I believe electric cars are the future and I would give myself a slight pat on the back as an early adopter. In no way was I someone who was DIY'ing electric vehicles a decade or so ago, nor was I an owner of the EV1. However, from a consumer and fan perspective, I think I got on the train fairly early. Much of my interest in EVs is the result of my unabashed fandom for Elon Musk and the Tesla story.
My first entry into vehicles that were an improvement from the traditional combustion engine was the purchase of a Toyota Camry Hybrid. I made this purchase in 2007. While the vehicle itself was a bit 'vanilla', what I became obsessed with is trying to get the best miles per gallon (MPG) I could and maximizing the use of the 'electric mileage'. I quickly began to spend a great deal of attention to the 'gamification' of achieving the best MPG. The Camry showed when you were using the gasoline engine and when it was being only operated electrically. The result was a dramatic change in how I drove and I did everything I could do to maximize usage of electric propulsion. This is when I became aware of 'hypermiling' and began to really pay attention to the tricks to minimize the usage of gasoline. I was pretty good. At the time, gas was pretty expensive; I believe it was around $4 per gallon. This added to the incentive to improve my MPG. The take-away was that providing data on MPG performance and the ability to not use gas was powerful and changed my driving behavior in a dramatic way. Also, it became clear to me that every car going forward should be at least a hybrid; if for no other reason than not having your car run while at a stop and idling.
My next purchase was a Toyota Prius; the poster child for the consciences driver. The vehicle was primarily for my wife's use as she does and continues to do quite a bit of driving. Previously she really disliked the Prius from a visual perspective, but surprisingly after a few weeks, she began to love it. She had rented a Prius a few months earlier in her business travels and this really changed her thinking around the vehicle. Her appreciation for the car was largely based on the fact that it felt very solid. I think this sensation was largely because the car weighed more than a typical car because of the battery. Now she did not embrace the hyper-mile perspective of driving but the performance from gasoline consumption was very good. She drove the most miles in our family and the financial impact was pretty dramatic particularly since her previous vehicle was a large SUV that sucked great amounts of gas.
Shortly after, the Camry lease ended and I opted to lease another Camry Hybrid. More or less the same as the previous vehicle with some minor improvements. And during these five years, I became as proficient a hybrid hyper-miler as possible.
In 2013 I decided I needed to really embrace a purer EV strategy. I coveted a Tesla but it was definitely out of my price range. I had some brand loyalty to Toyota and took a strong look at the Prius Plugin Hybrid. The problem was the range was only ten miles. This surprised me some as Toyota in many ways was the first brand to push and be successful with alternatives to pure combustion engines; i.e. the Prius. There were some other plugin hybrids from other companies that had twice the range. And to me, the difference between ten and twenty-plus miles was pretty significant.
I liked the look of the Ford Fusion quite a bit. The electric range of 20 miles was good along with the ability to use the carpool lane were compelling.
I was friendly with a guy who owned a Chevy Volt and he only had great things to say about it. I strongly considered getting a Volt, but I had read an article about Ford's new C Max Energi. I decided I would test drive it and afterward, I decided I really liked it. I did a test drive with my wife and for whatever she did not like it; again this was largely based on a visual aesthetic. The salesman thought maybe I should look at the Ford Fusion Energi and the Mrs thought this was visually much better. However, I didn't want to spend the extra money and thought the C Max was the best option. Long story short, I was able to negotiate a very good price that was marginally more than I was going to pay for the C Max. And so I got the Fusion. And I really liked the car. Having the 20 mile range was very intriguing to me and my work was about four miles each way. Well within my daily commute. My hypermiling obsession jumped to the next level and this vehicle really provided an opportunity to not use any gasoline. And generally speaking, I was quite successful; see below. Unfortunately, I had to hand over daily usage over to my daughter who needed her own transportation. She was not nearly the efficient driver I was and honestly could care less about what was powering her transportation. She just cared about getting to wherever she wanted to go; ahhh teenagers!
I was pretty happy with my 126 miles per gallon result over 10,000 miles. I was also very impressed that more than 80% of those miles were electric, and about 25% were from brake regeneration. Wow, this I find very impressive. Why isn't every car like this?
In the summer of 2015, my youngest was about to get his license and with two kids who were going to be drivers, I needed to get a third car. A vehicle all for me, and I really wanted to go all-electric. Again, I wish I could afford a Tesla. There were a few options available and luckily I lived in California which seems to be the first place these types of vehicles get offered to the public. The choice came down between a Nissan Leaf or a BMW i3. I drove both and they were relatively similar in respect to the driver experience. The BMW looked cooler on the outside and they had done some very interesting things in the interior with reusable and recyclable materials. The range was about the same and so I was leaning toward the i3. I did the dance at the dealership and they were offering pretty attractive lease options with the introduction of this model. And so I pulled the trigger and got the i3.
In this picture I had just got the i3 and really was quite pleased with the purchase.
My two-year lease is about to conclude and I have been debating what I am going to do with my next purchase. Again I find myself coveting a Tesla but still not being able to afford either the S or X Models. And yes the Model III is coming out soon but I am not on the waiting list and need to make a decision now. The good news is I am Tesla stockholder and have done quite well, but the bad news is I will need to buy someone else's electric vehicle. I would very much like to get another i3 but their range has not significantly improved and while 70 miles was reasonable and caused no issues for probably 90% of the last two years, there are other options with longer range. The Chevy Bolt is one of those options with a range in excess of three times my current vehicle, and that is very significant. On top of it, I got the i3 when they had recently introduced it and they provided me very good lease terms. Today, they are not as aggressive despite my frankness with them that I can get effectively the same car with a significantly better range at the same and slightly lower price. I gave my BMW dealership ample opportunity to keep my business, but no luck.
I am now the proud owner of a Chevy Bolt and have had it for about two weeks. It is a nice car and as good as the i3 with some other options that are better. However, the range has proven to be a BIG difference. I have already made two trips deep into Los Angeles and back with no issues. That was not possible with the i3. This is going to work well. Two thumbs up so far. My only issue is because the battery is significantly bigger, and I will likely need to upgrade my home charging abilities and pay for a 220 volt with a good bump in amperage to make overnight charging more meaningful.
Good looking car that is very functional and has lots of good features. Now I just need my carpool stickers!
When I return this car in the summer of 2020, I expect the EV options to be significantly improved. Not a day goes by where seemingly every automaker is introducing new models or making plans for electric vehicle options; thank you Elon Musk. His vision, courage and entrepreneurial spirit have created competition within the auto marketplace. This can only mean better vehicles and more of the population going emission-free. This is good for everyone! And maybe my next EV will have significant autonomous capabilities so I won't need to drive. I am looking forward to the day when car ownership goes away and will no longer need to own and pay for a vehicle that remains idle for most of the day.