I’ve updated the cost comparison spreadsheet (link below). A few notes:

1- Maintenance costs were never calculated in the initial spreadsheet. There was a placeholder for them, but perhaps I decided to leave them out of the calculation due to uncertainty with the EV costs. (So, initial benefit to the gasmobiles there.)

A study on the difference in costs was recently published on this matter, so the maintenance costs are now based on that, and included in the calculation.

2- Projected battery replacement costs are now included, based on projections by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. (They don’t really change much. The EV savings at 9 years go from $20,746 to $17,896. Not insignificant, but insignifiant when it comes to which car wins based on price alone.)

3- I’ve put a call-out for more input on the assumptions used, and I’ll soon do comparisons with more competitive EVs (the Ford Focus Electric isn’t exactly the most competitive EV on the market. ;D) Thanks for pushing me to do better calculations… which I imagine are simply going to put EVs in better light. But we’ll see….

Link to the spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsDzwXJeEr1pdDVxT245YWlMLXBPWFF2enB4NjFEeHc#gid=0

Don’t worry, we haven’t built up our reputation here from nothing. But don’t let that confuse you — you’re right, I’m a Zombie drunk on Kool-Aid.

And, furthermore, in the case of the comparison that is apparently what pissed you off, you still avoid all the most important elements of it! You ignore that it was an exercise in using different assumptions/parameters and encouraging individuals to do the same with their specific parameters. You ignore that I left a spreadsheet there for others to use or modify. You ignore the whole point of the piece. And you expect me to take you seriously?

Average car ownership hit a high last year — 6 years. Yet you complain about an 8-year cost of ownership comparison.

You continue to ignore that I initially performed the comparison for an S model (have an article published with that comparison), but created an updated post with an ST because it is more similar to the electric version.
You complain about the fact that I used official statistics because your statistics show something else, and then call me a nutter for “drinking the Kool-Aid” and an unbalanced comparison. (Do you see the irony?)

Rather than engage in the specifics of the comparison in a friendly way, as many others did before and after it was created in order to make it as useful as possible, you come out swinging and calling names (and contending that your personal “facts” or more accurate than the official statistics).
Believe me, no one here is going to miss you if you decide to move along.

I was all set to buy it, and the guy finally says, “You know, I really like you, and I have to tell you that this vehicle just isn’t going to be reliable enough for you. I’ll sell it to you if you want, but you have to ask yourself how much time you want to spend fixing things.”

I thanked him profusely and didn’t buy it. And then I told him that he needed to save his cash, live below his means, and avoid debt, because we were headed into a real estate crash and depression that would make everyone’s teeth rattle. This was a couple years before everything hit the fan. He shared his candid expertise with me, so I shared mine with him. (I’m not a real estate puke, but I have some high-level finance knowledge.)

Anyway, as far as costs go, I’m finding that my EV, while a lot of fun, will cost me more than the equivalent gas car would. Of course, this author of this blog thinks (hilariously, in my view) that if he shortens his time horizon before the point where the battery will have to be replaced, then he can eliminate the lithium-ion replacement issue — as if a use car buyer wouldn’t take it into account and cut his offer.

In any case, here in Seattle, I estimate that electricity will cost me a year-’round average of between 7 and 8 cents a mile, including the EV road tax, vs. 10 cents for the equivalent ICE car. No oil changes or exhaust replacement in the EV, but batteries are expensive. All in all, the advantage goes to the gas car on cost.

This isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with EVs. I’m having fun with mine, and await a battery breakthrough. You are a hobbyist, a classic American tinkerer. It’s all good, but let’s remember to tell each other the truth.

You need to do more than re-write press releases. Get out there and find independent, knowledgeable people who will tell you how electricity, chargers, batteries, gasoline, diesel and all the rest actually work, and what they really cost.

Then do the numbers. Then do them again. Then run them by people who know more than you do. Then write your articles. That’s the only way to do it if you expect to actually get any respect from knowledgeable Americans who think for themselves, and take the facts as they come.

Or you can keep doing what you do now: pump out breathless hopes that have no basis in reality. Choice is yours.

“So,… when I ran my comparisons of a Ford Focus Electric and Ford Focus S the other day, I thought the Ford Focus S was the most similar non-electric model to the Ford Focus Electric. Woops. After some discussions with readers, it seems the more appropriate comparison (for current Ford Focus options) is the Ford Focus ST, which has a base price of $23,700.”

