I’m not sure how it happened, but surfing Netflix one evening, we came across the documentary, “Who Killed the Electric Car?”. It’s the story of General Motors’ first experiment with plug-in electric cars, The EV-1. The film got me thinking about the newer electric cars that were available now, specifically the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf. I had lots of questions, like:
- How far could they go on a charge?
- How long did it take to charge?
- How much electricity was required and at what cost?
- How would the cost of electricity compare to gasoline?
- Did you “fill up” at home or at an electric equivalent of a gas station?
- What did cars like that cost?
- How long would the battery packs last and how much would it cost to replace one?
- How fast could they accelerate?
- What did they look like?
I had been following the Tesla Roadster’s development for years and although beyond my means, I was in love with the car. Zero to sixty in 3.9 seconds! Up to 300 mile range on a single charge! I had listened to a reviewer on a podcast actually sound like he was frightened, when a Tesla representative took him on a test drive and showed how fast the Roadster could accelerate.
I was hopeful that electric car technology had progressed far enough that it might be a 
viable alternative for me, but I hadn’t given up hope for a convertible just yet. In the running were four cars: the Toyota Prius I had test driven, the Nissan Leaf, The Chevy Volt and the Mazda Miata. It was now time to do some research, test drive a few cars and make a spreadsheet! (okay, I can be a bit geeky…)
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