Posted on 01/22/2015 7:14:12 PM PST by jazusamo
Drivers trying to calculate whether it's practical to own an electric car are facing a new math.
U.S. gas prices have fallen more than $1 per gallon over the last 12 months, to a national average of $2.06, according to AAA. That makes electric cars — with their higher prices tags — a tougher sell.
"Fuel savings are not top of mind to many consumers right now," says John Krafcik, president of the car shopping site TrueCar.com.
Automakers have responded by slashing thousands of dollars off the sticker price of electrics. Incentives averaged $4,159 per electric car last year, up 68 percent from 2013, according to Kelley Blue Book. The average for all vehicles was $2,791.
The discounting, combined with new vehicles such as the BMW i3, the electric Kia Soul and the Mercedes B Class, boosted sales of electrics 35 percent last year, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. But the gains came before gas prices plunged in the second half.
So the discounting will likely continue. In January, the electric version of the Ford Focus was selling for an average of $25,168, or 16 percent lower than the sticker price of $29,995, according to TrueCar.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
When you realize that most of the time you’re just going to work and back, yes it’s an equivalent comparison and parking the Explorer to use the Leaf is a no-brainer.
I believe we get less than 10% of our oil from the Middle East and Russia.
Electric cars are going to be very much like flat screen monitors and TV’s.
One of these days - out of the blue - they’ll work better and be cheaper. And when that happens suddenly there will be a massive transition to electric cars.
Whens the last time you saw a CRT?
I see.
A bicycle would be much cheaper.
If I save money every month it really doesn’t matter what the comparison is.
On insurance and gas alone I’m saving over $200/mth with the switch. Not to mention the time I waste at the pump having to stop every 4 days to fill up, instead of just pulling up to my garage and plugging her in.
Couldn’t agree more...No subsidies!
So let me ask you...Gun metal or black? What color is your Leaf?
A bicycle’s range is impractical for most commuters. If it weren’t, you’d see a whole lot more commuters on bicycles.
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Tesla will be out of business when the realities of battery cost and lack of reliability have been affirmed by their new battery “factories.”
The real world of Lithium is on the verge of crashing through the scam barrier.
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Gunmetal, of course.
Now if only the glovebox could hold a suitably-sized safe...
Build up enough cash from one tech, and you can afford to make the next practical & superior tech happen. Reference case: Apple.
I drive a 2002 SUV, 3rd owner IIRC. I’m sure it has had ar least 3-4 batteries in its lifetime. No way someone will do that to a electric car, it will go to the scrap heap.
I’ve got the same color.
The glovebox is too small for sure, but the car door console is probably good enough for your CCW piece.
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There is no basis of comparison between flat screen TVs and electric cars.
The TVs use proven technology that is getting easier and cheaper by the day, while electric cars are proving by the day that existing technology is not adequate, and proposed technologies problematic and attending costs rising rapidly as resources are exhausted.
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Not with 5&6-y/olds clamoring around.
What do you suppose is going to replace lithium?
China is moving to cut us off with astronomical prices.
No you’re right....Mine are still in car seats and barely able to walk.
I disagree about the tax incentive. I give them much more than that each year, and I’d rather waste it on me, than have them waste it on their foolishness.
I heard the same basic complaints about flat-panel TVs just before the transition. “Too costly at market scales! Inadequate manufacturing! Old tech is superior!” Suddenly everyone got ‘em, and vastly superior HDTV panels are now cheaper than anywhere-close CRTs were.
Atlanta is darned near overrun (relatively speaking) by EVs. I’ll see 2-3 dozen Leafs just driving to work. Shortly after getting mine, I saw 8 parked at the local (small) library. A lady stopped me in another parking lot to ask why they’re suddenly everywhere. This morning, while dropping kids off at school, the staff assistant commented that with all the Leafs school parents have, and the very limited color choices, she can’t tell who’s dropping off until the door opens. Charging stations are popping up rapidly - including one right at my favorite parking spot at work.
Charging at home amounts to running a hairdryer overnight; methinks the grid can handle that. About the only serious limitation we see on the horizon is, as you noted, the global supply of lithium and heavy metals. This ain’t the first time we’ve seen such “physical limits” problems looming, and we’ll overcome it like the others (with things like graphine fuel cells, ultra capacitors, home solar (yes, I’m serious), combinations thereof, new techs, etc).
How’s that mortgage deduction treating you?
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