I am so old that electric cars were quite common in my town when I was a boy. We thought they were scary because they didn’t make any noise. Those electric cars had a very small range and gradually disappeared by the mid 1930s.
Now, my daughter and her husband have two cars, one electric and one gasoline. The electric car is for local trips and the other for longer excursions. They have installed a level 2 charger in their garage.
I am impressed with the higher efficiency of the electric car, a 2019 GMC Bolt. The current electricity rate in Flathead Valley is 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, and Flathead Electric offers a lower rate nine cents/KWH for off-peak hours. A trip of 100 miles with the Bolt costs $3.07, a little less if charged at night.
The Spark, a gasoline powered Chevrolet with a similar body, costs $9.69 for the same trip, at 33 miles/gallon at $3.20/gallon. Using these present rates for electricity and gasoline, the electric vehicle reduces travel costs by 68%.
Furthermore, in five years there has been no maintenance or repair costs on the Bolt, while regular maintenance of the gas-powered car has been about $100/year. I conclude that electric cars are an excellent choice for commuting or other local uses; the limitation is the availability to high-speed charging stations in Montana.
Now is a good time to buy an electric vehicle, with a government incentive of up to $7,500 for a new electric car and up to $4,000 for a used one.
Ask Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy and Rep. Ryan Zinke to keep the EV credits in the reconciliation package so more people can drive electric and save money.
Kirk Bryan Jr. and Samuel Neff live in Whitefish.
