It's Electric

Last week, GMC unveiled the 2021 Hummer EV, a vehicle that reminds me of my old Avalanche in silhouette, but promises so much more. Next year, Tesla is expected to release their Cybertruck. While prior efforts at electric or hybrid tow vehicles (Tahoe Hybrid, anyone?) were more or less failures, it appears that we are reaching a tipping point.

Of course, if your reaction to that prior paragraph is unbridled glee or abject disgust, you’re probably letting your politics get in the way of your ears and your cranium. For most of us, the current inability to switch from gasoline to electricity is not just a matter of dogma, but rather of personal economics. The Hummer EV Edition 1, with its 1,000 horsepower and 11,500 lb-ft of torque, will start at over $112,000. Even in an age when most bass pros drive jacked up, over-accessoried trucks, that’s still a lot.

Even more limiting is their range. The Hummer will get about 350 miles to a charge. The top of the line Tesla may get over 500 (your mileage may vary, especially when towing). That’s a lot for a suburban grocery-getter, but not necessarily for a long-haul-pro-hawger. For example, there was no charging station convenient to the home that I stayed at on Santee Cooper a few weeks ago. Someone driving from their home in Central Texas to a tournament in Arizona – through the heart of oil country – might have an even tougher time. Of course, more adopters will probably lead to more charging opportunities, so each new purchase is in effect a building block.

So will you be the first angler on your circuit to pull your metal-flaked Hydroblaster to the tune of an electric purr? I think it’s only a matter of time until we start to see a few of them, especially as costs go down, reliability is ascertained, and overall usage becomes more widespread.