Broke down and bought a second ICE car.

Well, I made a good go at being a one-car, electric-only household, but we finally got a bit fed up. We take a lot more road trips than we thought and renting is kind of a pain in the ass, especially if you want a larger car. So, now we'll have a 2-year-old Mazda5 for road trips and our Leaf for around town. It's a pretty good hybrid system, actually; it's just split between two cars. If we got rid of the Leaf and used the gasser in town we'd only save about 50 bucks when accounting for all the gas we'd use. So the utility of having two cars between us will be nice.

I think I'm also going to put the Mazda on RelayRides; see how that works out. 5 rental days a month will cover the entire payment, so we'll see how that works out and whether it's worth the trouble of giving your car out to random people.

But to anyone thinking of getting rid of their only car and replacing it with a 70-mile EV... think long and hard! Renting gets to be a real pain, even if it's only once a month.

I have an Accord as my backup ICE. Since I've proven 80-mi freeway range is possible (and not even difficult), I've had almost no reason to use it. Since I bought my Leaf, the only time I used my Accord was to help someone move, since it had a hitch and trailer.

I also knew the Leaf would fit in my normal weekly driving routines, and actually had a decent margin over it. I'm pretty much Nissan's ideal commuter.

Anyway, don't feel too hard on yourself about getting a non-EV. They're still too new and very limited in range. You sound like you're making the best of both options.

We went the PHEV route and bought a Volt last Labor Day weekend. 40+ miles EV highway and 40+mpg highway thereafter. It's used electricity for all but 10% of the miles we've put on it during the last 10 months.

Kept my 2005 Corolla with the intent of using it mostly for out-of-town travel - it's used just once or twice a week and should last a good long time.

I bought a Corolla for longer range use and "need" to use it 1-2 times a month due to my working on the road.

DaveinOlyWA said:

I bought a Corolla for longer range use and "need" to use it 1-2 times a month due to my working on the road.

Click to expand...

Corolla? I thought you got a Yaris?

Kept my '02 mini van for a twice a year trip to Tahoe from the Bay Area. The rest of the time the LEAF has met my needs and expectations traveling around the Bay Area and to the Santa Cruz area as a retiree for the past two years. Still loving my LEAF!

We are a two car household anyway, so I have a Prius PHEV as a backup. The PIP/Leaf combo is great.

I kept my previous daily driver (Audi A3) as my "range extender." I've only put 2500 miles on it in the last year, most of that from 3 road trips.

I just got rid of my ICE car after it sat for 15 months. I did use it 4 times in 15 months with a total of around 100 miles.

Just not worth keeping it, all that insurance for nothing. Well it was our 3rd Car. My Wife has a Prius C that we take if we need to drive 100+ miles.

GRA said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

I bought a Corolla for longer range use and "need" to use it 1-2 times a month due to my working on the road.

Click to expand...

Corolla? I thought you got a Yaris?

Click to expand...

have one of those too. SO drives it. its her daily driver. funny thing is that the 2012 Yaris has higher EPA numbers than my 2000 Corolla but its that "day to day" use that kills the performance. I outdo her by 5-8 MPG

I got a 2000 Honda Insight for longer trips last month. It's way underpowered for city driving but I'm averaging 60 MPG at 70 MPH so I can't complain. It's got a lot less creature comforts than the leaf though... much harder ride and serious lack of sound proofing.

What finally did me in was the fact that I have only L1 at my apartment now (I use to have 30 amp L2 at my old place but it was much more... humble) and I can't exactly arrive "dead" since it takes so long to charge. Putting in even a 240v outlet of any amperage has gotten nowhere... :evil:

Of course the degradation wasn't helping things at all, ether.

I wouldn't mind giving the car rental model a try but there aren't any car rental companies where I live, so that's out. I use my '96 Jeep Cherokee (111,000 miles) as my long trip car, as well as for getting up my driveway and driving in difficult snow conditions. It is also good for the challenging dirt roads in our mountains that draw people from all over the country (there are hundreds of Jeeps in town this week to tackle those old mining roads).

One nice thing about an old car like that is that it doesn't cost much to license and insure and since I don't drive it much, maintenance doesn't amount to much either. Gas mileage is decent for a 4WD off-road capable car: about 23 mpg for local driving and 25+ mpg on long trips. I've put gas in the car only three times in the last seven months.

There are some places my LEAF can't go...

dgpcolorado said:

There are some places my LEAF can't go...

Click to expand...

Point well taken, but might it actually be possible to ascend Imogene Pass in your LEAF? I see that it's only 10.3 miles (and of course about 5500' up) from the KOA in Ouray. The LEAF has better clearance than many cars. Not sure whether it would be high enough for that dirt road, though. I can also understand not wanting to chance it if there are any doubts.

abasile said:

dgpcolorado said:

There are some places my LEAF can't go...

Click to expand...

