Nice, Bill! We're gonna be in the market to replace my wife's 2014 Camry soon, but I'm not sure we're ready for an EV. I had a 2011 hybrid for about 7 years, but the battery replacement was scary expensive. I drive a lot (about 18,000 mi/yr), and my wife does about 12,000.
Like you, my wife doesn't get excited about cars, but maybe an EV will change that. I'd consider anything other than a Tesla.
Maybe. I think my 2011 had about 120,000 miles on it and the battery was due for replacement at about $2k. I think I averaged about 38 mpg. With gas prices down, maybe a little cheaper than a gas only car, but no rebates.
Oh, crikey! You're probably not spending much on that Camry, and $2k is the cost of two ordinary years' worth of repairs, but with a Camry, you've probably been paying a fair amount less than 1k/year, and it's a helluva lot less than the cost of a new car.
Find out what the battery replacement will cost, and when you're likely to have to replace it. You may not need to replace it any time soon, or maybe it will be less expensive than you fear. A '14 Camry is not an old car. I have a 2008 Civic, with 165k on the clock, which I hope to keep for years. A lot of modern cars are good for a lot more miles than you'd expect. See: Mileage Impossible on Facebook.
My son is an Engineer and his hobby is restoring old Saabs and Volvos. He would be in heaven if he got a hold of a '59 Saab like the one pictured.
My grandmother had a '64 Plymouth Valiant, in a beautiful light blue, with a push button transmission. As a little kid, It fascinated me. So, you push this button and the car goes forward and you push this button and the car goes backward? Huh.
Unlike you, I love cars. I love expensive cars, but must admit I am still driving the Audi I bought shortly after I retired. It only has 99k (or about 60,000 miles) and it drives like a tank in the snow and has an efficient 4 cylinder engine with a turbo so the gas mileage isn't bad.
But my next car will be a hybrid. I am going back to the Lexus brand. They are made here in Ontario and I have a thing about that.
My congrats on your new Bolt for nearly no money. Well done and thanks for sharing your migration to EV.
My wife and I decided something similar in the spring, but, we chose the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Plug In.
On a full charge we get 50 miles of pure EV operation before Hybrid operation begins. So, for all of our around town driving we are EV.
However, we chose Hybrid instead of full EV due to the limited charging capability along hiways we travel. When/If that changes we will go full EV as well.
In HV mode I routinely obtain 50 mpg. So, still not good, but, not as bad as I once was.
As for flying cars, well, that seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Imagine the drunk driving incidents in that thing. :-) Which, there will be.
We have friends and neighbors with hybrids like the Rav 4. They love them. Hybrids are a great step forward. But ultimately, having just one propulsion system will be sufficient and a lot cheaper to make.
I think we are in that almost there moment in auto history.
I'm a car guy. I was one in my youth--age 5 or 6 until I switched to bicycles in my late teens. And then again, in my late 30s, when I got on antidepressants that worked.
I'm not in the market for an EV, and that won't happen unless and until there are charging stations everywhere, and they work for everyone. And despite my environmentalist tendencies, I LOVE internal combustion. I love the sound and feel of my Civic's engine, a thrill I just don't get from EVs, despite the torque. (Too much of any resource reduces its value, or appeal, and that's definitely true of torque. I just don't care.) I've driven a handful of different EVs, and the only one I could see myself owning, but for the price is a Lucid Air. I'm not sure what it is about that car as compared to other EVs, but I greatly enjoyed driving it on some of Boston's bad streets.
I've had my beloved '08 Civic since it had 35,000 miles and was 4 years old. It's now got 165k on the clock, and it still sings to me, and it handles like a sports car, especially with the Michelins, and the well chosen snow tires.
But EVs do have their advantages. Like brakes that work without slowly destroying themselves. Similar with the motors. There's much less friction than in an ICE car. And, by the way, there's a facebook site called mileage impossible. People display their cars that have unusual amounts of mileage. Lots of cars with more than 300k, and I've seen a few with a million. The only Bolt I've seen--probably because they are so new and so few--had 300k on the clock. The only worry I'm aware of with EVs is the batteries. But with a small car like the Bolt, they probably either are relatively inexpensive, or they last a long time. Or maybe both.
We had always been "Honda people". I Have had two Honda Fits. Amazing little vehicles. Very fun to drive and amazing cargo capacity. I wish the Honda HR-V had been electric. I see they do have an interesting EV coming out.
The Civic is a terrific car. At 165k - it's just really broken in. :)
The Civic is my second Honda. The '99 Accord--bought used for an excellent price--came to an unfortunate end in a crash, or I might still have it. It didn't drive as nicely as the Civic, but it had much better visibility.
I am not a car person at all. If I were run over by a car I'd be confined to telling the police "it was blue" (or red or white...) but this was a fun article to read, and I'm going to forward it to my daughter who is in the market for a car.
