When Satra and I heard about the great DriveGreen deal that the Green Energy Consumers Alliance had made with Marlboro Nissan, we wasted no time. Concerned about climate change, we had wanted to replace our old car with an electric vehicle, and this deal made it a no-brainer. We walked into the dealership, put that deal on the table (bypassing all the sales pressure), and signed.

Once we had picked up our LEAF we boasted about it and the DriveGreen program to all our friends and relatives. A week later, Satra's sister soon surprised us with her own DriveGreen LEAF from Milford Nissan! Here's a family photograph of us and our clean electric cars, taken on a day in February when temperatures reached 70F. How appropriate!

Fast forward to August and we wanted to take a trip to NYC. We have another car that takes gas, but chose to take the LEAF anyway. Officially it has a range of 120 miles, but in summer and if you drive in a certain way (mainly, not above 65 mph), you can tack on another 20 miles. We planned it so we stopped at two fast chargers on the way to NYC. Handy apps show you the closest one and even whether it is in use or not. Each charge to full took a mere 20 (twenty!) minutes, during which we had lunch and a coffee break. On the way back we charged just once - ourselves too, with dinner in the whackiest Chinese restaurant east of the 90. And it was free - the charging, not the dinner.

With some planning, some efficient driving, and just a little bit of extra time, it was no hardship at all! And range anxiety? What's that?

When the U.N. made its most recent Global Warning announcement, I decided to act to significantly reduce his use of gasoline. I looked at the Honda Insight (Hybrid only) and the Chevrolet Volt, but in October bought a Honda Clarity! One of the better plug-ins available, I believe. I drive the first 40 miles each day on electricity only. This makes most of my days gas free! Hybrid mileage (for those above 40 miles/day) at 44 mpg. So far, I have driven about 1300 miles and only used 5 gallons of gas! i.e. 260 mpg!! I have purchased my electricity from a green provider. Therefore, I am driving on solar and wind for the first 40 miles/day – which, for me, is most of my daily use. With rebates ($10,000 total) and Honda discounts, this car listing at $34,450 can be purchased at a new cost of about $20,000! Same list price as the Volt, but $1000s of dollars more Dealer discount. I think it’s a bigger better car! The Bolt (all electric) is about $3000 more. It is a mid-sized car about the size of a Camry, Accord, etc. Nice styling. Great, quiet (silent) ride when on electric! I plug in at night and in 12 hours I get fully charged using standard 120 volt connection – ready for the next day. No need for 240 voltage at additional $1000 or so. Other comments: Mileage costs are favorable, but electricity is not free. Therefore my mileage costs (gas only vs electricity/gas) are favorable but muted. I believe I will be using about 600 gallons less in gas and save about $300 in the process. Advantages of a plug-in Hybrid over full electric car: Greater range, can always be filled with gasoline (at a gas station and immediately). No anxiety! Disadvantage: Much less electric only range for long distance travel – so if mileage/day is extensive the plug-in Hybrid may not be best option. Hope this helps anyone else considering!

I leased my first 100% electric Smart in November of 2014. I'm now on my second one, and I will never go back to a gas-powered car. The best part about driving electric: It's the cheapest car I have ever driven. No maintenance needed, and many places allow you to charge up for free. I plug it into a regular outlet at home (which takes all night, but who cares!?) and if I have to travel longer distances I take a bus or carpool with friends.

We'd been thinking about getting an electric or hybrid-electric for some time but hadn't made the commitment. I used Energize Wayland's website to see the impact of making the switch and found that the impact was even greater than I'd expected. The website was a big help in pushing us over the contemplation stage. We love our Prius Prime. The first 25 miles (or more if driven right) is all electric. After that, we're still getting 54 mpg on gas. However, we use the car almost exclusively for local trips, so we're getting 2000 miles on a single tank of gas. Also, our electricity at home is 100% wind-powered, so that makes the car even more attractive. Add in the government rebates and it's an easy decision.

We were forced to shop for a new car when our old Prius was totaled and only looking at replacing with a newer used model, assuming an electric car was out of price range. Amazingly, this actually wasn't the case - a used Prius hybrid with low miles was more expensive than an electric car! We discovered that the market for affordable used electric cars is growing rapidly. We feel very fortunate and proud of driving around in our little BMW i3 - such a fun ride!

My only visit to a gas station now is the annual vehicle inspection. They have learnt not to look for a tail pipe!

There are many great features in EVs and particularly in the Tesla Model 3 (pictured here). I could wax lyrical for a long time however overall I would say it's driving experience that makes me glad to own this car. It's as fast as you could ever want, comfortable, quiet and intelligently designed. But the feature I think I like best is that the car just keeps getting better. Over the air updates bring new features and updates. It is always interesting to see what new capability the car has when the update arrives.

The fact that there is no tail pipe emission is almost incidental. Yes, you do have to be a bit more planful on long trips but the onboard computer does a great job of figuring out your stops and the car will navigate automatically to them. The supercharger network is extensive now and stops rarely take more than the time to get a cup of coffee, visit the toilets and stretch your legs.

The autonomous driving on highways requires an attentive driver but substantially reduces driver fatigue. I tend to use the feature most of the time and believe one is less prone to get into accidents when using it. The car has 360 degree vision and can avoid accidents better than a human driver.

I would be happy to chat about my experience of almost three years with the car if you want to drop me an email at dap4583@gmail.com

If you decide to buy you can use my referral code and we both get some free supercharger miles.

https://ts.la/david39357

We purchased a used 2014 Prius V in 2017 which we recently transferred to our son who lives in NYC, he loves the car.  Recently we purchased another used Prius, a 2013 with relatively low mileage which we love..  Our plan is to make our next car purchase electric.

I remember in March 2016, on a business trip, staying up until midnight to go online and put a deposit down on a Tesla Model 3. The wait was worth it as my Tesla was delivered in June 2018. The joy of owning an EV is, partly, knowing it is so important to our climate crisis but also the car is a joy to drive. I most enjoy the security of not needing to calculate if I have enough gas to get to work for that 8 am meeting (w/o stopping at the gas station) or whether I will make it home in time for that parent-teacher conference. Like my phone, when I arrive home, I plug my Tesla into my charger in the garage, and in the morning, I am fully charged and ready for the day! I have made longer trips with my car, to my sisters in NJ – I can make it all the way in warm weather w/o stopping to charge. I have made 12 hour trips to western Maryland and the Tesla navigation system determines the best route and at which Tesla Supercharger station to stop. The Tesla Superchargers are placed near restaurants, shops, and fast food so you can charge your body along with your car. Without hesitation I would recommend a Tesla!