Leading edge technology
As a current LEAF lessee, this is terrific news.
There is the saying of "penny wise, pound foolish." As an energy professional, the industry is awash in clean energy technology that is a little more expensive but delivers significant savings over the life of a technology. The incandescent light bulb is the best example of a century-old technology that was cheap but incredibly inefficient as 90% of its energy was lost in the form of heat. There is a reason that these bulbs are being mandated to be removed. We as a society cannot afford their inefficiency any longer.
And in the near future the same will be said of internal combustion vehicles vis-a-vis EV's.
I pay less than $10/month to run the car. Granted, that is with Pacific Northwest low-cost hydroelectricity, but still, that is why this vehicle is cost effective and practically carbon-free (we offset our coal portion of electricity with solar). That is on top of the fact that there are no oil changes, lube jobs, etc. There is essentially zero maintenance other than making sure that the tires are fully inflated.
We're not talking about Europe where there are other incentives (gas taxes) to make the EV cost competitive. This is the United States we're talking about where some states like mine (Washington) actually charge me $100 a year for the gas that I am NOT burning. Short-sighted, gas company-lobbied state legislators are starting to penalize EV and hybrid car owners for doing the responsible thing and putting our money where our values are. How's THAT for a "market signal."
But I'm willing to wait out the BS because in the long run I know that I'm doing the right thing and invest in this future technology.
