Tag Archives: electric cars

When Ben Franklin discovered electricity, he inadvertently changed the world. By the late 19th century, people were being catapulted from the Stone Age, as arduous tasks became blindingly simple. Cities became the ‘place to be’, and their streets swelled with people working toward a better life. Electricity provided a new way to live life, and in the 21st century, it’s providing a new way to move about. So let’s throw out ye olde chamber pot, and see what it takes to make your garage compatible with the EV.

What is an Electric Vehicle (EV)?

Unlike a hybrid, an Electric Vehicle runs solely on plug-power. The drive-wheels are turned by an electric motor, which is basically the engine of an EV. It gets power from a high-voltage battery pack, which is usually located in the structure of the vehicle (floor, trunk etc.). EV batteries are often lithium-ion, or nickel-metal-hydride, and can be charged by plugging into a 120-volt outlet, or a special 240-volt outlet. But more on that in a minute.

Since there’s no petrol-powered engine, an EV emits zero pollution. However, you could argue that many of the power plants responsible for fueling your EV, produce massive amounts of pollution. Negating the positive effect of your uber-green Nissan Leaf. But ultimately, that’s between you and Mother Nature.

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Charging an EV

When you are preparing for an electric vehicle, one of the primary considerations is charging.

When you’re driving an EV like the 2013 Nissan Leaf, or 2013 Ford Focus Electric, the batteries get a small charge every time you hit the brakes. Regenerative braking reverses the polarity of the electric motor, causing it to act as a generator to charge the batteries. Similar to transmission-braking with a manual transmission, regen braking has near-instantaneous stopping power. But this system will only help you recover a few lost miles of range. To achieve a full charge, you’ve got to find a plug.

All EV’s come with two charge ports. One is considered ‘Level 1’, and it allows you to plug the car into a standard 3-prong 120v outlet. Using a Level 1 charger lets you charge your EV from virtually anywhere. But you’ll have to wait 14-20 hours to get a full charge.

Level 1 EV Charging – Charging an EV is as simple as finding a three-prong 120v wall outlet, and plugging the car in. Your EV will come with a Level 1 EV Charger that has a 15A charge coupler, connected to a 3-prong plug. All you have to do is plug the car in, and wait 8-14 hours.

With a 120v EV charger, you’re going to be pulling the equivalent of a hair dryer. So to get a good, consistent charge, it’s best if the outlet you’re using has a dedicated 15-20 amp breaker, and your EV is parked close to the plug. And you should never use an extension cord. Many EV warranties specifically state that using an extension cord to charge your EV will void the warranty. So don’t do it.

The reason that extension cords are discouraged is because your EV batteries will be getting less amperage than they need, if the juice has to travel through a long cord. It’s the same principle as plugging a refrigerator into an extension cord. Less amperage will cause the fridge’s compressor to burn out. So just imagine what an extension cord can do to your (really expensive) EV…
If you’re in an emergency situation, and must use an extension, make sure that the cord you use is 12-14 gauge, outdoor rated, and a 3-conductor. Otherwise, it’ll take forever to charge, and your EV system will probably sustain damage from the low voltage.

A 240v Level 2 plug is designed to work with a special charging outlet that you’ll need to have professionally installed at your home. Similar to a high-voltage Dryer outlet, a 240v home charger can pump more juice into your batteries. Reducing your full-charge time to 4-8 hours.

240v – While it may seem like a massive undertaking, installing a 240v home charger is actually fairly simple (for a qualified electrician). Provided the wiring in your home is up to code, they’ll usually install a separate circuit breaker inside your existing fuse panel. Wiring will then be run to your charging station, and your Level 2 charger will be connected to the grid.

Most homes built within the last 20 years, should be able to handle the addition of the 30-40 amp circuit required by a charging dock. An electrician will need to assess the electrical system in your home, to make sure that it can handle the additional amperage pulled by an EV. In many cases, an additional fuse panel will need to be installed, which can raise the installation cost from several hundred, to several thousand dollars.

