This weekend was very exciting; I got to drive an all-electric car for the very first time! My dear friend, Jennifer, has a Chevrolet Bolt and she let me drive it through the Santa Cruz mountains. I have had various dream cars throughout my life but I think an electric car is now my dream car. Not only was it fun to drive with zippy acceleration, but it was so freeing and liberating to know that getting from point A to point B would not be creating more greenhouse gases.
Over the past two and a half years, Jennifer has become an evangelist for electric vehicles (EVs). Here’s what she loves about her Bolt:
It’s FUN to drive. It accelerates FAST out of tight spots, it gives you instant feedback on how eco-friendly you're driving, it’s a quiet ride, and she doesn’t smell any exhaust fumes!
Some people experience “range anxiety” with EVs. But, the Bolt has 250 miles of driving range before needing a charge. Jennifer commutes 60 miles each way, a WAY longer commute than most, and she returns home each night with half her battery charge remaining. For longer road trips, the infrastructure isn’t in place yet, so Jennifer takes her husband’s ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicle.
She doesn’t have to go to the gas station and pay California prices for gas! She just plugs her car in each night, just like charging her cell phone, and leaves the house in the morning with a full charge.
Her EV requires very little maintenance. For the first 150k miles, all you have to do is rotate the tires and change the air cabin filter! No oil or belt changes for her; she just needs to remember to add windshield wiper fluid.
Living in the mountains, Jennifer usually has to replace her brakes every 35k miles. With the Bolt’s one pedal driving, the car regenerates energy when slowing down and driving downhill, extending the range of miles she can travel, and saving her brake pads at the same time. She has 35k miles on her Bolt, and very little wear on her brake pads!
When parking spaces are at a premium in town, she has been able to park upfront and charge her car in an EV space.
She qualifies for the EV rate plan with her utility company. Even when she charges her car exclusively from home, her electric bill costs the same as it did before owning her EV!
Her ChargePoint home charger keeps track of the time of day, and the utility’s rate plan, and automatically charges the car overnight when the prices are low.
So many great reasons to change over to an electric vehicle! Check them out at your local car dealership or look for a Ride and Drive Event. They often have them at State Fairs and other public events.