EVs and plug in hybrids

What EVs and plug in hybrids are now available (outside California)? I know of the Fit EV, Focus EV, 500 EV (but Cali only), Smart EV, Volt, Leaf. What am I missing? I am doing research on my next car and one of the options I am considering is leasing an EV or plug in hybrid.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/alternatives.shtml

Is the Smart electric available outside California?

And why the hell aren't the 500 EV and Spark EV available outside California?

We have them in use as Car2Go vehicles here in Oregon, but Oregon seems to be right behind California in line for stuff like that, and I think Car2Go is a Daimler subsidiary at this point, so that may not be relevant to their availability on the open market...

Ok so here is my thinking I am currently spending about $100 in gas driving around town plus averaging around $70 dollars in maintenance a month. If I replace the Civic with a used car, I would be planning on spending around $2000-$2500 plus I would still have maintenance and in general cars in that price range either don't get as good mileage as the Civic or are more unreliable or don't have A/C so more then likely the amount I spend on gas would go up plus the cost of gas isn't going to go down and I am not sure how long these deals will stay as good as what they are now. Still I figure the most I could spend on a lease would be around $199. I also need to figure out what insurance would cost on a Leaf or whatever.

What kinda taxes are there on a lease?

Taxes on leases vary state to state, so check on yours. For PA, I pay 9% of the overall cost of the lease, not the overall cost of the car. Insurance prices shouldn't change much. As for the list...here's what I can think of that is currently for sale in the US.

Fit EV
Fiat 500 EV
Smart EV
Focus EV
Leaf
iMiev (Mitsubishi)
Prius plug in
Volt
RAV4 EV

93EXCivic wrote: Is the Smart electric available outside California? And why the hell aren't the 500 EV and Spark EV available outside California?

The Smart electric drive is already available in some states (CA, MA, MD, NJ, NY, OR and RI), and will be available in all states by the end of this year. Call your local dealer and ask when they're getting one. They're really fun to drive. If it came with a fast charge option (like they do in Europe) and the Brabus tune (like they do in Europe, with an extra 5 kW and no accelerator pedal detent) I would already own one. The smart electric is unique that they allow you to lease the battery even if you want to own the car. That means that even if you're outside of their normal 4 year battery warranty, your battery would always be under warranty as long as you pay the monthly lease. It's a neat idea that many companies have discussed but smart is the first I'm aware of to actually do it.

Chrysler/Fiat has been very clear they're only building the 500e for CARB compliance (to meet the ZEV mandate) and do not intend to sell it outside of CA.

The Spark EV is available in CA and OR at the moment. GM has indicated they intend to roll it out in other locations, but haven't given any timeline or specific locations (except "Canada" and "Korea" but that's not very specific either).

ransom wrote: We have them in use as Car2Go vehicles here in Oregon, but Oregon seems to be right behind California in line for stuff like that, and I think Car2Go is a Daimler subsidiary at this point, so that may not be relevant to their availability on the open market...

The car2go ones are second generation (that means old). The new, third generation, is DRASTICALLY improved. Double the power is the most noticeable different because the 2nd gen was DOG SLOW. The new ones are pretty peppy and drive WAY better than the "normal" smart because they don't have that horrible transmission (single speed on the EV means no shifting!).

93EXCivic wrote: Ok so here is my thinking...I figure the most I could spend on a lease would be around $199

At that price point, the Smart electric is clearly a winner, but only if you can accept the size and limited range of the car.

http://www.smartusa.com/models/electric-drive/overview.aspx

Following that is the iMiEV, which is really cheap but has very polarizing styling.

http://www.mitsubishicars.com/MMNA/jsp/imiev/12/showroom/overview.do

Otherwise, the Leaf is the next closest option, and pricing/lease/insurance/etc. on it has been beaten to death here and over at mynissanleaf.com

Good luck.

Bryce

My problem with the Smart electric is the nearest dealership is 86 miles away which is beyond the range of the Smart...

There's a heck of a lot of ways to get the car 90 miles if you only need to do it once! There's about 9,000,000 wall plugs between Birmingham and Madison if you don't mind charging for most of the day. For example, Jack's Restaurant in Blountsville will let you use their wall plug and are listed on plugshare.com so they're EV friendly. That cuts your drive into two doable sections with one charge stop in the middle.

If you don't like that idea, I bet the smart dealer would deliver it to your house for free as part of your purchase deal.

Bryce

I recently got close to an i-Miev in person for the first time and i liked it much better in person than in pics. That is not to say it's normal, but i actually like the look of it much more than a smart car and would certainly consider leasing one if it was financially justifiable with my usage.

Nashco wrote: There's a heck of a lot of ways to get the car 90 miles if you only need to do it once! There's about 9,000,000 wall plugs between Birmingham and Madison if you don't mind charging for most of the day. For example, Jack's Restaurant in Blountsville will let you use their wall plug and are listed on plugshare.com so they're EV friendly. That cuts your drive into two doable sections with one charge stop in the middle.

It is more that that would be 90 miles there 90 miles back if I need to take it in for anything... We have every other kind of dealer no idea why there is no Smart dealer here. Honestly right now the only one that would make sense is the Leaf but the styling. I will try it out though and I will try the i-Miev. I am just nervous about Mitsubishi surviving in the US. I hope the Spark comes around soon.

Honestly, if Mitsubishi were to tank i assume i-miev prices would tank as well and that would make it MORE likely for me to own one.