As this seems to be morphing into electric vehicle promotion, let me add we are into our 4th year of driving an 'extended range' (Volt/ELR) electric vehicle. These have about 50 miles of 'electric first' range then the gas engine will take over. As we are both retired and live in a 'compact' city (Reno, NV), it's very infrequent that we will drive in excess of 50 miles on any given day. Since that is within the car's electric only range, the engine rarely runs and we find that we only visit a gas station every other month or so and that's usually for about 6 gallons of gas. Here in Reno driving electric is extremely 'green' as our baseload power (at night when electric cars usually charge) is provided by the Steamboat Springs geothermal plant. I have a 'My Vehicle is Powered By a Volcano' license plate frame. A full charge at home costs about a dollar and over the past 4 years the number of free charging locations has ballooned and most places we now frequent have a charger that we can top off at. Looking back, I do not miss all the time I have wasted at gas stations roasting in heat, getting wet in rain or freezing in the cold. The 15 seconds spent plugging the car in (inside the comfort of our garage) when we get home is a welcome trade. Electric cars will certainly replace gasoline ones soon. The sooner you get one, the sooner you will begin enjoying freedom from the hose. We won't go back.
