On 6/9/2017 5:24 AM, Fred J. McCall wrote:
David Spain wrote:



Terrestrial solar and wind drive UP prices unless they are heavily
subsidized.


Oh no argument from me. And if heavily subsidized the cost is shifted
from direct payment of an electric bill to the indirect payment through
higher taxes so you could have removed the "...unless" part of that.

The only reason an electric car makes economic sense is if your electric
bill per kw/hour per mile is lower than what you'd pay directly for
gasoline, and the cost to maintain an EV over a gas powered car. If you
are willing to amortize the cost of that electricity over several years
you might be able to reduce the cost by installing solar to supplement
grid electricity for charging your electric car. You'd need something
like a Tesla Power-Wall so that presumably you can recharge during the
day when the car is away at work and then transfer from the Power-Wall
to the car at night. Not as efficient but doable. Or.... If you work for
certain companies, your employer may offer free charging stations for
daytime recharging of your EV.

I know two Chevy Volt owners and one Tesla owner who are very happy with
their choice so far. I had an article one Prius I bought used but was
unhappy with the way the computer was programmed in it that made it
unsuitable for winter driving IMO. Well that and the fact that the
electric steering unit would fail at low speed and Toyota told me they
only warranted those defective $1,300 dollar items once and mine had
been replaced already... Hence I am an ex-Prius owner. Hopefully the
newer ones are better... They must be judging by the sheer numbers of
surviving drivers....

Dave