http://www.postbulletin.com/business/is-an-electric-vehicle-right-for-you/article_e898ed58-78b2-5ee1-bb5d-b3eb778cbfcf.html Is an electric vehicle right for you? September 5, 2015 | Melissa McNallan
[image / Andrew Link http://www.postbulletin.com/business/is-an-electric-vehicle-right-for-you/article_e898ed58-78b2-5ee1-bb5d-b3eb778cbfcf.html?mode=image&photo=0 Rochester Public Utilities has three electric car charging stations in Rochester: One is at their Service Center on East River Road Northeast, another at the First Street Parking Ramp in downtown and one in the Rochester Community and Technical College parking lot. ] Test driving an electric vehicle in Rochester may be the biggest hurdle to buying electric right now. After making calls to several dealerships, I was able to secure a test drive in a new Nissan Leaf, a pure electric vehicle. "We always try to keep a couple of Leafs on the lot," said sales consultant Mike Lynch. "One of each trim level: the SL, SV and an S." The car was both roomier and more powerful than I expected. The lack of a combustion motor makes it a very quiet vehicle, which I found a little eerie, until I cranked the Sirius XM radio. "It's supposed to go 135 miles," Lynch said of the distance a Nissan Leaf can go between charges. However, he cautioned that the extreme cold of Minnesota winters could reduce that amount. "In Minnesota winter" was a common refrain among the car salespeople I spoke with. "The one we have has a range extender," said Deji Famodu, a salesman at Motorwerks BMW in Bloomington, where there seems to be a higher demand for electric vehicles than in Rochester. "A lot have a range extender. People get that range anxiety. And that's partially because we live in Minnesota." "If you can do the earth a solid, that's a plus," Famodu said. Of the BMW I3, he said, "It's super quick. It gives torque right away. Fast, handles well." Noting that electric vehicles are more popular on the coasts due to the stricter emission laws, Justin Buroker, client adviser at Mercedes-Benz of Rochester, said, "Eventually, the trend is going to catch on." Rochester Ford General Sales Manager Brandon Buckingham said that trend would be tied to gas prices. "Since gas prices became affordable, there's not as much of a demand. You pay a premium for an electric car. If gas is higher than $4 per gallon, it's a game changer," Buckingham said. Several dealerships in Rochester are able to order and sell electric vehicles in their brand's lineup. For example, Park Place Motor Cars in Rochester is not able to sell them, but they can service them. You Can Charge It It takes about seven hours, generally, to charge an electric vehicle from empty to full charge. With the quick chargers, it's about four hours. Salespeople and service advisers said it's best to charge them to some level every day. Dealerships that sell electric vehicles tend to have chargers that people can use, well, free of charge. Park Place Motors will have a charging station once it completes the remodeling of its property. "With the expansion, there will be at least one charging station," said A.J. Jedlicka, a service adviser at Park Place. "We're certified to work on the hybrids and the electrics." "There's no oil. There's no transmission. There's no tailpipe," said Karen Orwoll, Park Place sales consultant. "Maintenance on it is awesome. No oil changes." People at several dealerships and service centers in Rochester said before purchasing an electric vehicle, make sure there are mechanics certified in working on a particular make and model. Nissan has three chargers for electric car owners to use at its dealership in northwest Rochester. "If they're at home, they can plug it into a 110 (voltage outlet). Some people have put quick chargers into their homes," Lynch said. Rochester Public Utilities offers electric vehicle charging locations at the First Street Ramp downtown and in the Rochester Community and Technical College parking lot for $1.50 per hour. The chargers work on most major brands of vehicles and accept most major credit cards. At the RPU Service Center, at 4000 East River Road NE, there is no cost to charge a vehicle. RPU has added the Chevrolet Volt to its fleet of vehicles. When asked about the benefits and possible negatives of the Volt, Tony Benson, communications coordinator for RPU, said, "It's high efficiency and doesn't put off emissions." Area Kwik Trips also are offering charging stations for electric vehicles. The 1990 Scott Road NW location has two charging stations. "It just makes sense for us to serve as many people as possible," said Steve Wrobel, Kwik Trip spokesman. "When there's a demand, we're certainly going to answer that." Saving money with electric cars Federal tax savings have been offered for the purchase of electric vehicles, and those savings are expected to continue. According to fueleconomy.gov, a credit of up to $7,500 may be given, depending on the capacity of the battery used to fuel the vehicle. A Google search produces a number of sites able to show what the savings are for gas versus electric. Using the Alternative Fuels Data Center, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, I compared a few 2015 fuel-efficient alternatives offered by Chevy. I entered $2.28 per gallon as the cost for fuel, and for driving habits, I entered 34 miles per day, five days per week, 49 weeks per year with an average of 45 percent of those miles being highway ones. Here are the results I found comparing three kinds of Chevy electric and hybrid cars: 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV Annual Fuel Use 0 gal Annual Electricity Use 3,437 kWh Annual Fuel/Electricity Cost $397 Annual Operating Cost $2,502 Cost Per Mile $0.21 Annual Emissions 6,284 2015 Chevrolet Volt Plug-in Hybrid Annual Fuel Use 72 gal Annual Electricity Use 3,099 kWh Annual Fuel/Electricity Cost $532 Annual Operating Cost $2,789 Cost Per Mile $0.23 Annual Emissions 7,392 2015 Chevrolet Cruze [ice] Gasoline 1.4L, 4 Cyl. Annual Fuel Use 378 gal Annual Electricity Use 0 kWh Annual Fuel/Electricity Cost $862 Annual Operating Cost $3,120 Cost Per Mile $0.26 Annual Emissions 9,077 [© postbulletin.com] For EVLN posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ http://ecomento.com/2015/09/09/nissan-leaf-300-mile-range-2018/ Nissan Leaf may get 300 mile range by 2018 http://www.driving.co.uk/news/155-miles-per-charge-nissan-squeezes-more-miles-into-2016-leaf-electric-car/ 155 miles per charge: Nissan squeezes more miles into 2016 Leaf http://www.contracthireandleasing.com/car-leasing-news/nissan-leaf-electric-car-2016-longer-range/ https://3d-car-shows.com/2016-nissan-leaf-30-kwh-delivers-250-km-range/ 2016 Nissan Leaf 30 kWh delivers 250 km range http://www.burbankleader.com/news/tn-blr-electric-stations-power-up-in-burbank-20150901,0,1142781.story Eight $0.30pkWh 2hr-limit L2 EVSE @Burbank-CA by BWP + EVLN: 2016 Nissan Leaf EV Redesign {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Minnesota-winters-reduce-Leaf-EV-s-135mi-range-tp4677538.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ 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)
