Larry Chretien is the Executive Director for Mass Energy Consumers Alliance and People’s Power & Light. This blog is the first in a series about the Chretien family’s experience purchasing an electric car. Read the entire series up until now in our e-book. 

Electric Vehicles and Massachusetts

My wife and I have two cars, a 2008 Prius and a 2002 Prius. We would like to replace the 2002 with a new electric vehichle (EV) or plug-in hybrid sometime in the next few months.  Massachusetts is about to come out with a state rebate and we would like to time our purchase to take advantage of that.  With this blog and some advice from people who already own one, I am hoping that lots of us can learn together about how to compare the plug-ins on the market.  This should be fun and hopefully a good way to help energy consumers (because that is what car owners are) figure out how to be economically and environmentally smart.   Electrification of automobiles is one of the keys to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by enough to stabilize the earth’s climate[1]. 

My goal is not just to buy a car for myself but to determine which cars are most capable of going mainstream in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  Plug-in cars are not about the future.  We need to adopt them on a large-scale now.

Disclaimer:  I want to buy a plug-in, but I’m not promising.  The 2002 is running well and we may decide to keep it a while longer.  We might also decide to opt for another Prius hybrid.  I believe that fifty years from now, when people are looking back to today, they will recognize the Prius as one of the key products that either helped solve the energy and climate crisis – or would have if people were not so ignorant.  The Prius is both a dramatic and practical alternative to regular internal combustion vehicles and it has served as a valuable bridge to even more environmentally friendly cars. 

First, here’s what you need to know about my family’s situation:  The 2002 Prius has just 90,000 miles and the 2008 Prius has just 55,000 miles. As you can see, we don’t put a lot of miles on.  My commute from Quincy to Boston (Jamaica Plain) is 7.4 miles.  My wife works from home.  At night and on weekends, we mostly drive to soccer fields and the supermarket.  So if there’s a family that could get by with at least one EV, it’s probably us.

We have already started researching various EVs and plug-in hybrids  

Here are the factors we are considering:

• Lifetime cost per mile or per year.  This would include both the purchase cost and operating cost, after taking advantage of federal and state incentives.  We plan on owning the car for a while.  We want an affordable upfront cost but not necessarily the lowest.  We cannot afford a Tesla or BMW.
  • The federal government offers an income tax credit of up to $7500 for EVs purchased in or after 2010. The credit amount will vary based on the capacity of the battery used to fuel the vehicle.
  • The Commonwealth of Massachusetts will soon provide rebates of up to $2500, also based upon battery storage capacity.  A summer launch is expected.  We intend on making our decision in time to take advantage of that incentive.
• Leasing is a possibility.  Typically we buy our cars and hold them a long time.  But some of the lease options for EVs seem attractive.  Perhaps we should get a 3-year lease for our first EV and buy one when the lease expires.
• Charging.  What’s the best setup for our home, cost, and charging speed? 
•  Size.  There are four in our family, plus maybe a dog in our future.  Something like a Smart Car is too small. 
• Safety.  It must have good safety rating.
• We like our current cars.  What’s the plural of Prius?  But we are open to buying something different if the above factors point us in a certain direction.

We have ruled a few cars out and have “narrowed” our list down to the following:

• Chevy Volt.
• Chevy Spark – if it becomes available in Massachusetts in time for the Commonwealth’s new incentive. 
• Ford Focus Electric.
• Ford C-Max Energi
• Ford Fusion Energi
• Nissan Leaf
• Toyota Prius Plug-In

With that, I will get back to my research.  Meanwhile if you have any facts or perspectives you would like to share, please do… Let’s figure this out together.

Larry Chretien, Executive Director