Hybrid Car Review

GM is pushing for standards for plug-in hybrids, specifically, standards for plugging in and charging the battery.

After all, most people are like Candace Page of the Burlington Free Press and want the following: "The most surprising thing about driving a plug-in hybrid was how ordinary it felt."

And so GM is pushing for SAE J1772™. Too bad they posted about their plans. It seems all they did was confuse people. The plug they showed does not look like one you can just plug into a standard wall socket. As one commenter put it: "when I go spend a weekend at Grandma’s, I won’t be able to run an extension cord from the standard outlet on her porch to recharge? Am I dead in the water unless she has an outlet that one of those funny looking plugs in your picture will fit into?"

Let's hope they get this one right. A standard plug should be all that's needed. Maybe you could decrease your recharge time by using a special system. But for most people to go out and buy a plug-in (or E-REV) from any car company, they're going to want to be able to just plug it in anywhere.