[onegreenev]

Pete you crack me up, you compare an SUV to an economy car. You were being sarcastic, right?

No, not at all. I compared it to what I HAD before I purchased my Leaf. I went from a Daily Driver SUV to the Leaf. I would never have purchased a Versa. You can only compare to what you already HAVE. Everyone is wrong to compare to some other car. I can compare it to my TDI but I still own my TDI and don't plan on getting rid of it any times soon.

TDI numbers still put the Leaf in front.

Time value of money, opportunity costs, and all that.

Letting the money grow in your bank at what maybe 1% or less. Mmmmm. lets see. Well if you actually can keep that in your bank for that long you might trim it down a few bucks. Other than that its bull. People don't do that and very few even think about that. Its the same stupid argument of keeping your money in your bank account as long as possible so uncle sam does not get your tax money too soon because you don't want him making an extra 5 cents on your money. Then your taxes get raised by $300 over the next year. So you still loose.

[onegreenev]

I did this for my situation.

Noted in my first post. Your results will vary depending upon what you're replacing. You compare to what you want to replace.

[onegreenev]

The Versa gets a conservative 30 mpg combined and more than likely real world driving. So that is going to be a fuel cost of $17,500 to drive 150,000 miles. Cost is $16,000. That is $33,500 total. Better than just buying a Leaf. There are better and not everyone would want to own an electric car anyway. So as the cost of the vehicles come down and the fuel mileage goes up the electric car remains at a distance.

I for one did not get my Leaf to save a buck. I would have spent the money anyway, right? So I decided to get an electric because I know that Electric is the way to go. It's clean. I also get to fill up at home and not at some dirty stinky friggin fuel station.

But if I compare to what I had I am saving a whopping amount of money. The worlds average fuel mileage is 20 mpg or worse.

[Mark C]

I would say that there is a financial payback over enough time, as if it matters.

My version of why this doesn't matter. Let's say vanity/pride makes me want a vehicle that makes a statement about who I am. I go out with a budget that allows me to buy a $40k car. Maybe I buy a Mercedes Benz, BMW, Lexus LS, whatever. I make the statement {at least to myself} that I have arrived by buying a luxury car. Do I even pretend that there's a payback? A financial payback can't be calculated for feeding an oversized ego, can it?

Instead, I decide that the statement I want to promote is the virtues of electric drive. To the few who understand these things, I am showing concern for the planet and the air we all share. I show that I don't want to send US dollars to support people who do not like us and would sooner see us dead. I show that I want to be a trend setter. Now that I'm through showing what my values are, I recognize that given enough time, there actually is a financial payback.

My ego doesn't require a pat on the back for the choice to drive electric. While I do not {yet} have an EV, I'm getting their one project at a time.

Again, I've never heard anyone ask what the payback time was on the upgraded trim level of the xxxxxxxx they bought.

[Jason Lattimer]

Mark, that is perfect. the is exactly the argument I was trying to make. I will have to remember that line of thought.

[dragonsgate]

The idea of purchasing a car for payback is a ploy that would be used by advertisers to sell an electric car on today’s market to the type of person that would hire someone to install CFL light bulbs in their home. Most people that buy new cars will go for the most bling they can afford wither they will admit it or not. My dad was one of those people. He would go on about how I was always changing things on my cars and that a car was just to get from point A to point B. But when ever he decided to buy a new car he would get one with all the bells and whistles. Cars have always been a clear statement of who you are. It is been getting a little fuzzy in the past few years though. Lets use the Tesla Roadster the poster child of EV’s as an example. Does a guy plunk down over a hundred grand for the car because he wants to save some money on gas or say "look I own a cool car?" Even DIY’ers on a budget try to pick something that they will not be embarrassed to be seen in. There have been some good points made here and I am digressing so I will fall back on what Jason Lattimer first said. “Who the hell cares?”

[onegreenev]

“Who the hell cares?”

I the hell care. That is why I have built two electric cars. That is why we recycle all we can even when our area does not promote it. That is why we have full solar on our home. That is why I grow organically. That is why I promote the RIGHT thing to do. Every step helps and is good. If you can't fully do that its fine. But do something. It is not all about saving a buck but being the proper stewards of the planet we live upon. Its all we have, so take care of it. It is not just for you but everyone and everyone to come.

[Jason Lattimer]

My comment "Who the hell cares?" is primarily aimed at the people, usually with a political motive, who insist that the only reason to buy an electric car is flawed. That is to say, the payback time on the penalty box you drive to save you money. Why do you have to save money on an EV anyways. Is it because it is a penalty box and the only way to justify having one is because it saves you money? No, but that is how the general public is seeing the argument. I talk to plenty of people who don't know squat about EVs and think that the only way they can justify the purchase is because it can save them money. All I say is this. Go drive a Volt or a Leaf then go drive a Cruise or a Versa. The EV drive train makes for a better car more worthy of spending extra money on. Never mind how much money it saves over what period of time. The only time I see this ," Oh but it takes x number of years to pay back your purchase on that thing, so on and so on," is in a politically motivated piece that makes EVs sound like sub standard cars nobody in their right mind should want to own. This whole argument makes the uninformed public think all EVs are penalty boxes and saving money is their ONLY redeeming value. It takes an enormous effort to tell EVERYBODY why EVs are better and this type of article makes the job even harder still.

[onegreenev]

Ok, I usually use the argument on fuel cost. Most of the folks I talk to have huge vehicles that barley get 15 mpg and I use a vehicle that gets 20 mpg. Many really get taken back by the fuel cost for a vehicle that is driven a 150,000 miles which is pretty much average anymore. A $26,000 fuel bill is pretty hefty. And I always compare to what one has. I usually ask first before tossing out the figure using 20 mpg. Even at that they don't budget but the SEED HAS BEEN PLANTED. I hope it GROWS.

Plant as many seeds as you can. You may never see the results but some will result in positive outcomes.

[Jason Lattimer]

Originally Posted by onegreenev

Plant as many seeds as you can. You may never see the results but some will result in positive outcomes.

You may be right. Most people I talk to are more open to EVs than the media would lead us to believe.