Quote Originally Posted by Paul_A View Post
Don't make any sense to me at all .... need to charge it up... and where does that come from? ...A Power station that pollutes just as much as an automobile. Where's the gain? Sorry if I'm missing something... and yeah that electric tricycle is hideous... wouldn't be seen dead in one, unless it made a cheap coffin!
Here's my thought on electric cars...they don't work for everyone, but they should work for most. 95% of people in the US drive 35 miles per day or less, and drive by themselves about 90% of the time. So, small short range cars work well for most people.

On the pollution front, yes, the electricity comes from coal, whatever, but, we have developed non polluting ways to generate electricity. We have NOT figured out a way to make a solar/wind/hydro powered car. So, the logical thing is to push battery powered plug in cars and simultaneously push for renewable energy plants, to solve both sides of the problem. Plus, I have a hard time believing that coal/NG fueled power plants actually pollute as much as cars on the road.

Here's the real kicker. Your wallet. If you are inclined to drive in a car that costs $30-40k anyway, this one is a winner. No oil changes; in fact, virtually no maintenance. Electricity costs about $0.15 to $0.20 per kwH, I think. The battery pack capacity in this car is 32 kwh, so, even if you drain the battery to zero every day and charge it up, it will cost you about $5-6 per day to drive your 100 miles. If you assume an average of 20mpg and $4 gasoline, that means the average person in an average car driving the same commute would save about $421 per month.

The average person will save about $700 per month if they completely ditch their car, meaning that if you take the cost of all maintenance, payments, and insurance and amortize it over a year, this is what the average person spends to drive their car. Since the range of this car is 100 miles, it seems safe to assume that 1 mile should equal around 1% of the battery pack's capacity. Most people would use about 11.2 kwh to do their 35 mile per day commuting. At $0.20 per kwh, this translates to $2.24 in electricity to drive. Compared to $7 per day in the same hypothetical 20 mpg car at $4 per gallon. Comparing the monthly energy costs for these two, gives a total savings per month of around $147 for the average driver. Take that off of the $700 and you get $553. Since the car requires basically no maintenance, you can probably scrap another $50 per month off of that, conservatively.

So figure you will save $200 per month by using this car for 95% of your driving. Is it worth it to you? Only you can answer that.

Oh, and remember, many people think the VX is ugly. Eye of the beholder, and all.

Personally, I want one.