First thing to know is that I’m certainly not blaming electric vehicles for my blood-sucking efforts to charge one that I was testing in a strange town.

Buzzmobiles face challenges Yes however billions of dollars are being poured into the vehicles and the infrastructure for charging the cost. They’re here to stay. And once you’ve gotten them filled with juice, they’re plenty of entertainment.

I drove the Polestar 2 in and around Los Angeles and in Pasadena, where I was housesitting/watching a cat, for nine days. I drove every night underneath the building that which I was staying at that isn’t equipped with charging electrical devices. It’s not a surprise. I was just thinking I’d locate the nearest charging station that I could find, connect up, and leave for a few hours, return and then head out.

I signed up with ChargePoint and then deposited funds into the account and then used their map to locate the closest charger once it was time to turn it on for two days. However, when I arrived at the parking garage that had the charger required, I had to get permission to park there. No any ifs, or ands, or buts. Parking wasn’t paid for and pay it in that manner also. Ah, well. They were at least nice about it.

The next location I discovered was in a garage . It costs $4 per hour to park and then charge. This is their garage naturally and it’s a business surely. However, I didn’t want add another $8 to park my car while I charged my car and I’m certain you wouldn’t neither.

I then went to a Chargepoint kiosk in an auto dealership. that was connected to my car. I then took my phone and was directed to the charging device

However, Chargepoint did not work – I was constantly being redirected through Google pay. Google pay and Google pay, and Google.

Now I was getting a bit dissatisfied, so I installed Google Pay, put money into the account, tapped the phone, received the green light that showed I was charging and then walked around five blocks to my nearest Starbucks which I purchased drinks as I worked on my laptop.

I came back two hours later to find my car not fully charged and only 17% remaining, which is less than 30 miles. In a state of panic, I connected the hose , and then wiped the phone. I then was waiting for the device to display the green light that indicated the phone was being charged. Then I stood in the middle of it, in the dark, watching it. In just 60 seconds, I received this message:

I dialed the number listed on the machine and was informed that the machine was not in order.

At this point, it was evening. I had intended to visit L.A. that night to perform guitar in a club, but it was completely out of the question. Remember pay phones? Do you remember how you had a desire to punch them?

I wanted a classic old-fashioned gasoline guzzler I could bring to the “gas station” with an attendant who would, naturally place an OUT OF ORDER notice on the pump in case it was not working, and would also not require any cash to park my car while I filled up.