This is a first, a plug-in minivan… from an American company, no less!

The end is near for gasoline. The new Chrysler Pacifica goes 30 miles on full electric power, before the gas engine kicks in. For daily runs to drop the kids at school or buy groceries this minivan will use far less gas than the non-hybrid version.

Even if a Pacifica driver averages 40 miles per day, that means that 75% of the commute will be under electric power. Under that scenario they’ll average about 70 to 80 miles per gallon, a huge leap from a standard minivan that gets 24 mpg.

This is a sign that electric vehicles have truly gone mainstream. The minivan is the ultimate practical vehicle, especially for larger families. Traditional gas powered minivans and SUV’s tend to be gas guzzlers. The hybrid Pacifica partially solves that problem.

The Pacifica driver that rarely drives more than 30 miles per day might never fill up again, except for on the occasional road trip.

The one change in behavior when you own a plug-in hybrid is getting in the habit of charging it in when you get home. I plug in my Volt whenever I’m home. It takes about 2 seconds, like charging a cell phone. Pacifica drivers will spend 2 seconds plugging in their minivan, but they’ll save about 5 minutes NOT stopping at gas stations.

Now that the Pacifica is out there in the marketplace it won’t be too long until we see a plug-in Honda or Toyota minivan. Pretty soon after that we’ll see fast charge stations at every grocery store and municipal soccer field. I’d gladly park in the far corner of the Walmart parking lot if there was a charging station there.

The death knell of gasoline will be the fully electric Ford F-150 pick up truck, with a 300 mile range per charge…

The future is here folks, solar panels everywhere are the next step…

Ben Alexander

February . 2017