I guess it pays to keep those old electronic magazines after all. I TOO remembered the article. And I STILL have the magazine—just found it.
The article was in the January-February 1980 Elementary electronics magazine, in the “Ask hank, he knows” monthly column, where readers would write this guy with a question or comment, and the man would respond to them.
The comment you are referring to was called “What an outlet”. Someone, most likely a kid, wrote to say that “his friend’s father had invested in a new electric car that he said “detroit is trying to suppress”. “It is a small car that can drive 150 mils from home and return and be recharged in FIVE minutes, due to its “very unique battery system”. “Isn’t it a crime how new energy saving systems are being shot down”?
The coloumist responded with some basic comments on physics and thermodynamics, pointing out that EVEN IF the car only had a 40HP motor, and drove at an average of 50MPH for the full 300 miles, it would use 11,404 Watt-hours of energy to recharge in five minutes from a HOME would require an AC outlet to deliver 92AH, or 1100AMPS, for five minutes!! (I assume he was referring to the 120 volt line, a 230 volt line would halve this)—”imagine the size of the house wiring”. he then stated that you have to “replace what you use and about efficency and such and pointed out that to recharge a battery that fast would get the battery so hot that it would probably GLOW!! . He concluded that the kid should recheck his facts, he has some things mixed up!!