A Level II EV charger (average price: $500-$900), and the installation will typically run you between $1,500-$2,500. Many states offer generous tax credits toward the installation of a 240v home charging dock, allowing you to ‘save back’ the total/partial installation cost at tax time. Your EV dealer should be able to provide you with a list of qualified local installers, along with information on the EV tax incentives available to you.

Level 2 EV Chargers – Most modern EVs (like the 2013 Nissan Leaf & 2013 Ford Focus Electric) use a universal 15A coupler to connect to the charging port on the car. This charge coupler (plug) has a special proximity circuit that enables the EV to ‘know’ when it’s plugged in. Once the plug is connected to the car, you won’t be able to drive away until it’s unplugged.

Level II home charging stations are available for a variety of applications. Some can be mounted on the wall, on a freestanding pedestal, or hung from the ceiling. If you don’t have a garage to park in, you can get 240v home chargers that are designed for outdoor use. And you can even get portable Level 2 EV chargers that plug into a special wall outlet, instead of being hard-wired to the house.

Solar EV charging systems are also available, and they can reduce your charging cost to zero. However, a solar EV charging station can cost $10k+, so the math is a bit hard to justify.

Thanks to unstable gas prices, Electric Vehicles have come to the forefront of the efficient motoring scene. No longer dependant on foreign oil, EV owners are able to go about their daily commute, gas & emissions free. Charging an EV has always required a plug, tethered to a grid-wired charger. But that’s about to change…

One of the biggest drawbacks to an electric vehicle is, the plug. Every time you park it, you’ve got to plug it in. Otherwise, you’ll be walking to work. Now it’s not a complicated process mind you. Pop the charge door, grab the plug, and viola! But after a long day, the last thing you want to do when you get home is wrestle with a cord…again.

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Americans like ‘easy’. Face it, we do. That’s why massive companies like Siemens & Delphi are developing wireless charging technology that will virtually eliminate the hassle of charging your EV. Simply pull into your garage, or into a specially outfitted parking space, and your EV will begin charging itself automatically.

The way it works is pretty simple. A mat embedded with an electrical coil sits underneath the electric vehicle. When sensors detect the presence of an EV, its source coil begins carrying electricity, which causes a magnetic field to emanate from the EV charging pad. This causes the coil in the car to send out opposing magnetic waves, which allows electricity to flow wirelessly between the two coils. Because of this sort of magnetic coupling, your EV doesn’t have to be positioned directly over the coil in the charging pad. A foot to the left, a few feet behind, it doesn’t matter because the magnetic field coming from the pad will find the pickup coil in the car.

Now those of you that did well in science class will recognize that there will probably be a bit of ‘leakage’ between the two coils. But special manufacturing techniques have increased the electrical transfer efficiency to 95%. So the 3.3 kWh magnetic induction EV charging pad will be able to charge your EV at the same rate as a standard 240v home charging dock.

Wireless EV charging will be the next phase of mainstreaming the EV. When customers become able to eliminate the entire vehicle refueling process, more people will be willing to adopt electric transportation. But in order for that to happen, more wireless charging infrastructure has to be put into place and tax incentives must be available.

Related: What to look for when comparing EVs

Siemens, and Stanford University are currently working on ways to embed charging coils into the road itself. This will allow EV drivers to actually charge their cars, while driving in specially equipped charging lanes. But that’s many years away from happening. The wireless EV charging pads however, should start coming to market in the next couple of years.

The idea behind ‘Green Transportation’ is to move about the earth without harming it. Or at least reduce the environmental impact of a particular vehicle. Each year countless gallons of oil are pumped from the bowels of our planet. After being refined, that oil is then pumped into the tanks of our cars, and burned to facilitate our motion.

200 years ago, traveling across the country would’ve taken months, if not years. You would’ve encountered numerous perils, and death could’ve been waiting for you to arrive. Personal mobility depended on your feet, and your survival skills. If you were wealthy enough to afford a horse, your journey would’ve been easier. But death could’ve befallen Mr. Ed just as easily.

So consider yourself lucky. You probably won’t die of gangrene on the way to see grandma this year. However, every action has a reaction. And our planet now endures the peril of your journey you would’ve encountered numerous perils, and death could’ve been waiting for you to arrive. Personal mobility depended on your feet, and your survival skills. If you were wealthy enough to afford a horse, your journey would’ve been easier. But death could’ve befallen Mr. Ed just as easily.

