[ausev] A Quandary

[Susan Whitaker]

Thank you all so much for your feedback!! Here are
some additional remarks/considerations I have based on
the various responses:

1) Thanks Claire for the references to the EV Trading
Post/Ebay and REVOLT. I will keep my eye on what
existing EVs come up and see if any of these options
would meet my needs.

2) Ken, thanks for the reference to NTEAA... it
appears that they will be at the upcoming "Live Green
Expo" here in Plano on April 12th, so I will be sure
to talk with them at the event. And, I have enjoyed
reading the articles about "Tweety" and hearing about
everyone's efforts to promote EV Charging acceptance
among businesses in Austin!

3) Chris, I agree with your concerns about the lack of
safety features and crash testing with the Zap
vehicles. That has been part of my hesitation about
getting one. Also, the overall impression of
"cheapness" in implementation that I get from reading
the various reviews is bothersome as well.

4) Chuck, Chris, Dustin, Rush, Willie, & Michael -
Thanks so much for your input on the various hybrid
and fuel efficient options!! I like the idea of having
a more fuel efficient vehicle and hope to eventually
have a "plug-in hybrid" as one of our vehicles. My
husband and I already drive fairly fuel efficient
vehicles which we drive rather conservatively... an
Acura Integra (a.k.a. Honda Civic) and an Acura CL.
Both of our vehicles are well-maintained, get around
32-39 mpg by our calculations, and would last another
100,000 miles if we want them to. And given how little
we drive our cars compared to many other people we
know (we average 8K & 10K miles/year respectively,
which is only 18,000 miles per year combined!), I am
not sure that spending the money to purchase two used
hybrid vehicles at $12K-$18K each (approximately
$30,000 total) is worth it to only achieve a 25-35%
increase in fuel efficiency for such little mileage.
For those who drive more or who were previously
driving less fuel efficient vehicles, the "upgrade" to
a hybrid totally makes sense and I applaud those who
have invested the money in hybrid technology for eco
and economic reasons.

Perhaps I am being too analytical about it, but I 
want to be sure that if I am going to spend/invest
such a significant amount of money on a car (or two!),
that I am going to get the "biggest bang for the buck"
as possible. That is why I am considering the purchase
or conversion to a fully electric vehicle. Now, if the
new hybrid or hybrid plug-in models that will be
available in the (hopefully near?) future obtained
80-100+ mpg and were priced at around $20K-25K, it
might be worth it to make the leap at that point.

Ideally, I think we would ultimately have one of
each... an all electric for my "short" commute and
other local trips... and a plug-in hybrid for my
husband's occasional "long" commute and trips out of
town. In the meantime, we are making a conscious
effort to reduce our driving even more by combining
trips and taking our bicycles (one of which has a
BionX electric assist kit installed on it) for local
errands. :-)

Now, I am off to day-dream/contemplate the options for
a potential electric conversion... perhaps a "new"
beattle (something like this with a little faster top
speed: http://www.evalbum.com/684), or a smaller car
such as a miata, or car with a yaris or fit "style"...
Hmmm... the possibilities!! :-]

Thanks again for all of the feedback!! If you have any
additional thoughts or comments, feel free to pass
them along!

Thanks and Regards,
Susan



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