Hear hear. The same model has existed for frugal people forever. When my wife and I were in school, we bought (and I maintained) a series of jalopies. For trips we would rent, happily, and I usually chose whatever interested me. I remember we tried a Pontiac Grand AM that had the worst feeling automatic transmission ever. Whenever I can I rent a car before buying it.
So my tool for everyday the job of being a cheap ass was Volvo iron with a lot of years on it, but that would be hard to fix on a long road trip. My tool for trips - renting. It is worth noting that people who write investing babble are likely to be people who anticipate making a lot of money, and for whom convenience, has no cost limit; while stewardship, and frugality are inconvenience worth avoiding, (Sorry about the tweak if one of you writes investo-babble and I am wrong in your case.) Eventually, they too will realize that EV's are also very nice to ride in. On Thu, Apr 10, 2014 at 12:25 PM, Ed Blackmond <[email protected]> wrote: > On Thu, 10 Apr 2014, brucedp5 wrote: > > > % 'Must recharge in 15min or less' is a ridiculous requirement that no > > worthy-EV will achieve. Pack swapping is a work-around that not all > > customers will want (memories of Better-Place's demise). % > > ICE vehicles have the ability to refuel in five or ten minutes. Since EVs > are seen as a replacement for ICE vehicles, then they must have both the > range and refueling times similar to ICE vehicles. > > This is the wrong perspective. > > EVs perform better than ICE vehicles in some ways. They should be used > for the tasks where they excell. There is nothing wrong with using ICE > vehicles for tasks where they are more appropriate than EVs. I do not use > a cordless drill to break up a slab of concrete, but that drill is great > for driving drywall screws (and many other things). Use the tool that is > right for the job. > > Let me describe my experience. > > I leased a Honda EVPlus from 1997 through 2003. During that period of > time I drove my ICE vehicle about 1500 miles per year. I paid for > registration and insurance and maintenance of the ICE vehicle during this > time. There were times that I needed to use it, but the overhead was > quite expensive. > > Now I have a Nissan Leaf that I drive about 1000 miles per month (roughly > 32,000 miles so far). I got rid of my ICE vehicle when I got the Leaf. I > still drive about as many miles in an ICE vehicle as I did when I had my > EVPlus, but now I rent a car instead. > > Budget Rent-A-Car has a deal where I can rent a car on weekends for just > under $20/day as long as I pick it up at, and return it to, San Jose > Airport. With unlimited milage, this is a great deal. I still have to > pay for gas. > > What I didn't realize before I started renting a car is the peace of mind > this brings on a long trip. I only use the rental car for long trips. If > something should happen to the car (e.g. mechanical problem, accident, > etc.), all I have to do is call the rental car company. I will get > another car, and they will deal with the first one. If this were my car, > I would have to arrange for repair, and either wait for it, or take the > time to get back to the repair shop, possibly several days or weeks later. > I will never take a long trip in my own car again. > > I know somebody who just leased a Fiat 500e. His lease includes access to > a rental car. I don't remember the terms, but I do remember that it is a > pretty good deal. > > I think this rental car model will evolve as EVs become more popular. EVs > will replace ICE vehicles for tasks where EVs excell and ICE vehicles will > continue to be used for tasks where they excell. > > How long it takes to recharge an EV is irrelevant in this model. Plug it > in when you get home, unplug it before you leave. Never stop for gas > (except in a rental car). > > Ed > > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA ( > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > -- Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain happiness, or should I help others gain happiness? *Dalai Lama * Tell me what it is you plan to do With your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver, "The summer day." To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html> A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. *Warren Buffet* Michael E. Ross (919) 550-2430 Land (919) 576-0824 <https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones> Google Phone (919) 631-1451 Cell (919) 513-0418 Desk [email protected] <[email protected]> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140410/0c00b14d/attachment.htm> _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
