How I can afford my summertime gas...

[bobbie]

100% electric, baby! brand spankin' new Ford Focus Electric

 

[jdiaz78]

Wait till that battery goes bad... I bet those aren't cheap! I afford my gas from driving a department vehicle

 

[bobbie]

10 year/100,000 warranty on battery...not to worry @jdiaz78

 

[Evil Sports]

How far does it go with the lights and heat on? How long does it take to recharge and what will that cost on yer electric bill. I love the concept but get concerned about the range

 

[HidnNOS]

0-60 in.... wait for it.... Still climbing..... "gas pedal" still floored...... almost there...... damn, Small incline..... here we go, now a downhill..... oh hell, I'm fine at 40..... I didn't wanna go that fast anyway.....

J/K, I'm sure they drive pretty much like every other Prius etc. Enjoy the savings!

 

[ar240owner]

Cool !!! With your solar panels that is prob crazy cheap to own !!!! And electric tech is really good !! With electric motor you get instant torque !!! It's prob really peppy !!!!

 

[bobbie]

@Evil Sports So far i'm beating epa range of 76. it's just the opposite of a gas engine as far as i can tell. you gain back regen power when you brake and coast so in town traffic i'm doing amazing. we have two other cars so for my driving which is 99% within a 25 mile radius i can swing the pure electric. as far as the electricity goes...i will wait and see. i've got a 6.24 khw system on our roof that pays for 60% of our electricity so i don't imagine it will be a dramatic increase. epa lists the yearly cost as $600. i'm used to paying $200 a month for gas so i'm loving it so far. i'm putting in a 24o charging station so a full charge is 3.5 hours.

ford just lowered the prices so i got the car for $25900 plus a $7500 tax credit...net cost of about $18,400. plus zero percent on a balance of $14K...not too shabby.

and @HidnNOS it's a 143 horsepower electic engine...got plenty of get up and go! just does it very quietly...

 

[OrangeTJ]

Cool. Electric seems to be the future. I'm not there yet but I can see it coming!

 

[Britboater]

Really surprised to see electric cars in the US with fuel being so cheap, (well in comparison to Europe). I noticed the GM Volt and thought that will never catch on, but seems I was wrong.
I love the look of the the Focus and if you only need a vehicle for commuting then I'd imagine your vehicle is perfect, and with your ability to produce your own electricity, then your on the money .
Is it Tesla? Not sure, but they've got a nice sporty sedan with performance to match so may be electric vehicles are becoming the future.

 

[Big Shasta]

Awesome, if an electric fits your lifestyle, then good for you.

I just hate that us taxpayers had to subsidies 7500.00 of your choice.

 

[GTBRMC]

Really surprised to see electric cars in the US with fuel being so cheap, (well in comparison to Europe). I noticed the GM Volt and thought that will never catch on, but seems I was wrong.
I love the look of the the Focus and if you only need a vehicle for commuting then I'd imagine your vehicle is perfect, and with your ability to produce your own electricity, then your on the money .
Is it Tesla? Not sure, but they've got a nice sporty sedan with performance to match so may be electric vehicles are becoming the future.

I will avoid going into detail, as this is a political issue and we are trying to avoid political arguments here...

...but electric vehicles are only possible in the US at all due to political support and taxpayer subsidies, at least at this time.

Personally, I think the future is a gas/electric or diesel/electric system - where an internal combustion engine generates current used to run electric motors at the drive wheels...which eliminates a lot of heavy mechanicals (transmission, driveshafts, etc.). Railroad locomotives and heavy mining trucks, plus some ships, have been using this approach for years.

 

[Bruce]

My wife wanted a Tesla S last time we upgraded her car. We almost got one until the salesman told us it had to go in for an annual battery service at the closest dealer which they might be building in Dallas. Even with a service center in Dallas I would have to trailer it there because no model had sufficient range. Maybe it will work out next time.

 

[txav8r]

Congrats on the new wheels! Yep, many are in the dark as to what electric motors can do. They are far superior in both torque and HP to their gas counterparts. I have two hybrids. And the Chevy Volt is more hybrid than it is electric IMHO, but it is total electric drive. The 1 L onboard engine just recharges the battery. Speaking of batteries, these systems use the battery in a way, that you will probably never have any issue with it. I know Prius owners with over 300K miles and over 10 years of ownership.

I agree completely with @GTBRMC and his assessment of the direction. I think that hybrid drives will gradually fill in the gap and be at least a part of propulsion systems even when hydrogen arrives. Especially in heavy drives like trucks/buses/SUV's/ locomotives. My Chevy Silverado has the 2 Mode hybrid drive that GM developed for buses. Sadly, because most don't want the limitations, they stopped production in the Silverado/Sierra, but still produce this drive system for the Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade. It doesn't buy a bunch of savings, but it buys a 20% reduction in fuel consumption, is far smoother/quieter/comfortable than the straight gas systems.

The straight electric systems have come a huge way and are only going to get better. There is a place for all of these, but one type or model won't serve everyones needs, that is why there are choices!

 

[Billtex2000]

Wait till that battery goes bad... I bet those aren't cheap! I afford my gas from driving a department vehicle

X2 - gotta love a company car!!