doug Powers  •  August 20, 2011 06:57 PM

**Written by Doug Powers

Oh no… now where will Al Gore plug in his SUVs?

From the New York Times:

Costco, the membership warehouse-club chain, was an early leader in offering electric-vehicle charging to its customers, setting an example followed by other retailers, including Best Buy and Walgreen. By 2006, Costco had installed 90 chargers at 64 stores, mostly in California but also some in Arizona, New York and Georgia. Even after General Motors crushed its EV1 battery cars, the Costco chargers stayed in place.

Yet just as plug-in cars like the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt enter the market, Costco is reversing course and pulling its chargers out of the ground, explaining that customers do not use them.

When a Costco manager in California was informed that there was a state-funded program that would allow them to upgrade the chargers at no cost to his company, he had a good point:

“Why should we have anybody spend money on a program that nobody’s thought through?” he said.

This guy makes too much sense to ever end up in elected office.

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

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Posted in: Enviro-nitwits

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Comments


  1. #101
    On August 21st, 2011 at 1:35 pm, happyscrapper said:

    I know that seeing a really fat person in the handicapped space is annoying, but remember, that person might have a heart condition, asthma, or whatever. Regardless of HOW that person got there, the fact remains that they have a health problem. Reminds me of a comment I read on another blog where they were talking about pulmonary disease and emphysema. Someone commented that those people brought it on themselves because smoking causes most of those kinds of diseases. That is a pretty unsympathetic and incorrect assumption.

    My Mom died of a pulmonary disease and she never smoked a day in her life.

    It is easy to blast away at fat people. But I find it offensive, probably because I have been fat too. It is harder to lose weight than to quit smoking, and I’ve done both.

    Walk a mile in a fat person’s shoes. It ain’t easy and is very exhausting!

    I remember my family doctor telling me that I could lose weight if I just pushed myself away from the table. If it was that easy, we would have no fat people. IT IS NOT THAT EASY!!

    It wasn’t until my doctor recommended I get my stomach stapled that I realized how serious it was!! That is what got me motivated to lose 55 pounds. I am still working on it and still struggle every day.

  2. #102
    On August 21st, 2011 at 1:55 pm, WaterBoyz said:

    When the local Costco had the charging stations they were within spittin’ distance of the gas islands.

    So, plug in and get it for free or pull up to the pump and pay. Doesn’t makes sense to me.

  3. #103
    On August 21st, 2011 at 2:38 pm, FilAmWIguy said:

    On August 21st, 2011 at 11:15 am, Truesoldier said:

    Thanks for the tip. Which model are you driving? They’ve got 11 to choose from.

    As for heights, we’ve got me. My wife at 5′. Her mother at about the same height and 3 daughters. Heck, even the dog is a girl.

    Our home is hormonally imbalanced.

    Others,

    As to the line on the handicapped parking slots, I for one am happy they are there. I have a disability tag as my ankles are collapsing and I need to budget out my footsteps for the next 15 years or get a total reconstruction.

    With 1 homeschooled 10 yr old and 2 little ones in disposable diapers, this handycripple is thankful for the small things here.

  4. #104
    On August 21st, 2011 at 2:58 pm, WaterBoyz said:

    On August 21, 2011 at 02:38 PM, FilAmWIguy said:

    On August 21st, 2011 at 11:15 am, Truesoldier said:

    My wife at 5′. Her mother at about the same height and 3 daughters. Heck, even the dog is a girl.

    Our home is hormonally imbalanced.

    Are you sayin’ that the toilet seat is duck-taped in the down position?

  5. #105
    On August 21st, 2011 at 3:36 pm, Truesoldier said:

    On August 21st, 2011 at 2:38 pm, FilAmWIguy said:

    On August 21st, 2011 at 11:15 am, Truesoldier said:

    Thanks for the tip. Which model are you driving

    The F-150 XLT

  6. #106
    On August 21st, 2011 at 8:45 pm, FirstSkirt said:

    “The hell you say…” she said as she jumped into her American made Jeep and roared off with HEMI screaming. Heh.

  7. #107
    On August 21st, 2011 at 8:51 pm, Lee Hazel said:

    Better to recover the copper before the thives get it!!

  8. #108
    On August 22nd, 2011 at 5:11 am, love2rumba said:

    I bought a 1988 Ford Tempo (new), and that thing had more problems (even with proper maintenence) than you could shake a stick at. I have since owned a trouble-free Toyota Corolla since 1997..it has 260,000 miles on it…I won’t go back to Ford, GM or Chrysler.

    My car just runs, and runs, and runs…

  9. #109
    On August 22nd, 2011 at 5:14 am, love2rumba said:

    Handicap spots and disabled stickers should be abolished.

  10. #110
    On August 22nd, 2011 at 9:47 am, FilAmWIguy said:

    On August 21st, 2011 at 2:58 pm, WaterBoyz said:

    Are you sayin’ that the toilet seat is duck-taped in the down position?

    It goes up? Here I thought that was just a cleaning feature.

    Plus side is I get out of folding laundry. When you screw up whose clothing is whose, you get kicked off of that duty.

  11. #111
    On August 31st, 2011 at 9:11 am, CMSGT said:

    Typical liberal thinking. Build the final product without determining and installing the appropriate infrastructure to operate and support it.

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