Be sure of what you are buying by Geoff Wheatley

Be sure of what you are buying by Geoff Wheatley. Photos and Stories.

Tesla Model S

For the past two years most of the Motoring Publications that I have read seem to be promoting the wonder of the Electric Vehicle.

Detroit Electric Model 90 Coupe sn-13117 1922

Many years ago when I was at school I recall the electric delivery vehicle that traveled about five miles an hour and needed an over night charge after three hours use. That was a major problem then and I am sure that modern technology has not completely resolved this problem, although the travel distance can now be counted in hours.

A recent publication indicates some of the benefits and problems of ownership of Electric vehicles and I would like to acquaint you with a few of the points that were made. (Regretfully I can’t provide details of the publication and my copy is devoid of that information. I simply have the written content.) The first comment concerns the true cost per mile rather than comparisons with gasoline performance. It goes on to say that home charging costs require a 75 Amp source of electricity, while the average standard home supply is in total 100 Amps. This means that if an owner decided to charge his vehicle over night and three of his fellow owners decided to follow the same course, the supply system to any other homes would be seriously over loaded.

The answer would be to replace the existing supply for a more expensive system, a cost that would be shared by both electric vehicle owners and those who's supply was from the same grid.

Chevy Volt

In a recent test with the Chevy Volt, supervised by General Motors, the driver complained that the battery only lasted 25 miles then the car reverted to the reserve gasoline engine. In real terms the car achieved 30 MPG including, (Please Note), the 25 miles it ran on battery power. The total range including the nine gallon gas tank and the 16 KWH battery was around 240 miles. This means that it will take the car well over four and a half hours to drive 270 miles at sixty MPH. Now add the ten hours required to recharge the battery, and the total trip required a total of fourteen hours before the vehicle can be used again.

Ford Focus

Another interesting point is that the charge for electricity is never mentioned in any of the Cost Per Mile calculations. As this varies from location to average use, its difficult to create a reliable calculation but, if we assume that the cost per KWH is around one dollar fifteen to one dollar thirty it costs $18.00 to fully charge a vehicle battery over the ten hour period. Finally and this is the most important aspect of this review, a gasoline powered car costs around $20,000 to $25,000 on the road. The electric vehicle such as the GM Volt costs $40,000 or more. In simple terms the powers that be want you and me to pay twice as much for our new car, that costs almost six times as much to run and takes three times longer to drive across the country. To the Green Brigade let me say, good Luck..You will need it
Geoff Wheatley