With every combustion cycle, your engine pumps lethal fumes into the atmosphere. Just because you can’t see the effects (unless of course you live near L.A.), there is damage being done. Now I’m not suggesting that Al Gore was right, and “the sky is falling!”. But the fact remains, burning fossil fuel is slowly causing problems that earthlings will have to deal with 200 years from now.

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The responsible thing to do is use renewable resources to facilitate transportation. Biodiesel / Biofuels are a fantastic start. But their production can cut into food-stocks, and let’s face it, Big Oil is greedy. So the economical mass production of biofuels will probably never happen in our lifetime (and burning biofuel does still create pollution).

One blatantly obvious renewable energy source is the sun. It’s always there, and solar-generated energy has certainly gained traction in the last 20 years. But will solar-powered cars ever see the light of day? (couldn’t resist) The short answer is no. At least, not in our lifetime.
The problem has to do with economics and scale. From a manufacturing standpoint, solar is still extremely expensive to produce. And the vehicles that consumers demand, are way too heavy to be entirely powered by modern solar cells.
Car companies like Fisker and Nissan offer rooftop solar panels that can power the car’s ventilation system, and exterior lights. But that’s as far as this technology is likely to go anytime soon. You can however, charge your electric vehicle with solar panels, creating an indirectly solar-powered vehicle.

Modern EVs are probably the most logical transportation devices on the planet. Their drive systems are simple, and require almost no maintenance. Just replace the tires, and buy new batteries every 100k miles ($2-4k). And they create absolutely no emissions. Nada, zero, zilch. So charging one with a solar EV charging system will remove that stigma of it being ‘powered by coal’ (i.e. the power plant).

From an environmental standpoint, a solar-charged EV is the most karma-friendly way to move about. But from an economic standpoint…you’ve gotta drive a lot of miles to recover the initial cost.

Solar EV charging systems cost $10,000+. And that’s on top of the $35-40k price of an EV. The only way to make a solar-powered EV economically feasible is to install a large enough solar system to power your house and your car. That way, you’re ‘saving back’ your utility bill, your gas bill, and your car maintenance bill.

Related: Which car costs less in the long run, Gas, Hybrid, or EV?

If you’re intent on driving a solar-powered car before you die, this is probably the only way that you’re going to do it.c

Photo Credit: Beezum88

We all know that the ‘greenest’ way to move about the planet is on foot. But since that’s not practical for most of us, a hybrid, or an EV will have to do. There are a lot of myths and speculation surrounding these two types of vehicles. So let’s look at reasons for buying each, and try to figure out which GreenMobile is right for you…

Range Anxiety: Fact or Fiction?
Fully electric vehicles like a 2013 Ford Focus Electric or 2013 Nissan Leaf, are limited by the juice stored in their battery packs. Typically able to travel 60-100 miles on a full charge, an EV is not the ideal car for a roadtrip to Vegas.

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When your EV runs low on juice, your trip Will stop. Now, you could plug your EV into a standard 120v household outlet, but it’ll take 10-14 hours before you can go anywhere. Another option is to push it home and use a special 240v EV home charging dock. However, you’ll still have to wait 4-8 hours for a complete recharge. Many cities have paid high-volt EV charging stations that allow you to fill your voltage-tanks in around 30 minutes. But either way you go, refilling the tank on an EV takes time and planning (many EVs have known-charging stations pinpointed on a special navigation screen, to aid your route planning).

A hybrid on the other hand (like the 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid or 2013 Toyota Prius), is only limited by the amount of fuel in the tank. When you come to a stop, the gas engine shuts off, and Ben Franklin keeps all of the accessories going. As you accelerate, Ben’s invention powers the drive wheels until a set speed is reached, or the batteries start to run low. At that point, the gas engine springs to life, sending power to the wheels, and juice to the batteries.

Related: How do Hybrids Work?

If the little gas-pump-light comes on in a hybrid, all you have to do is find the nearest Petrol Emporium, and top off the tank. There’s no waiting around to recharge, and no fear of…completing your journey on foot.