Thanks for this analysis, Bill. A Bolt it is, when my 2019 Audi A5 wears out the new model Bolt should be up and running…Will have to buy one for Maria as well…Another step forward on the “transforming energy’s side.”
Another great article Bill, and leading with one of the great road cars of all time was inspired. I drove a 1969 Saab Model 96 for years and loved it. Comfortable, quick, and with the V-4 engine, got great mileage.
I've thought for some time that a hybrid was the logical transition step to EV, but right now am happy with my '13 Subaru Legacy and Subaru, for some reason, hasn't made much of a move toward either more modern option. The comments here have me thinking that a review might be in order, especially if I could find a deal like the one you got.
The 59 GT was the first of three Saabs I owned. Back in the 60s it was one of the only vehicles with FWD. Which was a big feature here in the winter. AWD was barely available then. Damn, I am old.
I drive the Bolt. My wife drives a Crosstrek that we just love and use for longer trips. Subaru is really a great brand.
I also liked the freewheeling function on the Saab, great for gas mileage. I followed the 96 with a 99 and then left Saab when GM bought them, raised prices, trashed quality and eventually discontinued the marque. 4WD was a truck and Jeep thing in those days; we're both old.
I'd say as long as the Subaru's giving you good service, keep it. Your getting a plug-in hybrid isn't going to save the world--SOMEONE will be driving your Subaru probably well into the next decade. And pure EVs IMO aren't ready for prime time unless you don't take any long drives.
There is a lot to be said for keeping a good car for a long time. A good brand if maintained properly can be a smart way to keep the annual cost of ownership under control.
That's my current plan, since it isn't broken, I'm not itching to fix it. I agree with your assessment on the technology, that's part of the reason I held off on battery storage for my solar array too.
Okay. I just read all the "comments." I feel like I've just taken a class on CARS! This was so informative. I am keeping it all to review before I give up my fantastic 2016 Toyota Prius. (55 to 65mpg in summer, 45 to 55 in winter). My 2005 Prius had over 260K miles before things that were too expensive to fix happened. Love those Priuses!
Nice, Bill! We're gonna be in the market to replace my wife's 2014 Camry soon, but I'm not sure we're ready for an EV. I had a 2011 hybrid for about 7 years, but the battery replacement was scary expensive. I drive a lot (about 18,000 mi/yr), and my wife does about 12,000.
Like you, my wife doesn't get excited about cars, but maybe an EV will change that. I'd consider anything other than a Tesla.
That is a lot of driving. New EVs on the way with greater range. But charging station access is obviously key.
Maybe a hybrid?
Maybe. I think my 2011 had about 120,000 miles on it and the battery was due for replacement at about $2k. I think I averaged about 38 mpg. With gas prices down, maybe a little cheaper than a gas only car, but no rebates.
Oh, crikey! You're probably not spending much on that Camry, and $2k is the cost of two ordinary years' worth of repairs, but with a Camry, you've probably been paying a fair amount less than 1k/year, and it's a helluva lot less than the cost of a new car.
Ha - I was about the same thing, Bob: no Tesla for me either! Why should I support Musky Musk?
Find out what the battery replacement will cost, and when you're likely to have to replace it. You may not need to replace it any time soon, or maybe it will be less expensive than you fear. A '14 Camry is not an old car. I have a 2008 Civic, with 165k on the clock, which I hope to keep for years. A lot of modern cars are good for a lot more miles than you'd expect. See: Mileage Impossible on Facebook.
Congratulations Bill! Nice looking car.
My son is an Engineer and his hobby is restoring old Saabs and Volvos. He would be in heaven if he got a hold of a '59 Saab like the one pictured.
My grandmother had a '64 Plymouth Valiant, in a beautiful light blue, with a push button transmission. As a little kid, It fascinated me. So, you push this button and the car goes forward and you push this button and the car goes backward? Huh.
Unlike you, I love cars. I love expensive cars, but must admit I am still driving the Audi I bought shortly after I retired. It only has 99k (or about 60,000 miles) and it drives like a tank in the snow and has an efficient 4 cylinder engine with a turbo so the gas mileage isn't bad.
But my next car will be a hybrid. I am going back to the Lexus brand. They are made here in Ontario and I have a thing about that.
Bill,
My congrats on your new Bolt for nearly no money. Well done and thanks for sharing your migration to EV.
My wife and I decided something similar in the spring, but, we chose the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Plug In.
On a full charge we get 50 miles of pure EV operation before Hybrid operation begins. So, for all of our around town driving we are EV.
However, we chose Hybrid instead of full EV due to the limited charging capability along hiways we travel. When/If that changes we will go full EV as well.
In HV mode I routinely obtain 50 mpg. So, still not good, but, not as bad as I once was.
