Senators Slam The Energy Department’s Auto Loan Program

Buy a Car With Confidence | Costco Auto Program  

It really depends on how you're using it.  That Fiat has a really short range and a pretty slow charge speed. It's not for traveling like you do, it's for runs to the store in a city.  On the other end, something longer range 300+ miles like a Tesla, or some of the GMs and Hyundai/Kias, they make great touring vehicles.  Just look for a charging spot near your destination or most highways in the US have rapid charging now.   Now, public charging is usually not cheaper per mile than gas. If you're doing is to save money, an EV and relying solely on public charging nets out to the same as a similarly size gasoline vehicle, but no worse. It's pretty much just equal on fueling costs.  The EV pulls ahead slightly on maintenance costs, but probably not enough to justify a purchase in either direction.(*this is assuming US electric and gasoline prices, I don't know how the numbers shake out in the EU) One of the areas that don't see talked about much is convenience.  If you're in an area where you can charge at home and have decent public charger access, the convenience of EVs can't be beat. Just this week I had to go on a 200 mile round trip business trip. The night before I was so tired coming home I didn't stop to fill up the truck. If I had an electric, it wouldn't have mattered, but because it's gas, I had to budget extra time for stopping .  If it was a Silverado EV I could have made the trip twice on a single charge. Even a Chevy Bolt would have gotten up and back no problem without stopping.  What I'm getting at is that the range anxiety is a lot more overblown these days than it should be.  We're not all doing cannonball runs. We stop for food, bathroom, whatever. You can charge at most Walmarts and many grocery stores now while you shop. The only time I ever had to worry about range is when I return a rental car and they want it above a certain range before I return it.  

Dang, there are no ZDX within 200 miles of me and when I jump to 300 miles, they're more like 34-40k still...  Do you guys have a link to read more on this Costco discount? 

When people talk about electric vehicles and how they might fare for others, the other person's context needs to come into view. Last summer, I was driving through a beachside town on the Adriatic coast in Central Italy.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing, so I had to pull over and take a photo  This is evidently an electrified Fiat.  I don't know what this person's parking situation is, but it looks like they've got it parked on a narrow apron, are blocking the sidewalk, and the electricity is being borrowed from somewhere inside the house through a long cord. Unless a person in Italy has a detached home that has a garage or is in a condo tower that has garages at its base, they may not have a real tidy solution for electrifying the car while it's parked and they aren't doing something else or are sleeping.  A person could be in the exact same situation in the United States and Canada.   If you've got an EV and have a garage or carport, you can charge it as needed nightly if there are outlets available.  A friend of mine who lives in a Southern California suburb and has an 1,800 square foot house with a two car garage has 2 Teslas being charged while parked in the garage.  The same could be true in a personal garage somewhere in Europe.  But without the garage situation established and a vehicle yet to be decided on ... and if it looks anything like the above photo ... I don't expect to be buying an electric car this next time. 

I couldn't believe this.  Why was the truck even moving into an active runway or taxiway?  This is very sad and they gave some background on the two pilots who lost their lives, both of whom were fairly young and had their lives ahead of them.