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      11-16-2011, 09:19 AM   #47
tommolog
Tom Moloughney
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Drives: 2018 i3s BEV
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: New Jersey

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Quote:
Originally Posted by dpwr View Post
yah that's crazy, fuel saving must be huge if they're selling out like that...
If they don't typically drive much more than 40 miles a day, then yes the fuel savings will be substantial with a volt, but still won't really pay back the cost of the car. If economics & fuel savings was you #1 priority, than buy a Honda fit for 12K and get 40mpg.
Buying a car is mostly an emotional decision and everybody has their own reasons & agenda. If it were purely a logical decision then perhaps BMW's wouldn't be as popular as they are. You could find a comparable sedan for half the price that gets better gas mileage than a 5 series, but it won't offer the luxury, performance & style that some people want.

It's kind of the same thing with the new wave of plug in cars. I've been an automobile enthusiast for years and have owned many high performance vehicles. However, recently I'm thinking a bit differently than I used to , and sustainability has become more important to me. I don't preach that it should be more important to you and I want you to be able to buy a car that gets 20mpg if you want to, it's just that it is important to me. I don't want to buy foreign oil if I don't have to. Plugging in my car and using domestic electricity (or electricity that I generate on my rooftop solar array) gives me a good feeling and I'll pay extra for my car if it allows me to do so. Again, I'm not telling anyone else they need to think the way I do, we should all have the freedom to buy whatever car we want and can afford.

Plug in cars like the MINI-E I drive and the BMW ActiveE I'll be getting in a couple weeks are fun to drive and suit my needs just fine. I have 70,000 miles on my MINI-E after only 30 months of driving and fueling it cost me under $3,000, buying gas for that time would have cost me close to $9,000. There is no routine maintenance on EV's so all I've had to do is swap the tires three times and wiper blades. So in addition to being a fun car to drive it is extremely efficient and I know none of my energy dollars have gone to radical Middle Eastern regimes that hate the West. (yes I know we don't get all our oil from the Middle East, but I don't want a penny of my money going there)
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