Thoughts From the Slow Lane: How to Speed Up EV Adoption

Old cars and new training programs can speed up the transition to electric vehicles.

Like many of my friends, I’ve decided that my next car will be an electric vehicle (“EV”). But as the supply chain for computer chips tightens, the backlog for deliveries grows, and Congress continues to bicker over more generous subsidies for EV purchases, I’ve begun to think I should wait until next year or the year after to hit the buy button. And, I suspect that there are many potential EV buyers like me, idling on the shoulders of a greener transportation system.

Yes, I know that the transition to EVs will only be greener than the status quo if we expand solar and wind power generation, develop better storage systems, and improve our transmission lines. And we’ll need way more charging stations at our homes and along our roadways. But my partner and I already have an extensive solar array at our home, and we’re generating far more power than we’re using. So, we’re ready to go. But we’re not going there yet. Which has got me thinking about how government policies, even in small states like Oregon, can accelerate the shift from gas to EVs and, by doing so, play to the strengths of its people and the assets of its places in the larger project of building a non-climate-disrupting economy.

Oregon can take the lead on an underappreciated growth area for EV use. At the risk of sounding like a Luddite, why do EVs need to be so computer-dependent? The answer: They don’t.

One woman who bought a Tesla told us she took classes on how to operate its high-tech systems. Another who bought an all-electric Volvo was asked if she wanted one floor pedal or two, the former presumably leaving the braking to its algorithmic sensors. Somehow, we’ve managed to conflate electrifying our vehicles with robotizing them, which may make sense when my grandkids get behind the wheel with video games in their laps. In the meantime, though, we’ve made EVs more expensive and more complicated than they need to be and are leaving thousands of new cars bumper-to-bumper in factory lots waiting for their microchips. If “for want of a nail” a battle could be lost when we relied on horses for mobility, we’re now learning how we can lose ground in the battle against climate change for want of even smaller nano things.

These thoughts led me to look into the process of converting gas vehicles to electric. It turns out there’s a cottage industry of sorts doing exactly that, garage by garage, specializing in Porsches in one place and Hondas in another. The costs I’ve seen range from $7,500 to $12,000 for the battery packs and engine modifications. That’s about a quarter of what you’d pay for the cheapest of the new EVs, even after deducting their federal and state subsidies. But conversions don’t qualify for the federal taxpayer credit ($2,500 to $7,500 for new EVs) nor for either of Oregon’s two EV rebates – the Standard program ($750 to $2,500 for all buyers of new cars) and the Charge Ahead program (up to $5,000 for low- and moderate-income buyers of new EVs).

Note to federal and state policy makers: When you’re designing subsidies for EV purchases, make sure they apply to EV conversions. Given their cost, you might even want to offer to pay for them in full, since you’re already paying upwards of $10,000 for many new EVs. You’ll get more EVs on the road a lot faster, especially from the low- and moderate-income Oregonians you’re trying to reach -- and more interest from drivers who like to keep their eyes on the road and their feet within reach of at least two floor pedals.

So, if excessive tech doesn’t have to be a part of EVs, how can we scale these lower-tech alternatives? In other words, how do we scale an industry of scattered, localized shops?

Government subsidies can boost the demand side for conversions. But, if the supply side can’t meet that demand, my Honda CRV will remain a gas vehicle and that old Chevy pickup we’ve been meaning to fix will probably end up in a junkyard. The supply side, in this instance, depends on skilled mechanics, lots of them, who know what’s under a hood and understand the basics of Ohm’s Law.

I got in touch with a high school automotive shop teacher who helped with our campaign for Measure 98 in 2016. (That’s the measure that authorized more funding for high school graduation and CTE programs.) His opinion: It’s doable. He’d start with golf carts and then make a class project out of converting at least one school district vehicle to electric to complete the learning curve.

Another educator I contacted told me that many districts, flush with funds from Measure 98 and the Student Success Act (HB 3427), have been investing heavily in equipment for their shop classes and expanding their diesel mechanic programs. Wait, diesel? Isn’t that a technology we’re trying to phase out on our roadways? Are our energy policies in Oregon disconnected from our educational offerings?

Second note to state policy makers: When developing goals for a carbon-free economy, don’t just pick a date and leave it to others to get the job done. Connect your energy goals to your education and workforce goals. A greener economy will require a well-trained and well-compensated workforce. That’s why Biden’s climate plan emphasizes job creation and upskilling. We’ll fall behind in this new economy if we fail to invest in our future workers.

Finally, there’s another piece of advice that others on this site have been repeating, in one form or another, about the transition to a carbon-free economy in a state like Oregon.

Final note to all of us: Don’t get sidetracked by concerns about Oregon being too small to make a difference in the global economy. We should play to our strengths and play up the potential of our assets, which can bring forth new opportunities for bridging the urban-rural divide.

Consider the resources in rural Oregon that we can tap to accelerate the creation of a green energy economy. (Watch The Other Side of the Hillto learn more.) We have ample space for the expansion of solar and wind generation without eroding our best farm and ranch lands. And we have an industry ripe for innovation in agriculture. Yes, we have the GPS thing going on many of our farms now. But, when my electric tractor can outpull your gas tractor, and the Future Farmers of America offers courses in maintaining battery powered farm vehicles, we’ll quicken the pace to a green transformation in food production in ways that can align with the development of a greener transportation system.

Meanwhile, I’m looking for a mechanic to convert my Honda. Or maybe I’ll start with the old Chevy pickup. The older the better, since they’re not making pickups like that anymore.

Tim served as Chief of Staff for Gov. Kulongoski. A former union leader, he lives near Independence and oversees a specialty apple orchard.

Photo credit: "Tesla Model S Sedan # bb2" by Wolfram Burner is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0