Lead-acid batteries from autos are not “disposed of”. They are nearly 100% recycled; virtually everything is reclaimed.
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Originally Posted by Bill14564
The PHEV electric-only range is more like 30 miles today ( KBB.com)
90% or more of my trips locally are less than 20 miles round trip or 100% electric. One gallon of gas lasts a very, very long time when you use none of it.
Many of my medium trips are down to Orlando (120mi RT) or Tampa (150mi RT). If I can only recharge at home, that still gives me 20% to 25% electric, a not insignificant savings.
The HEV (Toyota Prius, gas + electric) at about 50mpg is still considerably cheaper to operate than a non-hybrid at 25-30mpg.
The cost of maintaining a hybrid? LESS than the cost of maintaining an ICE. An oil change is an oil change but the (typically) smaller hybrid engines require less oil. Fewer miles on the gas engine of a PHEV means less frequent oil changes. Regenerative braking means you may never need to perform brake work on a hybrid. Smaller 12V batteries with less stress means you may never need to replace one. Nothing about a hybrid requires more maintenance and many items require less (or less expensive) maintenance.
Yes, gas is available today at $2.95 or so but that is new and may or may not last long. "In the future" when EVs start to pay road taxes gas may be up to $4 and electric may be down to $0.06/kWh. How do I know? I don't but if we're simply speculating then....
What is the byproduct of an EV, a whistling sound as it goes by? Certainly not the exhaust fumes of the ICE engines.
I don't know that recycling lithium batteries (those materials are in short supply after all) will pollute the aquifer more than disposing of the acid or lead from a 12V car battery. I do know that I've had to replace the 12V batteries in most of my vehicles (though not hybrids) but I have yet to hear someone say they needed to replace the lithium batteries in their EV or electric cart. |