If you want to ‘have your cake and eat it too’, a plug-in hybrid like the 2013 Chevy Volt or 2013 Ford Fusion Energi, offer fully electric transportation, with the benefit of an onboard generator. Powered solely by an electric motor and battery pack, plug-in hybrids can travel well beyond their charge-range by activating the gas engine under the hood.

Unlike a normal hybrid, the gas engine in a plugin hybrid never powers the wheels directly. It simply runs at a constant RPM, providing juice for the batteries. Once sufficient charging levels have been reached, the gas engine goes back to sleep, and you complete your journey in electric silence. Thanks to its lack of range limitation, a plug in hybrid could really be considered a ‘long-range EV’.

So yes, ‘range anxiety’ does exist, but most serious EV drivers will enjoy that whole OCD mileage calculation thing.

Is geography really a factor?
Yes, it is. If you live in a cold/snowy climate, your EV driving range will be reduced by as much as 50% during the winter months. Since batteries don’t like the cold (or extreme heat), most EVs have a ventilation/heating system to keep the batteries at an optimum temperature. But you’re not going to beat Mother Nature with a fan, or a heat strip. So if you live in an extremely hot or cold environment, just save yourself the aggravation and buy a hybrid.

Hills & Flatlands. Surprisingly, these are considerations too. EVs and hybrids rely on regenerative braking to boost the batteries while you’re driving. Everytime you hit the brakes, the electric motor reverses itself to act as a generator, sending brief charges to the battery pack. On hills, your hybrid and EV are able to replenish the power it takes to climb the hill, by coasting down the other side. On totally flat terrain, there’s less of a chance for the batteries to replenish themselves. Granted, this isn’t a huge consideration, but it does bare mention.

Maintenance & Repairs
While you may qualify for some federal and state tax incentives when purchasing an EV, both hybrids and electric vehicles will cost you considerably more at the repair shop. But on a hybrid/plug-in hybrid, you have maintain the electric system and the gas engine. An electric vehicle on the other hand, only needs tires and the occasional brake pad.

All in all, hybrids and electric vehicles have come a long way in the last five years. Both of these car types are as much a lifestyle choice, as they are transportation. So weigh the pros & cons carefully, because neither one of them is cheap.

Read Next: Reasons to Buy an Electric Vehicle

Electric vehicles are attractive for many reasons. For starters, the absence of a petrol-fired engine means there will be no tailpipe emissions. Which is obviously good for the environment. But you should consider the source of the electricity being used to charge that EV.

In many parts of the country, coal-fired power plants are still in use. So technically, your green-machine is partly responsible for the coal-burning emissions being produced by that plant. Granted, not all power grids draw from a coal plant. So you might want to check with your local power company, if such a thing would bother your earth-consciousness.

There is a purely green, self-sustaining charging option that many EV owners are starting to adopt; Solar charging systems. These use a roof-mounted solar panel to capture the electricity needed to charge an electric car. When not in use, the solar electric vehicle charging system will actually put power back into the grid, garnering you credit toward your next power bill.

Regardless of the power source, a home EV charging station will cost you several thousand dollars, in addition to the price of the EV. There are however, numerous State and Federal tax incentives that will help reduce the cost of installing a 240v home charging dock. And that brings up the next thing that you need to consider when buying an Electric Vehicle; Does it make financial sense?

Dollars & Sense
An EV costs considerably more than an equivalent gas-fired car. For example, a 2013 Nissan Leaf starts at $35,200. The closest gas powered hatchback would be the 2012 Nissan Versa Hatchback, and it starts at just $14,153. So you’re looking at a difference of $21,047.

Now, let’s look at the cost per mile; Figure out how many miles you drive per year, divided by your current average fuel economy. That’ll give you the number of gasoline gallons that you consume in a year. Simply multiply that number by the current price of fuel, divided by the mileage, and you’ll arrive at your current cost per mile.

