Have you considered buying an electric car?  Are you aware of the expiring tax credits effective September 30 that right now amount to a price reduction of $7500 for eligible cars?

I’ve been driving an EV for 5 years, and I can tell you, they are a blast to drive with instant torque and acceleration and no turbo lag or shifting of gears. My car accelerates 0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds!

Because I charge at home, I see a big cost savings over what I used to pay for gas. My EV has an 85 kilowatt hour battery and if I pay 12 cents per kWh and charge from 0-100% capacity, my cost is $10.20 for about 350 miles of range! Compare that to an old (non-EV) car - assuming 35 miles to the gallon, so 350 miles required 10 gallons of gas. At $2.50 a gallon, that’s $25.00 - more than twice as much as my EV!

I also get “over the air updates” (just like with your mobile phone). It’s like having a new car with each update!

Another huge advantage is maintenance. My EV has about 20 moving parts, compared to gasoline cars, which have around 2000! So fewer things go wrong! I now have no tune-ups, no spark plugs, no radiator and transmission flushes and no oil changes. I’ve never had to have a brake jobs, as the electric motor that propels the car also slows it down to a stop, a process known as regenerative braking or the common term, one pedal driving.

Finally, I feel like I’m helping the environment. Yes, there’s a larger carbon footprint in the manufacture of EVs, largely related to assembling the battery. But after about 10,000-12,000 miles, that deficit goes away and they operate emissions free, depending on the source of electricity to power them. I also like the fact that by driving an EV, I’m conserving oil that can be used for many other purposes: paint, plastics, pharmaceuticals, fertilizer, dyes, clothing etc. So I get to drive a cool car and contribute to cleaner air at the same time.

Should you be interested in checking out an EV (I guarantee you’ll be impressed if you test drive one), here’s a list as of July 11, of the ones that qualify for a tax credit. Try it you’ll like it and you’ll do the environment a favor.  See here for details.