Today, EVs are affordable, practical, and cleaner than traditional internal combustion engines vehicles. You can contribute to the solution to climate change by reducing the emissions caused when you
Affordability is absolutely relative, and it’s arguable that most new vehicles are a stretch for the average American household (although a good chunk of that can be attributed to marketing by auto manufacturers). However, used cars, and especially used EVs, can be a compelling option. EVs coming off lease are a growing subset, and they are generally significantly less expensive than new vehicles.
We drive our Equinox EV approximately 90% of the time, with our PHEV the remaining 10%. As a result, our expenses for gasoline are almost zero, and overall charging costs are much much lower than our previous all-gasoline costs. We also tend to charge up when our solar panels are productive, so that we’re not tapping into Duke Energy’s fossil-fueled grid. Every little bit helps wrt minimizing our overall emissions.
I’m mostly in agreement on EV. “Affordable”, however, is a relative term. My wife and I are not in a financial position to buy an EV. We did get rid of one of our two internal combustion vehicles a few years ago and now we share the remaining one. We reduce our trips by combining errands into one trip whenever possible. Fortunately, we live in an area where most of the places that we need to go to are close by. I would bike around more, but the infrastructure for bike riding is nonexistent out our way. There also is no convenient bus route for connecting to the places that we want to go to. All that being said, I know that we have significantly reduced our travel by moving to one car and combining trips.
EV’s are a step in the right direction, but certainly not without their own issues. Materials used to make them, problems with battery safety, disposal, etc. are all concerns when it comes to stewardship of our planet. What about hydrogen powered vehicles? I have heard a little about that possibility, but not much of late.
I agree that any new car may not actually fit into the "affordable" category. Wasn't sure how to position that - but I do think that for people considering a new car purchase an EV can fit in the affordable category. And I agree that walking, biking, public transit are preferrable options that are also not very convenient where I live either - though I have explored trying to get some baskets on a bike for grocery shopping. I do walk a lot and support the shops & restaurants in walking distance specifically because they are walkable.
Affordability is absolutely relative, and it’s arguable that most new vehicles are a stretch for the average American household (although a good chunk of that can be attributed to marketing by auto manufacturers). However, used cars, and especially used EVs, can be a compelling option. EVs coming off lease are a growing subset, and they are generally significantly less expensive than new vehicles.
We drive our Equinox EV approximately 90% of the time, with our PHEV the remaining 10%. As a result, our expenses for gasoline are almost zero, and overall charging costs are much much lower than our previous all-gasoline costs. We also tend to charge up when our solar panels are productive, so that we’re not tapping into Duke Energy’s fossil-fueled grid. Every little bit helps wrt minimizing our overall emissions.
Agreed - there are used EVs coming onto the market in 2026 that may be a value purchase. https://www.autoblog.com/news/want-a-cheap-ev-the-used-market-is-about-to-surge
I’m mostly in agreement on EV. “Affordable”, however, is a relative term. My wife and I are not in a financial position to buy an EV. We did get rid of one of our two internal combustion vehicles a few years ago and now we share the remaining one. We reduce our trips by combining errands into one trip whenever possible. Fortunately, we live in an area where most of the places that we need to go to are close by. I would bike around more, but the infrastructure for bike riding is nonexistent out our way. There also is no convenient bus route for connecting to the places that we want to go to. All that being said, I know that we have significantly reduced our travel by moving to one car and combining trips.
EV’s are a step in the right direction, but certainly not without their own issues. Materials used to make them, problems with battery safety, disposal, etc. are all concerns when it comes to stewardship of our planet. What about hydrogen powered vehicles? I have heard a little about that possibility, but not much of late.
I agree that any new car may not actually fit into the "affordable" category. Wasn't sure how to position that - but I do think that for people considering a new car purchase an EV can fit in the affordable category. And I agree that walking, biking, public transit are preferrable options that are also not very convenient where I live either - though I have explored trying to get some baskets on a bike for grocery shopping. I do walk a lot and support the shops & restaurants in walking distance specifically because they are walkable.
Regarding hydrogen powered vehicles - also referred to as fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), S&P Global has a decent summary from last October I'll just link to instead of trying to summarize. https://www.spglobal.com/automotive-insights/en/blogs/2025/10/hydrogen-powered-vehicles-face-rough-road