[Villages Kahuna]

Where in the world did the formula of "miles driven divided by cost per KWH"come from? How many kilowatt hours does it take to charge batteries? That factor seems to be missing in the formula.

There are all kinds of sources that estimate the operating cost of running an electric cart at somewhere in the range of 1.3 to 1.5 cents per mile. There are similar sources for calculating the operating cost of a gas cart. Unfortunately, with gas headed towards $4 a gallon, many of these estimates are out-of-date. Calculating the operating cost of a gas cart at $4 a gallon leads one to an updated answer that a gas cart costs about 6.7 cents per mile to operate. That's forgetting cost of the the annual "tune up" needed for gas carts, but not electric.

To be fair, one should add in the costs of replacing the batteries for the electric cart, which should be done every 3-5 years. Using the estimate provided by the E-Z-GO salesman, replacement of the four batteries would cost $480. Splitting the difference between 3-5 years and using 4 for the calculation, the cost of battery replacements every four years, amortized over Villages "average" useage (8 miles a day, 56 miles a week, 240 miles a month, or 2,900 miles per year), the total cost of operating an electric cart including the amortized cost of battery replacement would be 5.4 cents per mile, about 20% less than a gas cart.

Then you have the question of smell and noise. It's a slam-dunk decision for me.