What will it take to make you seriously consider an EV?

Well, I took the plunge and reserved a Chevy Bolt EUV this past weekend. I think it is finishing up production and should be delivered in 2-3 weeks or so. It will be my first EV so we'll see how it goes.

 

Did you have to pay above MSRP or have forced dealer add-ons?

 

No, no add ons. Though they may technically try that when it comes time to pick the car up because all I've done so far is pay the $1000 deposit to hold it for me. But he quoted me the drive out price over the phone and it didn't have any add ons, so they better not try and a bait and switch when I get there.

 

Weird. I had just watched a video of this when you posted that. lol. Here you go - they even drove it upside-down... among other things. lol :

 

Good thing it’s under warranty.

 

If they do, complain directly to GM. They'll resolve this in your favor if the dealer tries to pull a fast one.

 

FYI, IRS said they will release EV tax credit guidance next week. This may or may not impact the Bolt EUV's qualifying credit.

https://www.eenews.net/articles/treasury-to-release-ev-tax-credit-guidance-next-week/

 

double post. deleted

 

What is monopoly and corruption for $200

 

Well, it's better than outlawing EVs as some Republicans want to do.

 

haha backasswards state

 

I think it's fair to charge EV/PHEV owners some fees to recoup the gasoline excise tax, but $200 seems too steep. It should scale with either weight of the vehicle or miles traveled per year.

The current short fall is not due to EVs but due to fleetwide increase in efficiency and lack of tax increase due to inflation. The last time state gas tax increased was in 1991 and federal tax in 1993. The tax gas should've been a percentage of the fuel price, not a flat number.

 

These vehicles use the roads so there should be some way to recoup the costs.

https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/fin/reporting/distribution-coin-chart.pdf

I know that it's likely being made a political topic, but it really shouldn't be. Roadway maintenance is critical and the states should be able to capture the loss in revenue somehow, especially when the EV fleet gets larger and larger.

 

Or, we could move more freight (and people) by train, thus saving wear and tear on the roads. I don't drive fast enough to be in the fast lane all the time, but damn if I want to ride in the 18-wheeler beat-up slow lane.

 

Would be nice, but this region is resistant to it. Didn't the high speed train from Houston to Dallas project fall apart?

 

About the gas tax.... In some states, they want to monitor how many miles you drive and tax you based off of that, under the guise of eliminating gas taxes, but making EVs pay their fair share. How about, no.

Not only that, but my state (Pa) has one of, if not the highest, gas taxes in the country. No way they will eliminate it. They raise it every time gas prices creep lower. Yet, somehow, we have some of the worst roads in the country...

 

Renewable energy sources in the US have crossed the 20% threshold with the gains coming at the expense of coal. Some states are already north of 50%.

 

Biggest issue is that the federal gas tax hasn't been increased since 1993. States can increase their share of the gas tax all they want and they still can't close the gap.

A Mileage tax is inevitable. I suspect when you renew your registration, you'll have to report current mileage and they'll just calculate the number of miles from the previous year and build in the fee into your yearly registration.