News item: The average that a U.S. family spent on gas in April, 2011 was $369 (quoted in the Oakland Tribune, which cited AAA Oil Price Information Service)
Now let’s see--$369 per month x 12 months = $4,428 per year. That amount of money would pay for a 15 year loan at 4% interest (as of May 26, 2011 the Wells Fargo 15 year loan rate is 3.75%) worth $49,200!!! In other words you could pay for an entire Chevy Volt plus tax just for the cost of the average U.S. expenditure on gas.
Oh, yes, there is the cost of charging the car. $369 at $4 per gallon and the U.S. average of 20 miles per gallon is 1,845 miles per month. At 2 cents per mile (the cost of charging from midnight to 7 am at 6 cents per kilowatt hour) that comes to $36.90 for electricity. Subtracting that brings the value down to a mere $44,000, still enough to buy a Volt.
Oh, yes again, that doesn't even count the $7500 tax credit. Plus the money you can get by selling your old car--somebody may still be foolish enough to want one of those leafblowers. How about taking all that cash and putting up some solar panels--that will save you money too!
And people still say electric cars are too expensive?!
(Now there is a catch to this: The Volt can only go about 35 miles per day on electricity, unless you have a way to charge it during the day. Otherwise 30 days per month x 35 miles per day equals 1050 miles per month--quite a bit less than the 1,845 miles mentioned above. I suggest that you buy one Volt and one Leaf if you do go more than 1,050 miles per month.)
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