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almightybmw · 01-26-2010, 04:56 PM

Winter tires, summer tires, battery heaters, trickle charger, plow-like bumper, 2+2 seats (not true backseat but will pull in a pinch), 10cu.ft cargo (can be the "backseat"), 4" of suspension travel (yes the roads are that bad and you can't avoid the bad), 50 mile range at worst, ie 4 people, 70mph on the highway, at -20*F.

That's about the minimum I'd support. I'm not being picky, these are the things I deal with on a weekly basis, and the needs to meet them. If I could have that for under $5000, it might be worth it. But $5000 takes a long time to repay in fuel savings, especially when I drive 500 miles a month, and it's $45/300 miles of city driving. I can't ditch my truck, for obvious reasons (heavy hauling and offroad expeditions), I can't ditch my car, on highways its ~$45/500 miles to drive. An EV will beat that, but not in the same timeframe.

At best, ignoring the times I go play in the snow and assume those 500 miles are all in the city/metro area, that's saving me $900 of in-town fuel costs a year. But I have to pay for electricity at home, and there is nowhere to plug in at school or at work in the summer months. So I can assume 80% of the charging costs go to me. After all surcharges and such it's about $0.15/KWh here.

I haven't really been paying attention to Wh usage with EV cars, so if someone has a rough idea of what a 50 mile range EV (worst case) and the time it would take to charge from "dead" to full, I'd appreciate it. I really don't know how much Ah's would be needed to meet that goal.

I'd love to have an EV, but my location just isn't that conducive to them. There is no highway I won't meet a commercial truck on that would "allow" me to drive 60mph. I would be a nuisance. Blame my state for having 65mph (commercial) truck limits and 75mph passenger limits.

Plus I'd have to trailer one out here from a larger metro area, as there are none near me. So add in 15mpg costs for me towing it with my truck for whatever distance.

Why don't I own an EV.....There is no love for them here.

01-26-2010, 04:56 PM	#44 (permalink)
almightybmw Custom User Title Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 248 Daily Driver - '02 Pontiac Grand Prix SE 90 day: 18.45 mpg (US) Thanks: 1 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	Winter tires, summer tires, battery heaters, trickle charger, plow-like bumper, 2+2 seats (not true backseat but will pull in a pinch), 10cu.ft cargo (can be the "backseat"), 4" of suspension travel (yes the roads are that bad and you can't avoid the bad), 50 mile range at worst, ie 4 people, 70mph on the highway, at -20*F. That's about the minimum I'd support. I'm not being picky, these are the things I deal with on a weekly basis, and the needs to meet them. If I could have that for under $5000, it might be worth it. But $5000 takes a long time to repay in fuel savings, especially when I drive 500 miles a month, and it's $45/300 miles of city driving. I can't ditch my truck, for obvious reasons (heavy hauling and offroad expeditions), I can't ditch my car, on highways its ~$45/500 miles to drive. An EV will beat that, but not in the same timeframe. At best, ignoring the times I go play in the snow and assume those 500 miles are all in the city/metro area, that's saving me $900 of in-town fuel costs a year. But I have to pay for electricity at home, and there is nowhere to plug in at school or at work in the summer months. So I can assume 80% of the charging costs go to me. After all surcharges and such it's about $0.15/KWh here. I haven't really been paying attention to Wh usage with EV cars, so if someone has a rough idea of what a 50 mile range EV (worst case) and the time it would take to charge from "dead" to full, I'd appreciate it. I really don't know how much Ah's would be needed to meet that goal. I'd love to have an EV, but my location just isn't that conducive to them. There is no highway I won't meet a commercial truck on that would "allow" me to drive 60mph. I would be a nuisance. Blame my state for having 65mph (commercial) truck limits and 75mph passenger limits. Plus I'd have to trailer one out here from a larger metro area, as there are none near me. So add in 15mpg costs for me towing it with my truck for whatever distance. Why don't I own an EV.....There is no love for them here. __________________