[ausev] A Quandary

[Charlesvsi at aol.com]

Susan, Hopefully you will get some more specific choices for EV's from  other 
members.
 If you want to change soon, However, I suggest a Honda Civic Hybrid  or 
Toyota Prius, These are available new or even on the used car market, are  dealer 
maintained, and  According to Consumer Reports ( and our experience  with a 
Honda Civic Hybrid) very reliable and cost effective. They get 36 to 45  mpg in 
mixed driving which is a great savings available immediately. 
 
A fully electric vehicle will be great in the future, but I don't see  it in 
place now. Good luck, Chuck
 
Chuck Simms

e-mail: charlesvsi at aol.com
Phone:  512-331-9630


In a message dated 3/19/2008 1:19:20 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
skwhitak at yahoo.com writes:

Hello  everyone!

I am new to the concept of EVs and have been watching
the  dialog on this discussion group for a few months
now. I live in Plano  (north of Dallas) and I am very
interested in owning a fully electric  vehicle at some
point. However, I am not technically savvy when it
comes  to cars, so I do not think doing a full
conversion myself is an option for  me.

Given this, what would you suggest as the best option
for  obtaining an electric vehicle:

1) Purchase a "commercially-made" EV -  The Zap Xebra
PK is an option within my price range, but does not
quite  have the speed or range I would like (only 40
mph top speed & 25 mile  range). My currently daily
commute is about 25 miles round trip and  requires some
highway driving. If I avoid the highway on my commute,
the  time required to get to work would double to 45-50
mins each way instead of  the 20-25 minutes required
currently.

2) Have a car converted into a  "custom-made" EV - I
realize that the choices for this option are  fairly
infinite (only limited by the cars and parts available
and money  of course!). I am concerned that to pay
someone to do the conversion and  have the components
for the necessary speed/range (top speed of 65-70  mph
and 35-40 mile range) may be prohibitively expensive.
Also,  maintenance is another concern I have with an
EV, particularly a  custom-made one... if I have a
problem who could I take it to in Dallas to  have it
fixed?

3) Wait until there are other options - It seems  there
may be some great breakthroughs with battery
technology and thus  more accessible EV options that
are right around the corner. Should I just  wait until
GM, Honda, Toyota, or whoever comes up with an
affordable  option that offers both the highway speed
and range combination I am  looking for? Or, do you
think this will be too far away to wait for and  thus I
should not hold my breath.

What are your thoughts on this?  Any experience or
insight that you would like to share would be  very
much appreciated.

Thanks and  Regards,
Susan



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