Transtead said:
I vote for a male NEMA inside the charging compartment -- let the car deal with the step-up to 240v.
It seems like a "no brainer" solution, so I'm wondering if they didn't do it because 1) It would be too many standards to adhere to across the globe (i.e. a different plug for every place they wanted to sell to) to make it cost-effective? Or was trickle-charging more of an afterthought to begin with??
The problem with a standard cord going into the car is that if you unplug the cord without stopping the charge first, you will get arcing on the contacts and eventually destroy the connector.
Yes, with the current brick, you can still get arcing at the wall outlet, but the (expensive) connector on the car is protected.