Next, determine the realistic range of the EV that you want (remember, cold weather can reduce your range by as much as 50%), and divide your mileage by the EV range. The answer will be the number of times that you have to fully recharge your EV. Now multiply that number by the number of kilowatt hours that it takes to fully charge the batteries. Finally, determine what your local utility company charges per kWh (remember, the rates drop at night), and multiply the number of kilowatt hours by the price, to arrive at your current yearly electricity cost. Then divide the yearly cost by your yearly mileage, to arrive at your EV’s cost per mile.

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Clearly, driving an electric vehicle will save you a ton of gas money. But it’s going to take a very long time to recover that $21k EV premium. To see just how long it’ll take, subtract the two yearly fuel costs to figure out how much gas money that you’ll save each year. Then, divide the EV premium by your yearly savings to determine how many years it’ll take to ‘save back’ all that extra money (remember, EV batteries are only warrantied for 8-10 years).

Now if you look solely at the numbers, a pricey electric car might not seem worth it. But here’s the catch; Most urbanites only drive 30-40 miles per day. So the average EV, like the 2013 Ford Focus Electric, or the 2013 Toyota Rav4 EV, would make a perfect commuter car. They’re large enough to handle all of your chores, they drive like a normal car, and they only cost pennies per mile to run.

Granted, you’ll need a gas-powered, or range-extended EV (like the 2013 Chevy Volt) to venture outside of the city (remember, the average EV is only good for 50-100 miles). But EV ownership can still be very rewarding…especially if you’re the OCD Hypermiling type.

Hybrids are for people who like the idea of electric propulsion, but aren’t quite ready to embrace the whole plug-in lifestyle thing. Thanks to mainstreaming efforts by Toyota, modern hybrids offer fully-electric operation, up to a certain speed. Once the magic velocity rate has been achieved, a gas-burning engine comes to life, whooshing you past the speed and distance limitations of the battery pack. For many urban drivers, the hybrid’s gas engine rarely comes online. Allowing them to enjoy the silent, tulip-friendly EV mode for most of their commute. It also saves them a buckload of cash at the pump (read more about how hybrids work).

Warranty / Repair Costs
Buying a hybrid isn’t like buying a normal car. There are plenty of good reasons to buy, but lots of differences to consider. For example, a hybrid is a lot more complicated to build than a regular car. There’s a massive battery pack, several miles of wiring, an electric motor, a specially adapted/designed transmission, the regenerative braking system. And lest we forget, an onboard computer system that would make a NASA engineer drool.

What does that mean for you? Well. If you thought owning an old Porsche would be expensive, just wait till your Prius gets over the 100k mile mark. Those massive batteries cost around $3k, and you don’t even want to know what the transmission, or any of the electronics cost.

Related: Which car costs less, gas, hybrid, or electric vehicle?

Fortunately, most hybrids offer generous factory warranties. The 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid for example, has a 10-year / 100,000 mile warranty on both the hybrid drivetrain, and the batteries. But car companies are only required to back their batteries for 8-years / 80,000 miles, so read the fine print carefully.

Type of Hybrid
A ‘full-hybrid’, like the 2013 Toyota Prius, can propel itself using electricity alone. Once a certain speed is reached, or the batteries are depleted, the gas engine comes online to charge the batteries, and provide power. The gas engine and the electric motor can also work together, providing maximum power for passing maneuvers…and stoplight races.
By contrast, a ‘mild-hybrid’, like the 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco, can’t run on electricity alone. Every time you slow down, or start to coast, the gas engine shuts down to save fuel. The car’s accessories continue to run off of a battery pack, and the gas engine remains off until you release the brake pedal.

When accelerating, a small electric motor kicks in with a little extra twist. But the main focus of a mild hybrid is to reduce the drain on the gas engine, not provide electric propulsion.

A ‘plug-in hybrid’, like the 2013 Chevy Volt or 2013 Ford Fusion Energi, is driven solely on electric power. The gasoline motor simply acts as an onboard generator (spinning at a constant RPM), feeding juice to the batteries and electric motor(s). When you park it at night, simply plug it in (hence the term) to charge the batteries. The next day, you’ll have 30-50 miles of gas-saving electric range.

Will the hybrid you want save you the most money?
Everybody’s daily grind is different, so naturally, you need to choose the hybrid that best fits your needs. For example, if you spend much of your time in stop & go traffic, followed by brief stints on the highway, then a traditional hybrid like a 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid, or 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, will probably save you the most money.

