Why buy an electric car to save on fuel costs?

Saving fuel costs is not the aim. Saving fuel is.

For the past 70 years, America has carelessly squandered most of it’s oil resources. There is a limited amount of oil left in the world, and it won’t be long before it runs out.

We need to prepare now. Otherwise the world economy will collapse, and I don’t mean a recession!

I think that your math is wrong, or that you live in a place with extremely high electricity prices/ extremely low gas prices. Running cars on electricity should reduce the fuel costs, since it’s more efficient to create the energy at a power plant than in the engine of your car.

Do you really pay 25 cents per kW-hour? That’s a lot. You should call your utility and ask why it’s so high.

you are right. It takes just as much energy to run a car on gasoline as it does coal (ie electricity).

If we were to build nuclear, the cost of electricity would drop everywhere but where you live. You live in an area that is socialistic and tending toward communistic. The reverse tier system says everyone is equal economically. In the free parts of the US we do not allow socialism.

The electric you buy will all get converted to motive force; the infernal combustion engine will be less than 25% efficient, once it has warmed up, once it is running at optimum load (not accelerating or braking)

the electric car will recover energy when slowing down (regenerative braking), will use no energy stopped in traffic etc. No side journeys to a petrol station, just plug in at home or work.
An electric car should cost about 5c a mile in electric.
or install your own photo-voltaics or wind turbine (for less than the cost some people pay for leather seats) and free fuel for life

plus free parkin in places like Westminster or LAX, often lower taxes, like no London congestion charge, use of California car pool lanes …

and lower maintenance costs, no coolant, exaust, fuel system, or transmission, or valves and injectors etc.

With the average electric rates (10 cents per kWh), electric cars cost around 2 cents per mile. If your rate is 25 cents per kWh, then it would cost you 5 cents per mile.

In comparison, a Prius gets around 50 mpg, so if gas costs $3/gallon, that’s 6 cents per mile. That’s the most fuel efficient car you can get right now, and it’s still more expensive than an electric car, plus gas prices are not going to stay down around $3/gallon forever.

All depends on where you live. My power rates are 5c/kwh now. Friends who live on an island are paying 50c/kwh, when the line isn’t out of service. They do have a small windmill and some solar panels that more than paid for themselves though. Of course they can’t drive very far anyway.

I’m sorry but I do not believe that you are paying 50c per kwh. If thats the case you ABSOLUTELY must switch to solar panels on your home. It will pay off in 5 years instead of 20 for most people.

I pay 8c per kwh here, so its a no brainer to get an electric car and save money.

I just looked it up. I pay 6cents per kW,h in Canada.

You are right. It doesn’t make sense to use SCE. However, if you plan to stay in your home, solar panels could be one answer, unfortunately they are not good at off peak.
Hybrid is they way to go now.

25c seems very high. In Kentucky we pay about 7c/kwh. Why would anyone live there in southern Cal? SCE can’t build any plants in Cal. because of your environmentalists, so they just build them in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico and pollute those states. Maybe that drives their cost up?

There is a web site that gives all states rates. It shows California avg is about 15c/KWH. In some areas, taxes added can run that up a lot. hat may be why 25c?

http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/rankings/stateelectricityprice.htm

A small car like a Corrola will cost 7-8 cents/mile. That is a lot cheaper than a hybrid or electric when you factor in the high initial cost of the electric and hybrid, and the major limitations of most electrics (Range, size, charging down time) I drive a long way to work, so the electric is a no no for me.

Even better, get one of those European diesels or the VW Jetta diesel that get 50-60MPG. Better for the environment than both and cost less.