Electric Cars Turning Over A New Leaf
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - When Portcia Crawford fills up her car, she knows it will be painful on her pocketbook.
"I'm trying to get back into school and everything," the Fort Worth resident said, "barely making it as it is."
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in North Texas is $2.99. Nationally, the average is $3.07.
Some experts expect that will be even higher by the summer of 2011.
"I think you could see another 15 percent or so in gas prices, maybe even 25 percent," said Financial Advisor Jim Lacamp, "which would put us up from 3.07 to 3.66."
But could gas prices steer North Texans toward electric cars? Nissan hopes so. The company debuted its all-electric Nissan Leaf in Irving Friday.
"The car is designed to be a suburban-commuter vehicle," said Nissan's Electric Vehicle Operations Manager Rob Maas.
The Leaf retails for around $32,000 and can go roughly 100 miles before its battery needs to be recharged.
Using an average electricity rate the Leaf costs about $2.50 per 100 miles. Consumers would notice that increase on their monthly home utility bill.
An average economy car that runs on gasoline costs about 12 to 15 dollars per 100 miles, based on a price of $3.00 a gallon.
"This is 4-5 times less expensive then fuel to drive," Maas said, "and virtually no maintenance on the car."
A big complaint about electric cars is range anxiety, particularly in areas such as North Texas where things are very spread out. Currently, there are very few charging stations for electric cars, but that will soon change.
NRG Energy plans to install more than 70 charging stations in Dallas-Fort Worth by the end of the year.
"These stations will provide drivers with range confidence across the greater metropolitan area," said Glen Stancil, Vice President of NRG Energy, Inc. "We want to put these in places where people want to spend 15-30 minutes of their time while their vehicle recharges."
The company already has contracts with retailers like Best Buy, Walgreens and HEB, which are all possible locations for future recharging stations in North Texas.
"Texans we drive a lot more and by having a network of charging stations not just at Nissan dealerships which are already in place, but now in the private sector, it's really going to expand how and where we can use this vehicle." Maas said.
NRG also plans to offer a portable roadside assistance program for those drivers who get stranded with a dead battery.
While high fuel costs may keep some drivers, like Crawford, off the road, the price of gas isn't high enough yet for her to justify purchasing an electric car. "A lot of people cannot afford them," she said. "That's not in my price range right now."
