Driving a Smart Fortwo electric car is fun r:70mi
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20140907/COLUMNISTS/140909763?tc=ar Getting a charge from electric cars By Nathan Crabbe September 7, 2014 Driving a Smart Fortwo electric car is fun, but somewhat stressful when you're barrelling down U.S. 441 in a vehicle that is less than nine feet long. It's also a little nerve-racking given that the car's owner, Doug Jones, was nice enough to let me drive. I didn't want to repay the favor by swerving onto Paynes Prairie. Jones, an Archer city commissioner, can hardly contain his enthusiasm about electric cars. He can recite a long list of benefits to owning an electric vehicle (EV), from cutting emissions to surprisingly competitive economics. But he admits that one of his favorite benefits is the car's "subconscious Jetsons fun factor," meaning that it is a joy for him and others to drive. "They may be skittish about the size of my vehicle, but everybody is curious about driving an electric car," he said. The big downside of the Smart Fortwo is its 70-mile range on a full charge, similar to other EVs. Jones works from home in health-care IT, so the car is well suited for the occasional trip into Gainesville. But the lack of local charging stations can be irksome. There are about a half-dozen public charging stations in Gainesville, in addition to those located at dealerships. If Gainesville wants to encourage the use of EVs, expanding the number of charging stations though new incentives or requirements on developers is essential. On a state and federal level, tax incentives have boosted the number of electric-car owners. The federal government provides an income-tax credit of up to $7,500. For Jones, that improved the economics of buying a two-seat car for about $27,200. He took the option of renting the battery, which knocked another $5,000 off the list price. He's leasing the car for $175 a month, pays about $25 a month for electricity to charge it, and doesn't face expenses such as oil changes. Some states have created additional incentives. Georgia provides an up to $5,000 tax credit, which has helped propel Atlanta into being a leader in EV ownership. But some conservative lawmakers have tried to kill the credit. It's reasonable to object to subsidizing the purchase of higher-end EVs such as the Tesla Model S, which has a list price of $70,000 or more. But EVs provide societal benefits by improving air quality and cutting the emissions that contribute to climate change. A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that even when electricity is produced mostly from coal, EVs result in lower emissions than the average compact gasoline-powered vehicle. Those benefits only increase as coal-fired plants are shuttered and alternative energy sources embraced. As an electric-care advocate recently said on National Public Radio, "It's the only car that you can buy that gets cleaner as it gets older." It's food for thought in a town that has placed a big bet on a biomass plant. Perhaps Gainesville Regional Utilities might provide lower rates to EV owners, especially if it could be shown to encourage greater local energy use and benefit all ratepayers. There certainly is something appealing about using local sources to power both our homes and cars. As Jones proudly says, "When I drive, I'm only using domestic energy." [© gainesville.com] For EVLN posts use: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=user_nodes&user=204476 http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date http://www.keepmecurrent.com/current/news/city-event-touts-benefits-of-all-electric-vehicles/article_79c3e9f0-38f6-11e4-bef2-001a4bcf887a.html NDEW EVent touts EV benefits 12-5p 9/21 S Portland, ME https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=140 http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/montana-tech-teams-up-with-ford-motor-company/27866808 Ford's $100k uses ID's Montana Tech grad students to R&D pack test sys http://road.cc/content/news/129278-its-national-cycle-work-day-today-have-you-made-your-pledge National ebike to Work Day> shed 2-stone & save$ £560 a year http://transportevolved.com/2014/09/02/blink-changes-pricing-structure-best-way-charge-charge/ Blink to Charge by the Hour: What is the Best Fee for Your Charge? + EVLN: Yamaha's leaning electric trike {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-When-I-drive-my-EV-I-m-only-using-domestic-energy-r-70mi-tp4671492.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
