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It disturbs me a little when I read, so often, that the average new electric vehicle costs $75,000. That’s true, but misleading. Some of those EVs are luxury cars at luxury prices. Don’t confuse “average” with “usual.”
I have ridden in a Tesla. It was great fun. Still (no offense), to me it was not much different from my Bolt. Both are quiet, smooth, and zippy. Both have lots of new-tech amenities and safety features.
Range issues? Not really. 300 miles is plenty. We charge in our garage. Rarely do we charge anywhere else, but back when we did take regular trips to a club in the next state, we just ran a heavy-duty 220 outlet there (like a dryer or RV hookup).
Road trips can be a little bit of an adventure, checking ahead for charging options, but less so every year, and we know we can always just rent a car if that makes better sense. We used to do that anyway for family trips.
I mean, do we REALLY need a cross-country caravan vehicle for everyday jaunts to work, school, meetings, or groceries? Nah.
The Bolt does it all for everyday. The back seats have the easy hooks for grandchildren’s car seats, and they just as easily lay over to let me use it as a truck. It’s got a good radio that does podcasts and phone and maps and locates public chargers.
Back to that so-called “average” price of $75,000. A brand-new 2023 Chevy Bolt EV starts at $26,500. That’s before applying EV tax incentives (currently a $7,500 rebate from the federal plan), so you can knock that price down at least somewhere in the $19,000s, maybe lower.
And, for you “average” EV customers, whoever you might be, for even less than that $75,000 you COULD get just a wonderful electric vehicle of your dreams, or you could package a less-expensive wonderful EV car with a magical 30-years-of-sunshine-power package! Yes, you, too, can be powered by solar energy. Solar panels on your house to charge the house and car? Solar panels on the garage wall? On the garage roof? Battery storage to even out the load? Battery storage to be a backup for your house? Package your car with a solar-paneled carport for yourself AND your neighbors?
That’s a lot of lifestyle choice. Trust me, you won’t miss going to the gas station.
Maggie Hettinger
