With the proposed phasing out of fossil fuel powered transport, how much thought have you put into what you will be driving in the run up to the phasing out?
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I'm having a hard enough time buying regular cars. The price would have to come down significantly and there would have to be an investment in building charging stations in my area before I can consider it.
@DDonde Actually, lifetime dollar cost of electric cars is lower than that of gas cars. Initial price is higher but that's balanced by much lower fuel costs.
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Electric cars have a FAR lower lifetime CO2 footprint and a FAR lower lifetime energy footprint. Since energy correlates closely to dollars, it means electric cars have a far lower total cost of ownership.
These graphs are for Vancouver CA in 2018, so energy costs are similar to the US; however energy is represented in megajoules - there are 3.6 MJ in a KWH, and 1 MJ = .37 horsepower hours. It assumes 150,000Km of travel over the life of the car, about 93,000 miles.
Lifecycle CO2 costs (these include extracting & transporting oil)
@DDonde [quote]That’s nice, but it doesn’t mean I can afford to buy one[/quote] It does mean that long term electrics are MORE affordable than gasoline cars. So you're saying you can't afford a car at all?
@Scarfface [quote]is cheaper better?[/quote] Because operating costs track closely with energy usage, in this case more efficient means both cheaper and better. Better for the environment and better for your wallet.
Another benefit of electric vehicles is that electric engines need very little maintenance - no spark plugs, no gaskets, no timing belts, no cam shaft, no valve lifters, no piston rings, no oil pump, no fuel pump, etc. That leaves mostly - suspension, bearings, tires, brakes. Electric car brakes wear much less because of regenerative braking; tires wear slightly more because of the extra weight of the battery pack.
