Charge the car on the charge card. Now at food retail outlets you can charge your electric car. Retail stores around the United States are installing charging stations for your new electric vehicle. This puts lets go shopping honey into a new dimension. Soon customers will decide where to purchase their groceries based upon the availability of a car charging station at the store location. Retailers are scrambling for consumers to go to their retail store. They look ecologically friendly and more stations means that more consumers might feel more comfortable buying that battery powered vehicle.

The fees have not reached a universal mode in that some stores charge for the service. For example, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, has a $3 dollar per hour fee. Other stores offer it for free. Yes, now we can go car charging station shopping for a good price. I understand that it is important to be competitive in the marketplace, however, we have a new thing going on here; can’t we make it simple for the consumer and have these stations everywhere for free or at least the same price?

Whole Foods Market opened two stations last April in Austin, says company spokeswoman Rebecca Scofield. Whole Foods also installed charging stations at stores in Connecticut, Denver and near Dallas in 2010, She also added, “If the excitement is any indication, we’ll definitely see a big explosion in the use of these cars.” Yes, I’ll buy the creepy thing that you can’t hear approach you if a universal charging station is readily available everywhere, however, I never thought I’d find it at the grocery store. I’m used to be going to a gas station. Put it there. Get rid of all fuel vehicles. Let’s do it!!!

In Bellingham, Washington, a charging station was opened at The Market at Fairhaven in January 2010, says Sue Cole, spokeswoman for The Markets, a chain if 18 supermarkets in that area. It was the first grocery store in the country to install one. Cole said, “People can pull in, plug in and during a shopping trip they can get enough juice to go another 10 miles.” Great! Americans aren’t fat enough. If I have to wait an hour for the transportation thing to charge, I don’t want to spend an hour or even a minute longer in a food store. Get me out of there before I buy and eat way too much food. Now put the charging stations near a bar or 3D Movie complex or even better near a sports arena. Well, now we’re talking. Juice me up every which way!

Stations are popping up all over America now even in some Best Buy locations. Michael Farkas is the chief executive officer of Car Charging Group, which owns and maintains the units and splits revenue with $3 dollar per hour stations. The equipment costs $2,000 to $6,000 plus installation; costs are partially offset by federal tax credits of up to 50%.

As more charging units are installed, he expects the practice at many locations of providing the service for free will end.

Retailers will help overcome consumers biggest concerns about purchasing electric vehicles- the fear of becoming stranded on the road if they run out of juice.