Electric cars and gas prices: check this out!

Really, the price of gasoline is as important as the price of batteries. If that is shitting on a thread as uninformed says, then I'll take that from him. You can't really ignore the price of the alternative method of transit unless you are lucky to have bikes, buses or subways as an alternative.

What price will gas be in the year 2019? I don't know, no one knows. I can say two things confidently- it is very relevant to the economics of car ownership for cars purchased today, and the supply/demand economics strongly suggest it will be higher but how much we just don't know. So, 8 or $9 is my guess, based on averaging a few research reports I read.

Plus- check out todays' news about A123. The new battery comes out in mid-2013. Battery tech is making great strides every day.. and it's only had serious funding and focus for say the last 10 years. A123 Battery development
 
Your diesel may be slightly better today, but where hybrids win is not for the individual today but for everyone tomorrow given they are the bridge technology to EVs. The hybrids of today are creating the battery so that in ten years I'll drive an EV Ford Explorer with a 600 mile range, comparable cost and much, much cheaper expenses to use and maintain. Plus, the domestic security issue mentioned earlier.

So, I won't argue with you- there are some diesels, especially from BMW, that get great mpgs today. It's just that when you have a bridge tech on the scope and scale of this, the consumer and/or govt. may subsidize something initially for a much larger and better payoff later. I drive a Lexus 450H, I get 30 mpg, and would otherwise get about 24 mpg with the regular version. I realize my payoff takes a lot of miles to get to, but I will get there eventually and enjoy not the smug factor, but what I'm learning already about the next generation of cars.
 
Why does a car need a break even point? Would anyone drive a Porche or Mercedes if this was all that mattered?
 
A break even point of 5.86 is not "good", I agree, BUT, 5.86 is much better than the author uses. The author comes up with a break even point of about 11 years.

I took his formula, used real local numbers and came up with 5.86 years.

btw, whoever said something about gas prices being $3.50, I haven't paid $3.50 in a while. Today I paid $3.13, and I used $3.25 as something of an average for the past several months.

The only people interested in break-even-points are people like myself who are trying to do the best job saving money over the long haul.

Right now, something like this might actually the best bang for the buck for the next 5-7 years.
The Link
 
and I don't know the seller. I just picked the car out of autotrader. A two to three year old car that goods good mileage, maintain the car and it should last 5-7 years pretty easily.
 
Paso, because the OP spent a great deal of time talking about the payout. The theme of this entire thread, or a very large one, is saving money / being cost conscious.

Orange, the nationwide average is about $3.50. I would use something higher than the $3.25 you are paying now as an average (because I do think, realistically, gas will go up), but also run a stress case at $3 or so for conservatism. I would also include the cost of a replacement battery in either case. My guess is you will be much closer to 11 years than you think.
 
Not sure if anybody read the part in the article about leasing vs. owning but seems to be a very attractive option now if you want to lease an EV due to the fuel savings that you don't have to wait years to recoup the savings.
 
There is an aftermarket for batteries- and they pay you for your used, and diminished powered cells to be used as grid storage.

Here is a link to one of several service providers, plus some utilities will purchase the batteries: Aftermarket Battery Program

Other manufacturers, like Toyota, guarantee the performance of the batteries. I think they have a 100,000 mile program. None of the EV sellers leave you stranded if there is a performance failure, just like they would for any other car or part.

The issue here is not the battery, it's the skepticism from those who are new to the idea of an EV. I agree the battery has plenty of room for improvement in cost and range, but I also am 100% confident that is happening right now. We're comparing a technology that has been around for 100+ years to another one that has been around for 100+ years, but really has only had the capital, focus and research since the Prius reinvigorated it all in 1999.
 
I like the way my Leaf drives in the city and I actually prefer it to the TL. It is very quick and has a short turning radius. It also has excellent electronics and a pretty good stereo (I replaced the speakers which made it much better). It is not a very good freeway car and my TL crushes it.
 
I'm going to order a pizza from California Pizza Kitchen before they raise their prices another 50%! Mmmm hmmm!!

pizza.jpg


Impin ain't easy blah blah
 
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