Quote:
Originally Posted by cblandin
Your comments about whether the EVs fit your commute are totally valid. Indeed, the fact that my own commute aligned well with the Volt's EV range was a big factor in my choice of that car. Now, however, I am looking beyond just thing like "range" and "saving money" in my next EV candidate. Look where we are...we are on a BMW forum. A Camry is a much better cost proposition than a 3 series...true at initial purchase and TCO is worse still with a BMW (esp if you dare to own post warranty). The whole "pay you back" discussion seems to be reserved for EVs. No one asks how long a 335i takes to pay you back over a Camry, or how long the leather seats take to pay you back over cloth, or turbo 6, or M-sport packages take to pay you back. My argument is that an EV drivetrain is, in and of itself, a "feature" worth having even if it never saved you a dime. The more powerful ones are worth just that much more.
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I think the reason people ask what the payback is of an EV, or even hybrids for that matter, is because EVs/hybrids use a alternative technology to provide a service that is already served with a very well-established infrastructure and low cost total ownership. Added on top of that, EVs are highly range limited and re-fuel challenged. So there is naturally a need for one to determine the value of adopting a new technology to do something that is already done very well. In the choice between leather vs. cloth neither choice determines a drastic difference in usability of the device.
The choice between a 335i and a Camry is a matter of preference of dynamic performance quality and perceived social status (supplanted by "green" cars saving the plant for some people). Turbos don't limit vehicle performance as does an EV drivetrain. But for me, a person who likes to get 250,000 mile out of a car without major component replacement (engine, trans, etc.), turbos are a not a benefit in my view. Any savings in fuel cost get washed out by increased maintenance cost and inconvenience of down time.
If EVs offered the range and rapid refuel capabilities of a petro-powered automobile, at or near the same price, the consumer would flock to them. Most people, in my opinion, don't appreciate the value of the smooth and quite drivability benefits of the EV drivetrain, as outweighing the increase cost and lost practicality of the technology.