As for flying cars, well, that seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Imagine the drunk driving incidents in that thing. :-) Which, there will be.
We have friends and neighbors with hybrids like the Rav 4. They love them. Hybrids are a great step forward. But ultimately, having just one propulsion system will be sufficient and a lot cheaper to make.
I think we are in that almost there moment in auto history.
Wisdom. On all fronts.
I'm a car guy. I was one in my youth--age 5 or 6 until I switched to bicycles in my late teens. And then again, in my late 30s, when I got on antidepressants that worked.
I'm not in the market for an EV, and that won't happen unless and until there are charging stations everywhere, and they work for everyone. And despite my environmentalist tendencies, I LOVE internal combustion. I love the sound and feel of my Civic's engine, a thrill I just don't get from EVs, despite the torque. (Too much of any resource reduces its value, or appeal, and that's definitely true of torque. I just don't care.) I've driven a handful of different EVs, and the only one I could see myself owning, but for the price is a Lucid Air. I'm not sure what it is about that car as compared to other EVs, but I greatly enjoyed driving it on some of Boston's bad streets.
I've had my beloved '08 Civic since it had 35,000 miles and was 4 years old. It's now got 165k on the clock, and it still sings to me, and it handles like a sports car, especially with the Michelins, and the well chosen snow tires.
But EVs do have their advantages. Like brakes that work without slowly destroying themselves. Similar with the motors. There's much less friction than in an ICE car. And, by the way, there's a facebook site called mileage impossible. People display their cars that have unusual amounts of mileage. Lots of cars with more than 300k, and I've seen a few with a million. The only Bolt I've seen--probably because they are so new and so few--had 300k on the clock. The only worry I'm aware of with EVs is the batteries. But with a small car like the Bolt, they probably either are relatively inexpensive, or they last a long time. Or maybe both.
Enjoy!
We had always been "Honda people". I Have had two Honda Fits. Amazing little vehicles. Very fun to drive and amazing cargo capacity. I wish the Honda HR-V had been electric. I see they do have an interesting EV coming out.
The Civic is a terrific car. At 165k - it's just really broken in. :)
The Civic is my second Honda. The '99 Accord--bought used for an excellent price--came to an unfortunate end in a crash, or I might still have it. It didn't drive as nicely as the Civic, but it had much better visibility.
I am not a car person at all. If I were run over by a car I'd be confined to telling the police "it was blue" (or red or white...) but this was a fun article to read, and I'm going to forward it to my daughter who is in the market for a car.
Thanks for this analysis, Bill. A Bolt it is, when my 2019 Audi A5 wears out the new model Bolt should be up and running…Will have to buy one for Maria as well…Another step forward on the “transforming energy’s side.”
Another great article Bill, and leading with one of the great road cars of all time was inspired. I drove a 1969 Saab Model 96 for years and loved it. Comfortable, quick, and with the V-4 engine, got great mileage.
I've thought for some time that a hybrid was the logical transition step to EV, but right now am happy with my '13 Subaru Legacy and Subaru, for some reason, hasn't made much of a move toward either more modern option. The comments here have me thinking that a review might be in order, especially if I could find a deal like the one you got.
The 59 GT was the first of three Saabs I owned. Back in the 60s it was one of the only vehicles with FWD. Which was a big feature here in the winter. AWD was barely available then. Damn, I am old.
I drive the Bolt. My wife drives a Crosstrek that we just love and use for longer trips. Subaru is really a great brand.
We are a two-Subaru household. I think these are our 5th and 6th, or something like that. Very happy with them.
I also liked the freewheeling function on the Saab, great for gas mileage. I followed the 96 with a 99 and then left Saab when GM bought them, raised prices, trashed quality and eventually discontinued the marque. 4WD was a truck and Jeep thing in those days; we're both old.
I'd say as long as the Subaru's giving you good service, keep it. Your getting a plug-in hybrid isn't going to save the world--SOMEONE will be driving your Subaru probably well into the next decade. And pure EVs IMO aren't ready for prime time unless you don't take any long drives.
There is a lot to be said for keeping a good car for a long time. A good brand if maintained properly can be a smart way to keep the annual cost of ownership under control.
That's for sure!
That's my current plan, since it isn't broken, I'm not itching to fix it. I agree with your assessment on the technology, that's part of the reason I held off on battery storage for my solar array too.
Okay. I just read all the "comments." I feel like I've just taken a class on CARS! This was so informative. I am keeping it all to review before I give up my fantastic 2016 Toyota Prius. (55 to 65mpg in summer, 45 to 55 in winter). My 2005 Prius had over 260K miles before things that were too expensive to fix happened. Love those Priuses!
The Prius was a pioneer. If yours is a young pup of only 8 years...you probably have lots o' life in that baby!