Funny how you claim that the cheapest Ford Focus (Ford Focus S) should be the comparison vehicle, see that I initially used that vehicle, see that others convinced me the ST was the better comparions vehicle (more similar), and yet claim that I used the ST unfairly because I had an agenda! Seriously, you’re not even trying to join in the discussion in a civil and useful way. You’r completely ignoring obvious statements I made in the article. (And I’m yet to receive any documentation from you on any of the things you claim… such as the S being a better comparison than the ST.)

ALSO, that $900/year figure is based on 20,000 miles a year of driving. Just one of the scenarios. It’s not a fixed price. The other key input, which also is not fixed, is $0.04/mile for “Extra Maintenance Costs For Gas Car Per Mile.” Again, that was my best guess based on what I could find on the matter — I don’t remember the sources I used — but I know I spent a lot of time looking for reliable sources on that. Feel free to let me know if you’ve got a better source I could use. Happy to change the figure to be more accurate… Beyond what you absurdly think, my whole goal here is better accuracy in comparing the costs.

Electrical losses between the plug & EV = substantial? (Again, if you have some correction to make, I’m going to need some documentation to back it up, because your absurd claims about me only make me think that you are not trustworthy — plus, I don’t add new info without documentation anyway, since I have received bad information from supposed experts in the past.)
Range — others have found that the range is better than advertised or rated. I’d assume that, overall, the range is less than advertised, but without substantially scientific 3rd-party testing, I’m not going to put in a range that goes against the EPA rating. Sorry, but that would be obviously biased (something you are claiming to not be, but doing everything you can to refute your claim).

“most significant factor” — believe it or not, I’m not giving your ridiculous comment a second thought. if you want to share your opinion, feel free. but i’d bet a house & a horse on it not being the “most significant factor.”

Calling me a liar is quite absurd, in my opinion of course, since I know that I’m not.

Again, in this one specific case you are referring to, I said in several places that those were all assumptions that anyone could change. If I recall correctly (I have to go back to that article to check), I believe I included a link to a spreadsheet people could use to change any of the assumption. It’s funny that you never respond to my comments about those matters.

Keep playing Mr Sherlock Holmes and “figuring things out.” I’ve got no issue with correcting misinformation — that’s what I’m trying to do! But when you come in with claims I know are absurd (i.e. claims about me), than my regard for your “facts” is not very high. So, be sure to give me a link to any facts you claim, so that I can carefully verify it. Thank You.

It may not be the Tesla of my dreams, but I get around!

You also leave out the most significant factor arguing in favor of EVs relative to ICE power. But since you’re so blatantly irresponsible, I’m going to let you run that treadmill yourself and see how long it takes you to discover it. Based on the shallowness of your thinking, I expect it to be a very long while.

There’s no reason to tell blatant lies on behalf of EVs. The facts are enough. Not for you, but for everyone else.

I’m not “hypersentitive tio simple facts and figures.” But I’m observant of lies and the liars who spout them. You remind me very much of the hypesters who made names for themselves for a while during the Internet stock boom of the late 1990s.

I do like EVs, and in fact I own one. I just don’t feel a need to lie about the numbers like you do.

Batteries– 8-year warranty on those. Cut off the cost comparisons at 8 years and get over it.

— cost forecasts. give me a break. this is one of the biggest nuts in cleantech that researchers are focused on. there are numerous labs and research groups working on potential breakthrough alternatives. a McKinsey & Co. forecast is not going to pass muster in 8 years.

The car comparison I used — i initially compared the Ford Focus EV to a low-end Ford Focus. i was informed that was an unfair comparison because the EV was most similar to the high-end Ford Focus S. So I redid the comparison and made it very clear in the article that people could use the process to compare whatever cars they wanted.

— I was also blamed for using the Ford Focus, btw, since it’s not the most competitive EV by a long shot. Funny that you didn’t pint that out.

Your data — guess what, using data from one person is not the best way to provide information for the general populous. i used national averages, and then i performed variations based on several different scenarios, and I several times urged others to conduct their own analysis based on their own situation.

I don’t recall where the maintenance costs came from, but I do recall that I looked around for the safest/best average on that I could find. Got a link to something better? Shoot it over.

Man, for someone who supposedly likes EVs, you sure are hypersensitive to simple facts and figures.