WHY I CHOOSE THE CHEVY VOLT FOR MY ELECTRIC CAR
First, some background…
My main truck is a 2005 GMC Envoy. It’s an amazing vehicle. Its only compromise is fuel economy.
The way I drive relegates it to about 11 miles per gallon. ( I use 3.55 /gallon because that was the average cost for the week I started this charting)
I drive 34 miles, one way, to work each day.
So, here are those numbers… (bold numbers are fixed)
|
My Truck |
|
|
Miles per day |
68 |
|
Cost of gas/gallon |
3.55 |
|
Gallons Used |
6.18 |
|
Cost per day |
21.95 |
|
Cost per Month |
460.85 |
|
Cost per Year |
5705.82 |
|
Cost for 3 years |
17117.45 |
*=Note this does NOT account for maintenance or wear items.
I have solar at my house, so electric is not only ‘free’, but it’s ‘green!”
So, now I go and try the Smartcar…
|
SmartCar |
|
|
Lease payment |
178 |
|
Cost per month (Adjusted) |
356.5 |
|
Cost per Year (Adjusted) |
4278 |
|
Total Cost for 3 years |
12834 |
|
Total Savings |
$4,278.42 |
|
Per Month |
$104.22 |
*=“Adjusted” numbers include the insurance, registration, and the amortized down payment cost
But the Smartcar only gave me a 9% margin of charge when I test drove it to work and home (using NO devices)
Here is that chart.
|
SmartCar EXTENDED TEST DRIVE |
|||||||||
|
|
Starting Mileage |
Charge |
End Mileage |
Charge |
Total from dealer |
Percent Used |
Estimated total distance @ rate |
Notes: |
|
|
Coming home from dealer |
302 |
100 |
325 |
72 |
23 |
28 |
82.1 |
Radio and fan on (Rt 22) stop and go |
|
|
Going to work |
325 |
100 |
363 |
59 |
38 |
41 |
92.7 |
Lights on, fan on 1, no blinkers or radio |
|
|
Coming home from work |
363 |
59 |
401 |
9 |
38 |
50 |
76.0 |
Low A/C and windows for a short time |
|
|
Going to Dealership |
401 |
100 |
424 |
69 |
23 |
31 |
74.2 |
Radio and fan on RT 78 (highway) |
|
So I needed more range. I checked out The Leaf but it was about the same range, and slightly more expensive…
|
Nissan Leaf |
|
|
Lease payment |
215 |
|
Cost per month (Adjusted) |
395.977778 |
|
Cost per Year (Adjusted) |
4751.73333 |
|
Total Cost for 3 years |
14255.2 |
|
Total Savings |
$2,820.30 |
|
Per Month |
$63.75 |
Then, there was the Chevy Volt, less range, but a backup gas motor, so range is never an issue. It gets about 40 miles on electric, and the rest I do on a generator getting better than 40 MPG. It was also a little more for the monthly lease.
|
Chevy Volt |
|
|
Lease payment |
338.23 |
|
Cost per month (Adjusted) |
512.528611 |
|
Cost per Year (Adjusted) |
6150.34333 |
|
Total Cost for 3 years |
18451.03 |
|
Total Savings |
-$1,616.03 |
|
Per Month |
-$59.28 |
So, the car will cost me $1616.03 for three years costs. (yes, I didn’t calculate how much fuel adds to this, because its an unknown at this time.
HOWEVER, if you factor in the ‘wear and tear’ on my Envoy, the costs is even lower (assuming a $0.05 per mile wear factor)…
|
Miles per year |
17680 |
|
Cost per mile |
0.05 |
|
Savings per year |
884 |
|
Savings for 3 years |
2652 |
|
Adjusted savings |
1035.97 |
And yes, I didn’t factor this into the other cars, because their ranges were a deal breaker. Maybe in 3 years, they’ll have better ranges for electric cars.
My math may not be 100% (and there were some translation errors from when I took it from the spreadsheet and pasted it here.)
But I also did the Analysis of Competing Hypotheses (ACH) on it and here are those results*…
For an explanation on how it works, check out this link…
To get the quick answer, the lowest “Weighted Inconsistency Score” wins. (To lease a Volt)
So, there to have it, my flawed and tortured logic for getting the Volt.
BTW, it’s a fun car!
Contact me with any questions you may have.