Related: Electric car federal and state tax incentives

If you only travel 20-40 miles per day, but don’t want the range limitations of a full EV, then a plug-in hybrid (like a 2013 Toyota Prius Plugin) would be your best bet. You could handle your commute on battery power alone, saving that tank of gas for a weekend jaunt to the mountains/beach.

Should your daily travel include lots of highway time, then a mild hybrid, like the 2013 Buick Lacrosse eAssist, is what you want. A regular hybrid is designed to maximize efficiency in stop/go situations. This means that the highway fuel economy will often suffer, because the gas engine will be online most of the time. A mild-hybrid on the other hand, already uses a fuel efficient engine, combined with tall gearing, and electric assist. This means that you’ll get excellent highway mileage, without sacrificing in-town efficiency.

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With the purchasing power of the dollar eroding right before our eyes, it’s important to make financially responsible decisions. And since a vehicle is the second largest investment that most people will make, it makes sense to start there. But is an ultra-thrifty hybrid / EV really worth it in the long run? Let’s find out…

Electric Vehicle – Initial Price & ROI

In the last several years, the price premium of a hybrid has dropped considerably. This is mostly due to a reduced manufacturing cost as hybrid components become more readily available and some and government subsidies. Electric Vehicles, or EVs, have yet to benefit from such a price reduction, as EV technology and manufacturing are still in their infancy.

The current average hybrid premium is between $2,500 and $4,000 over the price of a comparably equipped gas-powered car. The price gap for an EV is considerably more, and can reach $20,000+ in some cases (or even more for luxury EVs like the 2013 Tesla Model S). Granted, the fuel costs for an EV/hybrid are much less than they would be for a conventional ‘gasser’. But you’re going to need every penny of that savings, if you’re going to recover your initial investment.

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The math works like this; Figure out the fuel cost of your current vehicle by dividing your yearly mileage, by your average fuel economy. The answer is the number of gas-gallons that you buy in a year. Now multiply that number by the current price of gas, and you’ll arrive at the yearly fuel cost of your current vehicle.

Example: 2006 Toyota Camry 4-cyl, driven 12,000mi, 25 average mpg, $3.50 gal = $1,680 yr

Now make the same calculations for the hybrid…

Example: 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid, driven 12,000mi, 41 average mpg, $3.50 gal = $1,024 yr

Next, figure out the price difference between the hybrid that you want, and the closest gas-powered equivalent.

Example: 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid LE = MSRP $25,990 –
2012 Toyota Camry LE = MSRP $22,600 – $3,390 Hybrid Premium

Now divide the price difference, by your annual fuel savings, to determine the number of years that it will take to recover your initial hybrid investment.
For our example; It would take 5.16 years to recover our initial investment @ $3.50 gal. While that is acceptable, hybrid premiums vary from car to car. So you’re going to need to spend some quality time with your calculator, if you want to find the most economically feasible hybrid.

Now let’s look at an EV. Start by taking your average mileage, and dividing it by the realistic range of the electric vehicle that you want. The answer will be the number of times that you have to recharge the car. Next, multiply the answer by the number of kilowatt hours (kWh) that it takes to charge the EV. Finally, multiply that number by the price of a kWh from your local power company (remember, off-peak hours will be cheaper), and you’ll arrive at the yearly cost to fuel your EV.

Example: 2012 Nissan Leaf – @ 70 mi realistic range / $0.10 kWh = $411 per year.

If we use the fuel cost for the 06’ Camry above, you’ll save $1,269 per year on gas. But when we divide the $21,047 price difference between the Leaf, and the comparably sized/equipped 2012 Nissan Versa Hatchback ($14,153), things get a little scary.

In order to recover your initial EV investment, you’ll have to drive that Leaf for 16.5…years! The batteries are only warrantied for 8 years / 80,000 miles, and they’ll cost $2-3k to replace out-of-warranty. So from a financial standpoint, the EV doesn’t make ‘cents’.

