They are shifting their efforts to a "green" high speed train that creates jobs. Here's a secret photo of the new prototype.
Posted on 08/20/2011 1:22:56 PM PDT by upchuck
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. Photographed last week, a charger installed at a Costco location in Rohnert Park, Calif. "Please be advised that this electric charger will be removed on Aug. 15th, 2011. Sorry for the inconvenience," the note says.Courtesy of Plug In AmericaPhotographed last week, a charger installed at a Costco location in Rohnert Park, Calif. “Please be advised that this electric charger will be removed on August 15th, 2011. Sorry for the inconvenience,” the note says.
“We were early supporters of electric cars, going back as far as 15 years. But nobody ever uses them,” said Dennis Hoover, the general manager for Costco in northern California, in a telephone interview. “At our Folsom store, the manager said he hadn’t seen anybody using the E.V. charging in a full year. At our store in Vacaville, where we had six chargers, one person plugged in once a week.”
Mr. Hoover said that E.V. charging was “very inefficient and not productive” for the retailer. “The bottom line is that there are a lot of other ways to be green,” he said. “We have five million members in the region, and just a handful of people are using these devices.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wheels.blogs.nytimes.com ...
nobama is crushed.
Laughing is a good thing.
Yeah! This probably would have driven the number of users up to TWO a week!!! LOL!
This is probably a good idea anyway. With the new EPA regs, there won’t be enough electricity to supply charging stations during peak hours anyway.
Well, if nobody is buying electric cars (because they suck for a number of reasons) than the EPA will just have to FORCE people to buy them, whether they want to, or not!
They are shifting their efforts to a "green" high speed train that creates jobs. Here's a secret photo of the new prototype.
The Green Energy folks are a bit slow on the uptake, however expect a 10-12 person boycott at Costco immediately!
I watched a 60 Minutes’ segment of the founder of Costco..he’s a flaming libtard to the nth degree.
I think it’s a matter of injury/death liability. Those charging stations were a very attractive target for copper thieves, who would get fried by the 240V service.
goood.
make them peddle power chargers ,the green folk will be killing each other to use them
In order for a business to stay in business it need to make money. If they provide a service that doesn't make money they get rid of it or just close up and leave...capeiche?
Proof...Story comment #1: "Costco is making a mistake by removing these chargers and not installing the new standard charge stations. We have thousands of new EVs on the road today and next year there will tens of thousands. This technology is vastly superior to internal combustion and is good for our country. The businesses that support these forward-thinking people with charging infrastructure will gain loyal customers. Those that don't, won't"
Thousands...ten’s of thousands...geez I haven’t seen a volt or a leaf in Dallas yet. But it is Dallas, and here in Texas we love the big carbon footprint.
I saw a Volt at Costco. Hope the driver saw me pointedly laughing at the car as she drove past!
Yah, where Costco is coming to their senses, liberal West Coast states are spending millions in “stimulus” funds to install these chargers every 40 miles along the entire length of I-5 between Mexico and British Columbia.
Tens if not hundreds of millions...
“I watched a 60 Minutes’ segment of the founder of Costco..he’s a flaming libtard to the nth degree.”
I’ve never stepped foot into a Costco and never will.
The cost was passed on to all Costco shoppers, no doubt.
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