Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryland
Can automakers build a gas car that they can sell for $5,000? Not unless you want a Tata that is not designed to be repaired and can't be sold in the US.
Used electric car prices are already dropping, Toyota Rav-4 EV's that were selling for $45,000 now have Buy It Now prices on Ebay for $25,000, a Solectra Chevy E-10 truck is on there for $8,000 where I have seen them sell for $20,000-$25,000 in the past.
My point is, if you want an electric car there are factory built ones that you can write a check for and take home today, But people whine and cry about the price of new electric cars when they most likely would never buy a new car! yet automakers don't seem to have a problem selling cars that cost way more then what vehicles like the Leaf are selling for, so someone will buy them, just not the people who are crying about how much they cost.
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Well, considering most cheap, short range, low speed ev's are about as refined, well equiped and useful as a Tata, I'd say the $5k comparison is fair enough. Even though a brand new GEM that only goes 35 miles and 25 mph, which is significatly less capaple than a Tata, costs closer to 8k than 5k. Dosen't matter though, because I need a long range ev if I were to use one at all.
The Nissan Leaf (100 mile range) Rav4 ev (100-120mile range) and the S10(60 miles?) aren't suitable for my needs.
I'd want an ev with an advertised range of about 175mi to feel comfortable driving it the 110 miles that I do every day, considering weather, hills and battery degredation over time. Not even the $25k Aptera does that.
I'd very much buy a new car if it made any sense. But brand new high fuel efficiency cars are in the 12-20k price range and none hit 50 mpg. Cars like the Fiesta, Sonata and Smart do 40-41mpg, which is less than 10 mpg more than my current car. The timeframe to make up the cost difference in the form of fuel saved is too long to bother, especially considering interest payments.
Options for used, high mpg cars are pretty limited as the old Geo's, CRX hf's and Civic VX's (50ish mpg examples) are as old or older than my current car, high mileage and/or beat up. Anything worth owning is somewhat expensive ($2k to $4k) anyway and gets you thinking about much newer 1st Gen Honda Insights, which may cost twice as much, but can do 80mpg, so can pay for themselves more rapidly.
Oops, got a little off subject...Sorta...Anyway;
EV's that can do what I need are north of $40k and make absolutely no financial sense at all. Best car available that I can think of would be a 1st gen Honda Insight, which I'm coming closer and closer to actually shopping for. (Once I "start" shopping, that's it, deal may as well be done)
No doubt electricity is cheaper than gas, but the cars that use electricity are so cost prohibitive that they make no sense...for my uses. If I lived in the city, I might buy a used GEM or something...or I'd just walk/bike/bus...etc.
Damn, the more I type, the more I realize that for people like me, that care only about saving money, EV's have no practical real world use. If you live close enough for a 35mile range EV to work, you can just walk/bike/bus. Any highway use and the cars become very expensive and still have very limited range anyway...and you can't use them for extended travel. Cars like the Chevy Volt...in theory...appeal to me greatly...but they would need to be more like $18k, not $40k.