Electric Vehicle – Maintenance & Repairs

For most gasoline cars, the most expensive repair that you’re likely to face will be a $2,000 transmission. You’ll also see a $300 sensor here, and a $600 repair there. But that’s about it. A hybrid/EV repair bill on the other hand, is likely to read like your kid’s college expenses. $4,000 for a transmission, $3,000 for a battery pack (expect 50-100k miles of service from hybrid/EV batteries), $450 for an inverter pump, $300 for tattoo removal, and the list goes on.

Hybrids and EVs become more costly to operate as the miles rack up. Sort of like an old Porsche, but not as much fun. So do the math wisely, and you’ll discover whether or not a hybrid / EV makes financial sense for you.

Millions of years ago, giant dinosaurs roamed the earth. Then something happened, they died, and Exxon now sucks their liquefied remains from the earth’s crust so we can fuel our own 4-wheeled dinosaurs.

Okay, that might not be the most scientifically accurate description of where oil comes from, but it’s a pretty good way to describe the process. It also sheds light on why alternative fuel vehicles have started to become popular. Our planet only has so much oil to give up, and it gets more expensive by the day. Electric vehicles are a logical alternative to oil consuming cars. However, the lack of a meaningful charging infrastructure have always left EVs outside the realm of possibility for most people. Until now that is…

2012 Nissan Leaf

Most EVs are either regular vehicles that have been converted to run on electricity or, they’re designed to be an electric vehicle from the beginning. In which case, they usually look like the love-child of R2-D2 and an electric pencil sharpener (i.e. the 2012 Mitsubishi iMIEV). But the 2012 Nissan Leaf doesn’t fall into either category. It was designed to be like…any other hatchback.

Open the hood on a 2012 Nissan Leaf and you’ll find what appears to be a 4-cyl valve cover, with a big blue Nissan logo on it. Of course, it’s actually the 80-kW electric transformer/motor which produces the equivalent of 107-hp & 207 ft-lb of torque. But it was made to look like a conventional gas engine. By contrast, the motor in the 2012 Mitsubishi i looks like the underside of a VCR.

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On the inside, the 2012 Nissan Leaf looks like any other fashion statement hybrid. There’s a big iPad-looking info display glued to the center of the dash, with twin level battery system displays hiding behind the two-toned steering wheel. The center console plays host to a ‘gear selector’ that looks like a computer mouse from the year 2055. But the rest of the interior looks like any other upscale hatchback. The seats are comfy. There’s plenty of room for people and cargo. Plus there’s enough sound insulation to quell most road noise.

Outside, the 2012 Nissan Leaf does have some funky looking headlights. But they were actually designed to funnel air up & around the side mirrors. Contributing to the Nissan Leaf ‘s unusually quiet interior.

On the road the 2012 Nissan Leaf has the acceleration and handling characteristics of any run-of-the-mill 4-pot hatchback. The gas pedal (or should i say volt pedal?) and brakes do take a minute to get used to. But the overall experience is very familiar, which is kind of the point. Nissan wanted to make an electric vehicle that anyone would feel comfortable with. And they’ve largely succeeded.
Another key to the mainstream acceptance of EVs like the 2012 Nissan Leaf is the growing EV charging station infrastructure. In the last several years, the number of EV charging stations has swelled from several hundred nationwide, to well over 10,000. Add to that, the commercialization of quick charge stations (for a fee, these will give your 2012 Nissan Leaf a full charge in 30 minutes vs. 7 hours with a 240v home charger and 14 hours with a 110v plug), and driving an EV in a metropolitan area suddenly becomes feasible for a lot of people. Granted, you’ll have to plan around the Leaf’s 73 mile (est) range. But that’s easily enough to handle most urban commutes.

2012 Chevrolet Volt

While the Nissan Leaf will leave you on the side of the road if you exceed its range, the 2012 Chevy Volt won’t. It’s powered by a 111 kW electric motor, which is driven by a 55 kW generator, which is driven by a 1.4 liter gas motor. The gas motor never powers the wheels directly, it simply revs to a constant rpm, powering the generator. Plug the 2012 Chevrolet Volt into a 240v charger, and 4 hours later, you’ll have 35 miles of all-electric propulsion (it takes 10 hours on a 110v plug). Once your 35 miles are up, the gas engine kicks in with an additional 340 miles of range.

