Like me, my Toyota Prius is getting old and I have been saving for a new car for a few years now. I’d like to upgrade to an EV (fully electric vehicle) by Toyota but they don’t make them since they say selling 50 zero-emission cars saves the same amount of CO 2 as dozens more ‘hybrids’. That of course make them more money. Bottom line. But the up-front cost of an EV is ‘saved’ at around $1,500 – $2,000 per year in gasoline costs, not to mention very little in maintenance costs because there are fewer moving parts (lasts longer) and no muffler/exhaust system, no need for oil changes or coolant flushes. The owner of Tesla says he’ll have an affordable passenger EV for around $25,000 by 2023.
There are three charging stations on Head Street in Tobermory. Multiple area charging stations everywhere are on the horizon (many EVs run for 250+km on a charge), and electricity production on the Peninsula is seen as relatively clean energy. Gasoline run vehicles may no longer be sold in the next ten years or so. My vehicle insurance cost, according to the Co-operators will be comparable with my current car – a bonus!
There is 95-97% less CO 2 emissions for the life of the fully electrical vehicle (today it is said that cars produce around 24% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions). For fully electrical vehicles, the Federal Government gives you up to a $5,000 rebate (if you buy an EV before January 1, 2024) and in Ontario, through the M.H. Brigham Foundation, you can get a $1,000 rebate from the Government for any used EV that cost less than $50,000. Batteries are recycled. So what’s not to like?
So starting to do my part for the Climate Change Solution, with likely the last car I will ever own, is to do it with an EV.
Arlene Kennedy
P.S. I like the LED headlights too.
P.P.S. The Globe and Mail – Nov 16 “Quebec to ban sale of gas-powered cars, SUVs by 2035 as part of $6.7-billion climate plan” (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-quebec-to-ban-sale-of-gas-powered-cars-suvs-by-2035-as-part-of-6/)
