[citation][nom]snowgoer1998[/nom]Hmmm...lets see...Chevy Volt = $41,000 + TTL = ~$43,000Charge cost = assume 8 hr charge at night * 120v * 15 watt * 300 charging days = 4,320 Kilowatts * $0.12 / Kilowatt = $518 for electricityChevy Cobalt = $13,000 + TTL = ~ $15,000assume city driving for 20,000 miles/year = ~27 MPG = ~ 800 gallons of fuel * ~$3.00 / gallon = $2400 per year for gasSo, lets see here... I could drive a Chevy Cobalt for 11.666 years, averaging 20,000 miles per year and paying ~$3.00 per gallon, before breaking even on the purchase price of the Chevy VoltOk, you say, but what about the tax refund???...fine...take off 3 years (~$7500 of fuel) and you're still at a minimum of an 8 year payback - WITHOUT taking in to account the cost of the electricity to charge the Volt...Volt = EPIC FAIL!!!!!!![/citation]
Yeah the initial price of these electric and hybrid cars far outweighs anything you'll save in gasoline unless the price of gas skyrockets to 4x its current price.
It's the same with many environmentally friendly things like windmills and solar panels. It takes decades just to break even. My neighbor also installed a geothermal heat/cooling system for something like $10,000 about 15 years ago. Today, her electric bill for the whole system is double my natural gas & electric bill combined, and it cost no where near 10k to install my central air & furnace.
On top of that, the geothermal system is an ecoli and bacteria farm which drains right into my well, making my water undrinkable. Very environmentally friendly and money saving!!! /sarcasm