I'm still not sold on the thoughts of an all-electric or even a hybrid. Of course, anything would be better than the gas hog I have now. My son is trying to talk me into a Nissan Juke. Small four-cylinder with a turbocharger. Decent acceleration and 31 mpg...although the trade-off for performance is premium because of the higher compression.
I'd buy one in a heartbeat if they weren't 40K. For a pea-sized car....crap, I'd do better to buy a mini cooper....I'd have to drive the other car 10 years before I broke even...
The IIHS usually crashes cars into a wall and a small car can receive a good rating in such a situation, however crash it into a larger car in a head-on simulation and look what happens. www.carolinaweeklynews.com/id66.html Not pretty.
Another point is that GM is aggressively advertising/promoting the Volt. At the car show this year, they had them for people to drive around the fairgrounds, had one on display with the female presenter describing the car in detail and Volt is being advertised heavily in the car magazines. Pretty awesome that a hybrid with a 9-gallon gas tank can achieve 100 mpg and you're not solely dependent on a charge.
Those interested in driving the Leaf, can do so at the State Farmer's Market through 4 p.m today. Its Nissan's Leaf Tour. https://www.drivenissanleaf.com/Event/EventDetails.aspx?eid=32
I filled up my Taurus this morning at $3.39 gallon & it was $51. Unbelievable & I'm sure it will get higher.
I wouldn't mind trading with ya. It takes $90 to fill my truck up and I get an average 15 mpg (if I'm lucky). I'll probably keep my truck, but I sure do need to get something more economical.
Don't forget the tax credits and the money you save on gas. I am not sure how much they cost, but the $40k figure seems a bit high.
The Chevrolet website lists the MSRP as $40K and then the tax credits are applied bringing it down to a mere $32K. Still the mini is a better deal at $25K in my opinion.
I think the Mini, though, requires premium so you're having to shell out an extra .20+/- gal. more. I wonder if a Golf/Rabbit with the TDI would be a good way to go. I think on the highway it can get 50 mpg. Of course, diesel is higher than regular, as well. Probably, for the money, the best bang for the buck is the Ford Fiesta in the sub compacts. Lower MSRP and regular gas.
Not bad considering they are only available in a few states and even then by reservation. The Nissan website is horrible so I got some info off Wikipedia (heavily sourced/footnoted). It looks like they have 20,000 reservations, but firms sales were limited to about four states. Phase two roll out begins in April (includes NC). MSRP is $32k. I am sure the Chevy Volt also has a ramped up roll out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf If my office park had a recharge station I would seriously consider this. Perhaps my employer will allow it? I hope Wulf wasn't seriously gloating over this...
