The Electric Car Boondoggle (Cost comparisons)

American Thinker ^ | February 22, 2014 | Matthew Hurwitz

[jazusamo]

There are two electric cars on the market that have received a lot of attention in the media. One is GM's Chevy Volt and the other is the Tesla Model S. Extravagant claims have been made by both manufacturers to have us believe that these that these automobiles are practical and economical to drive. As we shall see, that is not really true when one takes into account all the factors which contribute to the total operating cost of each of these two vehicles.

Chevy Volt

The manufacturer claims that "The Chevy Volt is the most fuel-efficient car with a gasoline engine currently sold in the U.S. -- and it's easy to see why. While most plug-in cars can make it about 20 miles tops before switching to hybrid mode, the Volt can run up to 38 miles on battery before switching over to its 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine." GM describes their product as follows: "The Volt is powered by an electric motor that's connected to a 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine. It runs exclusively on battery power until the charge drops to 30 percent and the gas motor kicks in. There are four modes -- Normal, Hold, Sport and Mountain ....When running on gasoline, the Volt returns 35 mpg city and 40 mpg highway." When all of the energy, battery plus gasoline, is used the total range of the car is 270 miles. At that point one must recharge the battery which takes nearly 10 hours if the car is plugged into a 120 V outlet. The charging time is less if one has a 240 V outlet and a special battery charger.

[billyboy15]

Don’t know where you get gas but if I spend 5-6 minutes it’s a lot.

[Southack]

Idiotic article. "The Tesla model S, with the 85 kWh battery, costs $74,000. Assuming that the owner drives the car for 10 years and puts on 150,000 miles, and assuming the car depreciates by 90%"...

Reality check, kids: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2014/02/07/tesla-model-s-worth-more-used-than-new/ Tesla Model S Worth More Used Than New

Now, you are hereby ordered to post a bunch of mindless rants denying the above.

[jazusamo]

Here's a piece I posted a while back for the Volt, I'd imagine the drop in battery miles would be similar for most EV's.

Chevy Volt Electric Range Drops to 20 Miles in Cold

[Phlyer]

Gas-electric hybrid works great.

Not so much. Ultimately, the fuel used to get somewhere is a function of the total work to be performed, and a heavier car (meaning one with a lot of weight in batteries and electric motors) will take more total energy (fuel) than a lighter car.

The only exception to that is if you waste a lot of fuel in non-productive segments - such as low-speed, slow-acceleration, start-and-stop driving. If your primary driving is on congested city streets, then a hybrid might be competitive on total fuel used - though never on cost.

One way they make the hybrids seem competitive is by decreasing performance. As an example, a Prius weighs 1/3 more than an Echo (both by Toyota), but the combined gas/electric power of the Prius is 98 hp. vs. 108 hp. for the Echo. If you put a 70hp engine in an Echo, it would get better gas mileage than a Prius and still have a higher power-to-weight.

If the EPA really wanted to help the citizenry (which they obviously do not) then they would create a third category of mileage - highway, city, and congested city. On the third (but only the third) hybrids would be competitive. If that is a driver's primary situation, then they should buy a hybrid and I'm glad they have the choice. But forcing it - through subsidies - on the rest of us is not good economics, it's not good environmental policy, it's not good energy policy, and - ultimately - it's not fair.

[trisham]

Interesting. Thanks!

[Moleman]

Never would have thought I would have a hybrid. I have the Ford C Max and love it!

[jazusamo]

My son bought a used Prius hybrid strictly for commuting to work, has had it close to a year and it’s worked out good for him.

[Ben Ficklin]

This is a terrible article. The Tesla S and Chevy Volt are not comparable vehicles.

The Chevy Volt and the Prius are comparable vehicles.

The Chevy Spark and the Prius C are comparable vehicles.

Tesla's next model, which is the Model X, will be comparable to the Volt and the Prius.

[billyboy15]

Of course you love your hybrid. No one likes to admit they made a mistake, do you?

[jazusamo]

He’s not comparing the Volt to the Tesla, he’s comparing each with a similar gas model car.

[diogenes ghost]

"Gas-electric hybrid works great....not so much"

It depends on what your criteria for 'works great' is.

By my criteria, it is phenomenal.

Porsche 918

McClaren P1

[Ben Ficklin]

It can't be done.

OTOH, you can compare the Chevy Spark electric with the Chevy Spark gasoline.

But if you want to get auto reviews from a political website, you are doing good.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

There is nothing but left-wing/green/watermelon politics between North America and energy self-sufficiency.

[Moleman]

Of course you love your hybrid. No one likes to admit they made a mistake, do you?

Oh no mistake here love it. I will admit it is a company provided vehicle but now that I have it its quite cool.

[irishjuggler]

Don’t know where you get gas but if I spend 5-6 minutes it’s a lot.

Sure, for some folks, it might be possible to spend so little time getting gas... if your gas station is never crowded, is right on your daily route, takes credit cards at the pump, etc. Not for everyone, though. There actually isn't a gas station directly on my normal daily route. It's like a 3-5 minute detour off the route. And then sometimes there's a wait for a pump. All of the time adds up. How long would it take to simply plug in at home? 20 seconds?

[volunbeer]

Nice analysis.

I am curious - using the math of this article, what would the comparable costs be for the Toyota Prius and the Honda high mileage Civic?

[RockyTx]

to post 33.
what you write may be true,
but the muzzies will still dictate the price.

as far as, energy delivered to the wheels,
liquid fuel costs 5x to 10x as much as mains electricity.

[CaptainAmiigaf]

Interesting, until I thought of my own auto usage.
Daily commute, home to work is 3 1/2 city blocks.
Daily commute, Work to Home. never the same by the time errands etc are run.
Every last nice weekend is 50 miles ONE WAY to boat in adjoining state.
Drive to see daughter and kids is 124 miles ONE WAY. I can fill up car before I leave and drive UP and BACK on that single fill-up. And it is non-stop each way (but for tolls) Even then I have 3 more days until I “need” more gas.

[trisham]

What a short commute! You’re very fortunate. My commute was usually an hour each way, mostly highway.

[RFEngineer]

“Suppose you spent that 17 hours doing something that you enjoy”

Like, say, waiting by the side of the road for a tow truck because your didn’t quite get enough mileage out of your plug-in.

Or maybe NOT doing something because you still have 6 hours to go before your plug-in hybrid is fully charged.