Mickey D's and EVs: Would You Like Fries with That Battery Charge?

Given the volume of disposable material it consumes on a daily basis, McDonald's may see like an unlikely place to set up a charging station for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.

In fact, the idea of ANY fast food joint catering to EVs seems a little weird to us--much less one in Cary, North Carolina. Then again, it's a brave new internet-friendly world out there, chock-full of innovation, including Coulomb Technologies' increasingly popular ChargePoint charging stations.

One question, though: how many Big Macs can anyone eat and still fit behind the wheel of a MINI E?

Comments

[stink726:]

interesting article; thanks

Jul 06 04:33 PM

[User 412487:]

MCD could also sell alot of hamburger grease,faty oils,and used french fry oil to to the BIO diesel crowd.It shouldn't be that hard to clean,filter,and burn in a diesel. I'll take (1) big mac,(1) 1/4 pounder w/cheese, (1) large fry (1) large coke and 5 gallons of recycled french fry oil.

Jul 07 12:06 PM

[jerrydd:]

This will become common soon as there are large tax credits for installing these. Plus it takes 15minutes to 1 hr for a good charge depending on the outlet and EV's charger. This means more food and high profit drinks sold too.

I'd like it as it would give my EV a 200+ mile range/day if most businesses had these.

As for used veg oil fuel each would only have 20gals/day at most. I use to just filter it to 5 microns and mix it with 25% diesel in my VW Rabbit without any mods. In colder areas you might want to use more diesel in the mix.

Jul 07 12:25 PM

[a. palmer jr.:]

I mentioned before that they could have a place like Starbuck's where you could have a latte' while they charge or change your battery. Wal-Mart already does auto service while you shop...wouldn't be any different.

Jul 11 12:07 PM

[Boxed Merlot:]

Electricity isn't free, last time I checked. What's the average KWH draw on these vehicles? And I suppose that translates into another hidden "tax" on the rest of the non cutting edge fuel users.

Jul 15 10:51 AM