One Vermonter's first year of driving electric
Karen Glitman loving the snow traction on her Nissan LEAF.
The Burlington Free Press featured Drive Electric Vermont's Karen Glitman on her first year of driving electric. Some highlights from Karen's blog (excerpted in the article) below:
August 21, 2012: Adjusting to the car
I’m leasing the LEAF SV (lower trim package). That was $1,000 down and $294 a month. Not cheap — but if I save three tankfuls of gas at $50 each a month that comes to $144. My electric bill will go up — the estimate is by about $50 if I do all my charging at home. I know there are about 18 charging locations in Vermont and five more planned. And in two days I’m getting solar panels so theoretically I’ll be driving a solar-powered car.
August 21, 2012: The big difference with an all-electric car is ...
Nothing! For me, after 30 years of driving a stick shift the biggest adjustment is driving an automatic.
August 23, 2012: Noise
Standing in traffic on my way home last night I was struck by the noise all the other cars made. Since I’ve had my EV I’ve also noticed the sound of ICE’s (internal combustion engines) starting up — what a racket!
August 27, 2012: No gas, all torque
My husband finally decided to have a go at driving the all-electric car. We were headed back from Burlington and I had told him about my experiences using Drive versus Eco mode. Drive is great when heading out into traffic (I’ve never done 0-50 mph faster). We got off the interstate in Richmond and folks who know that intersection know that you are often presented with a small window of opportunity to make the turn. He put it in Drive and off we went. “Wheeee” he said, “That was fun.”
September 14, 2012: A Volt, a LEAF and a MiEV pulled up to a charger
While this sounds like an opening to a joke, I have no punch line.
November 30, 2012: Cold and snow? No problem
And, time to get snow tires put on. While the driveway got plowed I still had to get through some snow — no problems. The traction on the Leaf is fantastic. Must be that 600 pounds of batteries right down the middle. No need to put sand in the trunk with an EV. I drove with the heater blasting. While the heater certainly drained the battery, just like the AC, I still had plenty of juice to get there and home at the end of the day with plenty left over. So, when folks ask me how it handles in the snow my answer is, “way better traction than any conventional car I’ve owned.”
Read the full article.
Burlington Free Press article written by Candace Page.