We have a 2010 Mercury Milan hybrid (now discontinued but equivalent to Ford
Fusion hybrid). Purchased in Oct 2009, car has had no problems, is very
comfortable to drive, and, according to Consumer Reports, has an excellent
reliability prediction. Average mileage, around town with only occasional
long trips, is about 35 mpg. I consider this good mileage for a car of this
size and comfort (4 door sedan, very comfortable on long trips, fully
adequate acceleration, air conditioning and heating); we bought it to be our
"touring" car. Car was expensive compared to non-hybrids, but we also keep
our cars for 10 or more years and don't like to wait in long lines for
possibly scarce and expensive gasoline. So, I was willing to pay more.
When gas was getting near $4/gallon (and predicted to go to $5) I was even
happier with our cost tradeoff decision. The hybrid components on the car
(electric engine, transmission, batteries) are warranted for 8 years (the
rest of the car for 5 years), so this also helped quell some of my concerns
about the "high tech" nature of the car.
Right now, hybrids look to me like the only reasonable alternative for long
trips (i.e. our "touring" car). For short trips around town, when our 2002
gasoline engine Honda Civic is ready for replacement (in another 10 years?),
we would look at all electric cars.
Don
Dr. Donald G. Polvani
Adjunct Faculty, Physics
Anne Arundel Community College
Arnold, MD 21012
-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@mail.phys-l.org [mailto:phys-l-bounces@mail.phys-l.org]
On Behalf Of Anthony Lapinski
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 12:00 PM
To: phys-l@phys-l.org
Subject: [Phys-L] electric cars
I think (and hope) that electric cars will be the future of the automobile
industry, and also help the environment. I know this technology is not fully
developed/advanced.
I am hoping to buy a new car next year or so. I usually keep a car for over
ten years. I mainly drive locally, about 10k mi/yr (25 mi/day). I know there
are some hybrids and electric cars on the market.
Does anyone have an electric car? The kind you can simply plug in at home.
Are the electric cars on the market "reliable"?
Any advice for people thinking about purchasing an electric vehicle? Wait
five years?