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Comment by bkohlmann | Hacker News Reader

Not exactly pertinent to "garage orphans," but i was struck by the picture featured in the article and the design choice of how electric chargers look.

They seem to be an exact replica of a traditional gas nozzle. Striking to me how initial conditions matter for human perception and adoption. While EV is an entirely new technology and thus could be built from a cleanslate, the easiest way to drive adoption was to shape it as close to the existing solution as possible - which was specifically designed to transmit a liquid. Clearly it works - but an important design lesson for me!

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Big Fat High Flowrate Hoses are stiff and need a big handle to manhandle them around. Pistol grip handles work well for this.

Big Fat High Wattage Cables are stiff and need a big handle to manhandle them around. Pistol grip handles work well for this.

Electricity and gasoline both travel through tubes, and both are dangerous if they breach insulation.

Handles are convenient for people with hands.

Quite a lot of senior citizens go for EV cars - they are not as fit and strong as your average HN reader (who seem to be the only other demographic buying EV).

So there needs to be consideration for them. Apparently it is really quite hard work plugging in if you are in the twilight years with health considerations. The more you need the mobility solution an EV offers the more likely it is that you are going to struggle putting that big charging cable in to your Nissan Leaf.

Is this just another example of Skeuomorphism? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph

I can see where this would drive adoption. From the user standpoint, familiarity is a selling point. The more the electric car can be seen as a drop in replacement to the internal combustion vehicle, the less the potential buyer has to consider. If the Tesla were steered by two sticks instead of a steering wheel, it probably wouldn't ever appeal to more than the enthusiast.

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