$4000 to buy an Electric Vehicle

[BigV]

We recently got our first hybrid fleet vehicle here at work. Chevy full size pickup truck, new, about $21,000. The electric portion only kicks in when the engine would not be providing motive power. Drive up to a stop sign and as you approach it, lift off the gas, by the time you're decelerating to a stop, the engine is dead. Like a stall. Stop. Lift foot from brake and engine starts, pull away. Very seamless. The increased fuel economy is the draw here, about 3mpg according to the dealer. Additionally, the truck can be put in generator mode and will idle while it turns the dynamo to put out about 2500 watts at 110v through a distribution panel in the bed. Works awesome on a construction site. I'm told they were popular in Florida due to the lack of electricity and a shortage of generators. MUCH quieter than a standard genset.

Here in Seattle, I pass, hmmm, a dozen hybrids in my daily commute, in town. A commute of about 15 minutes. We have a lot of hybrids here in Seattle. They can't all be professors and rock stars.