TEPCO Level III "quick" charging station/connector
Those LEAF and iMiEV owners on a frequent trek on the heavily travelled I-80between SMF & SFO ... they SURE will appreciate it. No other way to make it ... unless you want to "turtle along" ...
I have been reading these reports, and something is bugging me. To prove the iMiev could drive San Francisco to Sacramento they drove 54 miles to Vacaville, arriving essentially empty. Then they get an 80% fast charge and drive on the remaining 30 or so miles to Sacramento.
BUT ... What if they were going the other way? They'd arrive 50% full at Vacaville, and then have a much longer wait as you can't push charge into the battery above 80% nearly as fast. Potentially it could take an hour or more to do the last 20%. And you couldn't afford not to fill that last 20% as you'd need every kWh to get from Vacaville to San Francisco.
My conclusions are:
1. Don't take your iMiev to Sacramento and expect to be coming back!
2. Fast chargers can't just be at the mid-point of a route - they need to be well past the mid-point in each direction.
3. Battery capacity matters - here Tesla has it 100% right. A fast charging vehicle with 16 kWh/50-60 mile freeway range (like the iMiev) is nowhere close to the utility of a 150-180 mile freeway fast-charging vehicle (e.g. 230 mile version of Model S).
Apart from the first 50-60 mile leg, the iMiev thereafter needs to be recharged every 45 miles (due to the 80% fast charge limit - 40 miles if you don't want to be driving on empty at the end of each leg). This means a 20 minute stop every 3/4 hour.
The 230 mile Model S would need to be recharged every 100-120 miles, or around 1 and a half to two hours. This seems closer to the intervals I find comfortable for longer drives. Assuming 45 minute 80% recharge (as I believe Tesla have suggested) I would find the breaks comfortable length too.