But you have to remember that with the current batteries, electrical cars still don’t drive nearly as far on a full battery as a regular car drives on a full tank of gasoline.

And at the same time there is far less charging stations around than regular gas stations (depending on where in the world you live)

So you should probally take your driving habbits into considerations to really know how its going to effect your life and your economy.

What it doesn’t show, on the other hand, is the 3x better efficiency of using electricity for transportation instead of gas.

Yes, EVs are not (yet) perfect cars. They have their limits.

If you don’t drive a lot then the extra upfront cost may not be recovered from lower operating expenses.

If you frequently take long drives an EV may not be for you.

If you want to drive cross country then an EV may not be for you. (Unless you want the luxury of a Tesla S. It’s cross-continent ready.)

If you want extra fast charging in your garage then you might need something more than a simple 120 or 240 vac outlet. Lots of people would be find with only a 120 vac outlet.

We get it. You can make a list of conditions which EVs don’t (yet) meet.

Have you considered the fact that if you need to haul ten yards of gravel a 7-series BMW doesn’t meet that need?

But if you almost always drive within the range of an EV and drive somewhere around the average 13,000 miles or higher per year then an EV could be fine for you and could save you money.

I have recently been discussing the best EV for someone who drives about 30,000 per year. He is currently spending about $7,000 per year for fuel and maintenance. Add in the another $4 to pay for the car he is “using up” each year and he’s out at least $11k per year.

His driving pattern would easily doable in a Nissan LEAF. He could buy one for $21,300, pay for it with two years savings from what he is now driving, and drive at least one more year before the battery might need replacing. He might get more than three years.

Replace the battery for less than one year of his old costs. Drive three or more years on the replacement battery.

He now would have spent one half as much as he had been spending on a gasmobile over that six year period.

The math works for some. You simply described someone for whom the math does not work.

And some of your stuff is wrong.

Coal now provides 35% of US electricity, not 49%. In order for an EV to be overall less carbon intensive than a gasmobile only a small percentage of the input power needs to be from low carbon sources. The US grid has a significant low carbon input of hydro, nuclear and renewables. EVs on any grid in the US are less carbon producing than ICEVs.

This is all just comparing the price of gas vs the price of electricity as fuel sources. But there are some other very important costs to keep in mind. For organization’s sake,
here’s a bullet-point list:”

Bob – the author started it with his bullet points

1. a Still expensive! High mpg gasoline vehicles with similar seating available at half the price.

1. b Lot of bucks to commute around town. What if you want to go visit grandma? Take all day to drive 150 miles? And spend the night while her 120 outlet charges your EV to get you half way home the next day? Or, drive your gasmobile, see grandma, have lunch, leave her to her afternoon nap and drive home for dinner.

1. c Whoa there son, unless you are in Pacific NW with lots of dams, your power is most likely fossil. In US about 49% of
electricity is generated from coal, 21% from natural gas, and 1% from petroleum. So, grid is carrying about 71% fossil fuel power.

1. d So rolling black outs! Or, home from work, no soccer for kid ‘cause car is only good for another couple of miles and game over before car charged. Can’t take wife to dinner in evening, car not charged. Nice. Up at mid-night to plug it in for off peak. As opposed to filled up car with gasoline/diesel last week and let’s go watch the game and get pizza.

1. e Nearly 200K miles on gasmobile and no major repairs, Don’t know if one would live long enough to go 200K miles at 60 miles – charge – 60 miles – charge . . . and, actual battery life is still a question.

1. f Have you got 240v in garage? Got an OEM charger for vehicle? ($1300 plus installation for a $30K Leaf). 240v not average homeowner DIY and probably need licensed sparky to meet local code.

2. Sure hope you aren’t in a hurry and would like to hang out
where ever that charger is plus pay a fee for the charge. A little rambling here: A couple of EV owners at workplace who sometimes must use gas vehicle because not enough range to make it to work on cold, dark winter day. Looked into installing charging stations at work, $15K to get power to parking spaces. Also, lose parking spots that are now reserved for EV’s. So, no charging at work. They really would like to get home for dinner and not spend a hour along the way getting charged up.

Also, “With the availability of DC fast charging, a properly equipped electric car could make the 1,200 mile drive from Seattle to San Diego in about four days time -only twice what it
normally takes in a conventional car.” http://www.autotrader.com/research/article/car-news/107569/the-electric-car-road-trip-of-the-future.jsp

So, really, the 3x cost of gasoline may not really be all that expensive – either dollars or environment.

Some of it is important in ones decision whether to purchase an EV, but that wasn’t the topic.

1.a) Dropping. Fairly fast.
1.b) Not a problem if one is looking for an affordable way to commute within the range of the EV.
1.c) Only an issue for grids which are 100% coal. Are there any of those?
1.d) Not an issue if one charges during off-peak hours.
1.e) Probably no more an issue than replacing engines/doing serious repairs with a gasmobile.
1.f) Not very expensive. Most need nothing more than a simple 240 vac outlet like they’d use for their clothes dryer.

2. EVs tell you when you are getting low and where the closest places to charge are. Running out of charge is a doofus move.

EVs are great for people whose driving fits their ability. They can save money and help the planet.

3. This one you got right.

1. You included no factors or calculations for the following items

a) Exhorbant cost of the vehicle, compared to similar conventional fueled models, especially if you take away the taxpayer subsidized kickbacks in the form of incentives to buy one. Plus additional cost for a charging station for home.

b) extremely short driving range, thus a need for frequent and extended stops to recharge [a whole lot longer to recharge than those few minutes at the gas pump and a whole lot more often]. Furthermore, the range per charge is of greater concern in the winter, with the need for headlights, heater/defroster and windshield wipers – you’ll be lucky to get out of the driveway before needing a recharge.

c) calculations for pollution at the generation source (almost all electricity is generated by fossil fuel), and the price will rise as more stringent controls and additional regulations and taxes are applied to generation.

d) additional strain on the grid, with limited charging windows to avoid brown/blackouts,

e) replacement cost for deplete batteries.

f) additional taxes and license fees for road use that are not included in the electricity costs.

f) cost of recharging stations, if anything more than a very slow 120v household outlet.

2. Oh, and when the battery goes dead, you don’t just take a can somewhere and fill it with watts to put in the tank; you become a very expensive roadside attraction waiting for an expensive tow truck..

I am sorry to say this but EV’s are for the rich and the fanatics. Hybrids are just glorified fossil fuel vehicles, mostly with pretty poor mpg.

3. And, finally, no matter how you travel, it takes energy . . . even if you are just walking. There is no free lunch or free ride.

How about a site where you could enter your annual miles driven and then see the costs of driving based on 2001 to now gas/electricity prices.