AutoblogGreen

Your google.org link cites a plug-in Prius as getting 73.6mpg, not 66.2.

Since when does 3 * 88 = 156? The article says "$158 to $250 (when you factor in the cost of electricity too)". That's more like it.

Note that I don't disagree with the premise -- that conversions are a bad idea -- but some numbers seemed off. Of course, I can, as an alternative, put forth a compelling argument that getting, say, a new Aptera Typ-1e to replace an old car *does* pay for itself. And at a rate that beats interest, too.

Aptera Typ-1e:
Purchase price: $27k + $3k in taxes (assuming no tax deductions) + $1k in options - perhaps $6k off your taxes over the course of the new federal EV/PHEV deduction = $25k (the federal deduction starts at $5k a year for the Typ-1e and is designed to decrease annually at an as-of-yet-unspecified rate).
12k miles * 0.08 kWh/mi * $0.10/kWh = $96
Maintenance: Complex to figure, but I calculate it at ~$300/year when you include amortizing the random, big capital costs (more details if needed; assumes 20 years of operation and one battery change at $0.20/Wh (given that one can expect some degree of battery mass production by the time the it needs to be changed. A123 batteries are rated for >10 years and >7000 charge cycles; realistically, you could possibly get by without ever changing them, since I've seen numbers that suggest you'd realistically only have 20% charge loss in 15 years of use))

Generic old 30mpg car:
Purchase price: $0 (we assume you already have it)
Gas: 12k mi / (30 mi/gal) * $3.50/gal = $1400
Maintenance: Varies a lot, but with an old gas car that's driven a lot, from my experience, that's about $1000/year on average -- some years more, some years less.

Compare: ~$400/year with $2400/year. Savings, $2000/year. Payback period, 12 1/2 years. At normal interest rates, an investment that gives a payback period that low is generally a sound investment.

Let me reiterate: the numbers come up with it being a sound investment to *Buy Yourself A New, Eco-Friendly Car*. ;) Since when is buying a new car a *good* investment? Since never, generally.

Now, some factors can complicate this. For example, if you take a lot of long trips, you'd either need the Typ-1h PHEV instead of the Typ-1e EV, and then you'd have to pay for a small amount of gasoline (plus a more typical amount of maintenance), or you'd need to keep your old car in reserve and pay for the (reduced) gas and maintenance on it as well as for the electricity and maintenance on the Typ-1e. In such circumstances, it is *possible* that you might have to actually lose a small amount money in the process of *getting yourself a New Car*. Imagine that ;) Otherwise, you'd only stand to gain.

This is why I like EVs. And it'll only get better with mass production lowering purchase prices and improving stats. If we assume that the Aptera's batteries currently are $1/Wh and will go down to $0.20/Wh with mass production, that'd take $8,000 off the purchase price, reducing the car from $27k to $19k. And that's ignoring mass production of the *rest* of the vehicle.

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You mean after market modifications of parallel hybrids with zero economies of scale aren't economical?

Most cars aren't economical from a company standpoint until you produce atleast 60,000 units.

Also the real winner for PHEVS is "off the factory line series plugin hybrids".

Not hobby shop after market modifications.

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Time is on the side of BEVs and plugins. Gas isn't going to get cheap again.

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If you are very well of and reading this blog then you should buy vehicles like this, because that is the best way to start getting vehicles like this mass produced. If you payed in the usa what we pay €7-€8 per gal in europe your $10,000 cost of conversion would be recouped a lot faster. It will make you feel good about yourselve.

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There's also environmental and geo-political reasons.
Converting to a plugin today, means you stop using oil today. Period.

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