Having never been to the UK, I can't comment on the state of things over there.....but here in the US, its fairly easy to own an electric car without too many restrictions......assuming your eyes are wide open about their limitations and you account for those limitations.
I bought a Chevrolet Bolt EV last February 18th. Even though it was made here in Michigan, I traveled to VA to go get it. Here in the US, each state has different rules that effect where and when car companies release their product. In my case, Michigan has no incentive plan to encourage purchasing an alternate fuel vehicle. As such, Chevy released the car first in states that do have incentives. CA, OR, MA were the first states to get the Bolt....then VA and MD. MI was waaaay down the list so I jumped at the chance to get one as early as I could. So off to VA I went.
I knew I wanted one when GM released the range of the car (240 miles). This was a giant leap forward in battery technology. Previous electric cars (Leaf, etc.) had ranges of 140 miles and while that's nice, that wouldn't work for me. I needed a car that could be than a local commuter/errand runner. I'm a sales rep so I drive a lot (27000 miles in 11 months) and an electric car just made sense. My local power company installed a smart meter so I could charge the car overnight when the rates were lowest (10 cents/KWHr). I can charge it completely for $6. With no oil changes, tune ups, etc., this car is amazingly inexpensive to drive. My data shows it costs me less than 3 cents per mile to operate. The US tax laws allow me to deduct 54 cents per mile when i use the car for business. As a self employed business man, that makes me even more enthusiastic about the car. Throw in that the gov't gives me a $7500 tax credit and its even better.
As for the limitations, the battery range is quenched by cold weather.......when its 10F out, I can expect 150 mile range. But when its 70F out, I can go 300 miles. All on a charge of $6. There are charging stations all over the place and the vast majority of them are free. So if I'm driving home and I need a few miles to make sure I get there, I can connect to a charger for a while to collect that extra few miles. A lot of supermarkets, shopping malls, libraries, movie theaters, etc. have them so I can utilize the charge time effectively. More and more places are putting in chargers because they realize that folks will spend money while waiting for their cars to charge. Another downer.....since I'm not buying gas, I'm not paying gas taxes.......so the state charges me $400 for my license plate. My Honda Accord cost $116. How about that for somebody who's taking one for the team?
All in all, I am extremely happy with the car.....and if the price of gas goes up, I'll be even happier. I can stand on the high moral ground and be smug with the best of them.
Dayle
