Golden Jubilee
Posts: 5170
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm
Location: Lyman, IA
'letric cars"
1st I am not a greenie and feel no moral compunction about driving my '42 K-7 with all its gas guzzlein, oil leaking charm.
I should explain that my newest vehicle is a '94 Explorer with 200K on the clock. It is the 1st car I ever bought new. I chose it for its body on frame build. It has serve me well and continues to. The problem is the body has rotted to the point that road-splash from the wheels is now entering the cabin. The reasoning behind getting a body on frame is you can continue to use it long after a monocoque body is unsafe to drive. The class III receiver hitch has rusted thru!, not the metal ends, but the double wall box tubeing!
Our household driving habits have changed also. My wife puts most of the passenger car miles on, she hates to drive and will not drive on expressways.
No, what really made me consider one is 99%+ of the useage is under 25 miles. In short, 12 miles to town and back. I have a '84 Saab turbo 900 for trips, and the aforementioned K-7 for heavy loads. It seams stupid to run the Explorer to town and back. If we had Natural Gas, I would consider a NG powered car. I just like the fact that I don't have to make a trip to fuel it up, and she will not either.
Used electric's are coming off lease and selling cheaper than gasoline vehicle, and have fewer miles on them.
I'm not too concerned about the batterys loosing range, as long as they can make 25 mile a day or so. It would give the wife something simple, she wouldn't have to fuel or have maintained while I'm on the road, and she has the Saab as a back -up vehicle.
I know this is the antitheses of our beloved old IHC's but does anyone have any experience with them? I really don't want to bother with a hybrid like the Prius, I don't need or want something that can go over 80 miles, I have a very nice Saab turbo for that.
My Wife can't give a hoot about cars, and doesn't need or want anything fancy. The last car she bought was an '84 AMC (Renault) Encore because she worked where she could get one at employee cost. It was the base model, 1.4 (wet liner) push-rod engine with 5 spd (56 hp!). We had that until the rear wheel wells (and therefore upper shock mounts) dissolved. She doesn't want an auto, but unless we stick to early 90's vehicles, auto is all there is.
Not really interested in buying new, they seam to loose their value quicker than conventional vehicles, I'll let someone else take the hit, and buy used.
So I'm thowing this out to see if anyone has any hands on experience with them.