End of First Week

After my first week of electric vehicle ownership, I have only 3 words: It's the answer! Getting around in Ketchikan is just as easy with my Xebra as with the Ford, even easier since I can park in just about any ol' wide spot. I've had to make a couple of adjustments in my routes to accomodate hills but everything else is about the same. Go, electric!

I just realized last night it's been a week since the Xebra came on the ferry. I have put 150 miles on the car doing what I normally do: going to the store, taking kids to activities, driving to work, visiting friends. Since my ICE car gets about 12 mpg that's about 12 gallons of gas I didn't buy, didn't use, and don't miss paying for. At $3.25/gal, it tallies to about fifty bucks I put in my pocket. The car pays for itself, just on the gas I don't use. Not to mention that new set of tires, the repairs, the (fill in the blank) that the Ford needs. Plus, I get a new car to drive. Costs no more to plug it in. At a penny a mile, I've spent $1.50 this week for transportation.

My wife went for her first outing. She seems happy enough with the car but is disappointed. Since she works so far out the road (Point Higgins) it wouldn't be practical for her to drive electric... yet. When the 4 wheel drive electric comes out with lithium-ion battery we'll go get a loan. The kids still marvel that it's so quiet and haven't complained even a little bit. It's a very kid-friendly car.

I've made a couple of modifications to the car to improve the quality of the ride. The rear portion of the rear wheels wheel wells came not completed. I think it's a design flaw, an oversight. For Rain Country anyway. Above the mud flaps there is open space, which allows water, dirt etc to fly right into the engine compartment. I closed that up with some more mudflap material. Also, the lid on the engine compartment was not closing all the way due to a rubber shield for the 7th battery installed there (the 84th volt). I trimmed it a little and look! the cover fits tightly now. That dramatically decreases the interior noise. Aaah.

Finally, I put a seat cushion on the drivers seat and it's so much more comfortable. Comfort level is very important since it's a reasonable factor for comparison to ICE vehicles. Once you cross the comfort bar to compare the two and it seems about even, comfort-wise, the distinction between electric and ICE begins to blur. And electric looks better and better!

The main difference between them still would be that the electric car is unforgiving. You can't just take a cab to the gas station and return with some juice and start going again. I still don't know what I will do when/if I run out of juice. I have an electric cord in the back seat - I hope it'll be long enough!

A Few Thoughts

Now that some of the excitement has worn off, I am starting to think along other lines. For example, why is there any interest at all on the part of manufacturers in producing hydrogen cars? We certainly don't need them when we have electric cars. If we want to reduce the amount of gasoline used by consumers, they should manufacture electric cars. Pushing the deadline for new technology back by entertaining the concept of a hydrogen powered vehicle only allows ICE cars to continue to pollute and be the dinosaurs they are. And manufacturers don't change their product. Wasn't part of the bailout of the auto industry to induce Ford & GM to make a better product, explore alternative fuels?

Electric cars are the answer. Only a few things are needed to make them a real competitor of the ICE vehicles: refueling stations, lighter-weight batteries, and comfortable production models. In other words, solve the problem of distance and you solve the problem of greenhouse gas emitting Internal Combustion Engines. If this is truly the goal, then electric cars are the answer. Everything else will follow: repairs, parts, service stations, infrastructure, etc.

Electric cars are the answer! Go electric!