mkjayakumar said:
I don't understand why every cost comparison has to be with Prius? As if Prius is the exact equivalent alternative for Leaf. Perhaps we should compare a motorbike ?
And also comparing Gas costs with public EV charging costs is meaningless. Someone aptly gave an analogy of eating at home and at a restaurant. A cup of coffee at home costs me no more than 25c, and at Starbucks over $2, but we don't complain. And I spend money at Starbucks maybe twice a month..
I can only pity ICE owners that they don't have an option of cheap gas fillups at home.
in size, utility, etc. the Prius actually stacks up pretty well with the LEAF. the LEAF has slightly more passenger space, the Prius has a more flexible storage option which is negated if there are more than 2 occupants.
but the fact of the matter is, EVs are soooooo much the right answer for a HUGE portion of the population that any neighsayer has to cherry pick their ammunition simply because if they dont; they lose and its not a pretty fight.
look at the data provided!! that should be enough to see the pathetic arguments presented. Volt @ 40 mpg (ok, what if you are not driving in near perfect conditions?) or Prius at @50 mpg? now, dont get me wrong, drive the Prius at the speed limit and this is so easy to do but most people dont do it (see post above about my driving. it aint rocket science and i have no where near the patience to hypermile)
but all that is possible but $3.50 gas?? WTF :shock: show of hands!!
who is gonna base their projected costs over the next 3 years on $3.50 gas?? mind you this is an established revenue stream that has probably the most volatility of any other consumer product we know. so $2.50 gas is just as realistic as $4.50 gas...at least for a few weeks, maybe a month or two.
OR
the EV public charging infrastructure, which is new, searching for customers, trying to figure out a profit model and one that has already gone thru several pricing changes already (this is a perfect example) each change lowering the cost to us?
is this bait and switch? oh hell ya it is. there is no doubt about that! its like getting that awesome 4G Droid for $100...with that contract and its $30 per month required data plan.
but then we get right back to real cost. if gas stations had to sell gas for a profit, we would be "dreaming" about $4 gas. but they dont. they make money on CONVENIENCE!!
what does that mean?? that means you dont have to haul a cooler around, stock it with water and ice daily to get water. you buy it at a 10,000% markup. ALREADY FRICKING COLD!! now, did it cost a $1.29 in electricity to keep it cold until you got there? oh no. not even close and trust me, when you bought that water, you used up 45 seconds of that counter person's time but actually paid over 6 minutes of his salary.
or we could look at parking (the list goes on and on and on) i always look for the "cheap" parking at less than $2 an hour. if i am lucky, i can find one of those coin things on a side street (we still have them here) because those are only a buck an hour...but a buck an hour?? how much mark up is that?? the street in front of my house is free to park on. (i should know, being 2 blocks from the county fairground where they charge for parking makes my street a big target!)
but what is the alternative. take a bus? well that is a HUGE money saver, but best it can do is drop me off 3 blocks away and the schedule means i have to spend an extra 90 minutes round trip to do it. wow!! that is a hassle so i guess paying for parking aint so bad after all now, is it?
mkjayakumar i guess i am preaching to the choir. its too back more of the congregation does not get it
) filled up yesterday at $3.669... oh well, it was too cheap anyway ) 
