Man forced to ditch Ford EV during family road trip

A Canadian man is calling electric vehicles the “biggest scam of modern times” after his frustrating experience with an electric truck.

Dalbir Bala, who lives in the Winnipeg area, bought a Ford F-150 Lightning EV in January for $115,000 Canadian dollars (around $85,000 U.S. dollars), plus tax.

He also wanted an environmentally friendly vehicle as owning one is “responsible citizenship these days.”

But then reality struck.

The limitations of the EV truck became even more apparent when Bala embarked on a chaotic 1,400-mile road trip to Chicago.

Fast charging stations – which only charge EV’s up to 90% – cost more than gas for the same mileage. On the family’s first stop in Fargo, North Dakota, it took two hours and $56 to charge his vehicle from 10% to 90%. The charge was good for another 215 miles.

On the second stop, in Albertville, Minnesota, the free charger was faulty and the phone number on the charging station was of no help, he said. The family drove to another charging station in Elk River, Minnesota, but the charger was faulty there as well.

“This sheer helplessness was mind-boggling,” Bala wrote in an online post. “My kids and wife were really worried and stressed at this point.”

There were no other fast charging stations within range of Elk River and his vehicle only had 12 miles left.

“By now it was late afternoon. We were really stuck, hungry, and heartbroken,” Bala said.

Bala ultimately had the vehicle towed to a Ford dealership in Elk River and rented a regular gasoline-powered vehicle to complete the family’s trip to Chicago. The family picked up the F-150 Lightning on their way back to Winnipeg.

“It was in [the] shop for 6 months. I can’t take it to my lake cabin. I cannot take it for off–grid camping. I cannot take for even a road trip,” Bala wrote.

“I can only drive in city – biggest scam of modern times.” More at Yahoo Finance