The NPR Car Talk guys report that Cracker Barrel is installing four electric car charging stations at locations in Texas and Governor Perry is a supporter.  Go figure…

Cracker Barrel and electric cars? Why, yes. As spokeswoman Julie Davis points out, the very first store in 1959 had gas pumps out front, a practice that didn’t end until the 1970s energy crisis. “This is a natural extension of our brand,” she said, as the local restaurant manager cut the ribbon around the $50,000 AeroVironment station, which can add 50 miles to an EV’s range in 15 minutes. “It may seem strange that an old-fashioned store cares about EVs, but we see it as going back to our roots.”

Arun Banskota, the Nepal-born CEO of eVgo, declines to say how many Texans have so far signed up for the plan, and he admits the concept will rise or fall with EV adoption in the state. David Knox, eVgo’s communications director, reckons that there are currently no more than 200 electric vehicles on Texas roads right now, though that number could rise dramatically.

The Volt, Leaf and Mitsubishi i are all on sale at state dealerships now. Banskota says he’s prepared for the somewhat slow rollout process we’re in now. “Based on the public awareness we’re seeing, and the fact that Americans buy new cars every five or six years, we think we’ll see three or four years of slow momentum, followed by a big takeoff and massive growth.”

Of course, they are oblivious to the huge taxpayer subsidies flowing to the company installing the stations.