Give the gift of power

As Christmas fast approaches, most of us are in panic mode. We’re shopping the mall; we’re checking out specialty coffee and chocolate stores in our hometowns that most of us would never set foot in outside of the Christmas rush. But, what was once just too darn expensive now seems like an easy gift idea for Aunt Mabel or your second cousin who randomly shows up on gift-giving holidays without warning.

My father does all of his shopping on Amazon.com. He solicits lists every year around Thanksgiving and then hops online on Cyber Monday to complete the whole buying process in one fell swoop. Personally, I find that a little sterile. What’s Christmas without a little hustle and bustle and fighting for the last Frosty cookie jar with some lady in an overwrought sweater in Hobby Lobby one busy Saturday afternoon?

Christmas just isn’t the same without a little sweat equity, without a little mixed martial arts and the throwing of elbows.

But, if you are like my father and want to keep things sterile, I have the perfect gift for your friends with new and shiny electric vehicles (EVs): a vehicle charger.

And, you know what? You can order it from Amazon.

Yes, you can.

This week, GE Energy told the world that Amazon.com will sell GE’s wall-mounted EV charger the WattStation. No worries anymore about finding a charger or having to buy it at the dealership or through your utility. Now, you can pop online and pick one up on Amazon.com.

Noting that this is “just in time for the holidays”---which may be clever marketing or simply an odd accident---GE will gift EV users in both the U.S. and Canada with those WattStations just as soon as you click on the “add to cart” link on Amazon (and pay, of course).

“As demand and interest in the GE WattStation continues to grow, we’re excited to give our customers an easy way to purchase the charger,” said Sergio Corbo, chief marketing officer for GE Energy’s Industrial Solutions business in a release about the Amazon deal. “We believe the product is well-suited to an online purchasing experience.”

Well, OK. I’m not really sure about that one. Buying a DVD online? Sure. Easy-breezy. Buying some headphones, a new nose ring, some paperbacks and maybe a scarf? A-OK. But, a car charger?

Buying a car charger online seems---odd. Sometimes I breeze through the sporting goods equipment on Amazon and think, “Who buys a treadmill online?”

I had a similar reaction to the car charger announcement: “Who buys a car charger online?”

A $10 purchase online? Sure. A $1,000 purchase online? Really? And do you just slap that on your VISA and call it good?

Amazon lists the product features as:
• Easy-to-install mounting brackets,
• a power button allowing zero energy consumption when off, and
• peace of mind (in the form of ground fault protection).

And the description labels the WattStation “the EV charger you've been looking for!”

So far, there’s only one review on the GE WattStation on Amazon’s site. By AaronLephart---who has done no other reviews I can find on the site about anything other than the WattStation---the response is glowing:

I purchased this charger at a retail store long before Amazon carried it. The internals are made with overbuilt componants and are top quality. This same charger would have cost you $3000.00 a year ago, amazing how fast progress is being made. I recommend installing the charger on a dedicated 40amp circuit breaker. The J1772 connector is solid and does'nt feel cheap at all. The electrical wiring they use for the cord is VERY flexible and long. I cant stop looking at the lights on the charger at night. When not in use the charger has a button to take all power from the unit. No vampire power usage here!

Three out of four people found Aaron’s review very useful. Me, I’m still in awe over buying a $1,000 car charger online. I really need to get with the times, I guess.

Just for a rush, I added it to my cart for a second. Then, I opened the cart and immediately deleted before the thought of a grand on my VISA made me faint dead away.

So, I didn’t finish my WattStation charger purchase, though I gave it a whirl. Since I don’t have an EV, it would be a frivolous holiday purchase---much more frivolous than that peppermint bark from Williams Sonoma I’ve been eyeing. For someone with an EV, it could be a luxury holiday surprise, for sure.

One thing that does make my cheap soul happy about a WattStation purchase from Amazon: At least it qualifies for free shipping. (But, not if you want it by Christmas to gift to Aunt Mabel.)