I’m in the building trades. My one-ton Ford F350 work truck gets an average of 9.5 miles per gallon around town. For years it was my only vehicle. I needed the size and carrying capacity for my equipment and heavy building materials, but I realized that I did not need that truck to buy a loaf of bread, drop my daughter off at school, go out to a restaurant or to a movie. So I got a battery-electric car. I knew that every mile I drove my EV, was a mile I did not have to drive my truck.
So, after three years, I did the math. Using a price of $3 per gallon of gasoline, in three years, I saved over $8000 in gasoline purchases! Now, most folks have cars that get much better than 9.5 MPG but about 20 MPG at $3 per gallon, is still close to $4000. The money I saved every month reduced my car payments to less than half. It’s the smartest decision I’ve ever made. Now if only the carmakers would give us a working man’s all-electric pickup truck – not one of those sparkling vanity trucks but a genuine workhorse – I would trade in my gas guzzler in a heartbeat. Last but not least, I have a solar system on my house so I drive my car on sunshine. I can’t get the smile off my face.
