Sierra Club’s “Pick a Plug-In” Tool Backfires

The Sierra Club is out with a new web tool to get more people to buy electric vehicles (EVs). The only problem: after using the “Pick a Plug-In” tool, it quickly becomes apparent that for many Americans, seemingly no electric vehicles meet their needs.

To use the tool, individuals are asked to answer several questions about their vehicle needs, including how much they are willing to spend. But for a typical family of four with a budget of up to $25,000 that wants to purchase a vehicle capable that is capable of taking a road trip, this is what Sierra Club recommends:

No EVs match your needs

If this family of four increased its budget to $30,000, the options would expand—to a whopping three choices (even after taking federal subsidies into account)! Families could choose from a Toyota Prius Plug-In, a Chevrolet Volt, or a Ford C-Max. However, even these options remain impractical. The Prius Plug-In, for example, can only travel 11 miles on a single charge before using gasoline. It should be no surprise then that sales of these vehicles have languished.

Despite the obvious drawbacks, Sierra Club continues hawking electric vehicles as part of its broader agenda to eliminate fossil fuels. Sierra Club may have created its EV tool to convince people to buy electric vehicles, but in reality the tool only underscores how out of touch Sierra Club is with most Americans.

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