The 2012 Chevrolet Volt offers the best, tree-friendly qualities of an EV, with the unlimited range of gas drinker. You can use it for errands around town, then fill up and go see grandma two states over. The 2012 Nissan Leaf certainly feels more mainstream, but you couldn’t rely on it as your only vehicle. The 2012 Chevy Volt on the other hand, would work well as the sole transporter for most people.

Some concessions to this innovative design are the lack of 5 seats. The lithium-ion battery pack lives in a tunnel that runs right through the middle of the car, necessitating 4 buckets, and a front-to-rear center console. Another thing that you’ll have to give up is money, and lots of it. The 2012 Chevy Volt starts at nearly 40-grand, and that $7,500 federal EV tax credit only reduces your tax bill for the year that you buy the car. It’s not a rebate, so if you don’t owe Uncle Sam much money, that $7,500 tax credit isn’t going to do you much good.

But details aside, the 2012 Chevrolet Volt isn’t bad to drive, and it’s certainly easy to live with. So if you’re looking for an EV without the ‘range anxiety’, the 2012 Chevy Volt might be the car for you.

Buying a hybrid makes sense on a lot of levels. There’s the financial benefit of buying less fuel. There’s the reduced environmental impact. And of course, hybrids have major snob appeal. But how does all of that weigh against the increased cost of buying one? Let’s find out…

What is a Hybrid?

A traditional hybrid vehicle, like the 2012 Toyota Prius, uses a proprietary blend of electricity and dino-juice to propel you down the road. When you set off to the organic grocery store, an electric motor turns the drive wheels until a set speed is reached, or the charge from the battery pack is depleted. At this point, the gasoline engine comes to life, spinning both the drive wheels and a generator to charge the batteries.
When you slow down, the electric motor reverses, acting as a generator to charge the batteries. This is known as regenerative braking. Once you’ve come to a complete stop, the gasoline motor shuts off, but all of your accessories will continue to operate off of the batteries. Then, when you release the brake pedal (or touch the gas pedal), the gasoline engine will start itself automatically. As you accelerate back up to speed, the electric motor will work in tandem with the gas motor, providing additional torque which reduces fuel consumption from the gas engine during acceleration.

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A ‘mild hybrid’, like the 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco, uses a similar setup, but on a smaller scale. A small electric motor/generator assists the gasoline engine during acceleration and passing maneuvers. When you hit the brakes, the gas motor shuts off and the electric motor acts as a generator to charge a small battery pack, which in turn, supplies power to car’s accessories while the gas engine is shut off. As a result, a mild hybrid vehicle is able to achieve 10-15% better fuel economy than its dino-fired equivalent.

What is a Plug-in Hybrid?

Cars like the 2012 Chevy Volt & 2012 Fisker Karma are considered a ‘plug-in hybrid’. This means that the gasoline motor never powers the wheels directly. Instead, the gas engine spins a generator, which provides power for the electric motor and charges the batteries. When you go home at night, you can plug the car into a specially installed 240v plug to get 10-30 miles of purely electric motion. Once that charge is depleted, the gasoline engine comes to life, spinning at a set RPM to power the electric motor.

Just like a traditional hybrid, a plug in hybrid uses regenerative braking to charge the batteries when you brake. Cars like the 2012 Chevrolet Volt use significantly less gas since the dino-fueled motor only powers a generator. However, you will have to pay for the extra electricity used to charge the batteries. The environmental downside is, many power plants burn coal to generate electricity. If this is a concern, you can install a solar panel to provide the juice for your car. But that can be extremely expensive.

Pros & Cons

Hybrids have many advantages, but they come at a price. On average, a hybrid will cost 20-30% more than the equivalent gas powered vehicle, even with tax incentives for hybrid vehicles. And that extra cost will often take years to recoup. Plus, those battery packs, and the associated electronics will be ungodly expensive to fix/replace once the warranty expires.

On the upside, if you drive in an urban environment, where the electric motor can do most of the work, a hybrid can save you a ton of gas money. And your carbon footprint will be significantly lower too. So it really boils down to a question of economics vs. environmental consciousness.