Point well taken, but might it actually be possible to ascend Imogene Pass in your LEAF? I see that it's only 10.3 miles (and of course about 5500' up) from the KOA in Ouray. The LEAF has better clearance than many cars. Not sure whether it would be high enough for that dirt road, though. I can also understand not wanting to chance it if there are any doubts.

Click to expand...

No, the road over Imogene is strictly a high ground clearance low range 4WD road. Something like Ophir Pass could probably be done in a Subaru. Some roads around here, such as Black Bear Pass, or Elephant Hill in The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park (think: "rock climbing with Jeeps"), I won't even tackle in my Jeep. Not worth the risk. Rescue tows out in the boondocks start at about a thousand dollars and go up from there.
http://nmbr.smugmug.com/COLORADO/Colorado-2011/i-csjfxnL/1/L/DSC0366-copy-L.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2725/5739787149_8d750cd0c8_b.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.coloradoguy.com/black-bear-pass/black-bear-pass-4wd-switchback.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://tomrichardsonart.com/colorado_trails/colorado-4.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://sp3.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608014734799474011&pid=15.1&P=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

dgpcolorado said:

abasile said:

dgpcolorado said:

There are some places my LEAF can't go...

Click to expand...

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2725/5739787149_8d750cd0c8_b.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Looks like a good hike spoiled to me...

dgpcolorado said:

No, the road over Imogene is strictly a high ground clearance low range 4WD road. Something like Ophir Pass could probably be done in a Subaru. Some roads around here, such as Black Bear Pass, or Elephant Hill in The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park (think: "rock climbing with Jeeps"), I won't even tackle in my Jeep. Not worth the risk. Rescue tows out in the boondocks start at about a thousand dollars and go up from there.

Click to expand...

Loved the photos. While I agree with pkulak that hiking those beautiful areas is nicer than driving a Jeep, not everyone has the physical ability or time to spend days backpacking. I feel there needs to be a balance between different users of our public lands. A certain amount of road coverage is good, and can be beneficial to firefighting and rescue efforts, but it's also wonderful to have wilderness areas that are only accessible under human power (or maybe horseback).

Someone we know is a very active member of a local Jeep club here. We appreciate their efforts to keep some of the dirt roads clean and maintained while promoting responsible use. I've been telling our friend that eventually there will be electric high-clearance vehicles (maybe even Jeeps), and they will have advantages over gasoline-powered Jeeps.

pkulak said:

Looks like a good hike spoiled to me...

Click to expand...

Those old mining roads have been around for a century in most cases. And, anyway, there are plenty of hiking trails and wilderness areas in which to lose yourself away from vehicles, if you choose.

By the way, the town in that picture, Telluride, was the location of the first commercial AC power plant built by Nikola Tesla, George Westinghouse, and L. L. Nunn (1891). The power was supplied to the mining industry. You can blame that development on gold, silver, copper, and tungsten, if you wish.

DaveinOlyWA said:

GRA said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

I bought a Corolla for longer range use and "need" to use it 1-2 times a month due to my working on the road.

Click to expand...

Corolla? I thought you got a Yaris?

Click to expand...

have one of those too. SO drives it. its her daily driver. funny thing is that the 2012 Yaris has higher EPA numbers than my 2000 Corolla but its that "day to day" use that kills the performance. I outdo her by 5-8 MPG

Click to expand...

Do you think that's that the car, the driver, or the driving profile?

dgpcolorado said:

abasile said:

dgpcolorado said:

There are some places my LEAF can't go...

Click to expand...

Point well taken, but might it actually be possible to ascend Imogene Pass in your LEAF? I see that it's only 10.3 miles (and of course about 5500' up) from the KOA in Ouray. The LEAF has better clearance than many cars. Not sure whether it would be high enough for that dirt road, though. I can also understand not wanting to chance it if there are any doubts.

Click to expand...

No, the road over Imogene is strictly a high ground clearance low range 4WD road. Something like Ophir Pass could probably be done in a Subaru. Some roads around here, such as Black Bear Pass, or Elephant Hill in The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park (think: "rock climbing with Jeeps"), I won't even tackle in my Jeep. Not worth the risk. Rescue tows out in the boondocks start at about a thousand dollars and go up from there.
http://nmbr.smugmug.com/COLORADO/Colorado-2011/i-csjfxnL/1/L/DSC0366-copy-L.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2725/5739787149_8d750cd0c8_b.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.coloradoguy.com/black-bear-pass/black-bear-pass-4wd-switchback.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://tomrichardsonart.com/colorado_trails/colorado-4.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://sp3.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608014734799474011&pid=15.1&P=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click to expand...

Some great pictures there, although on roads like that I'll happily forgo wheels for feet. Yeah, Subarus aren't jeep trail cars, although my Forester has far better low-rev torque and clearance than my '88 turbo. I took my '88 up onto the Continental divide east of Ruedi Reservoir and Meredith back in the early '90s (we were installing a PV system on the 10th Mtn. Division Betty Bear backcountry hut, http://www.huts.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ). The turbo lacked a low range and IIRR only had 4.5" clearance; the non-turbo had a low range and maybe 1" more clearance, but was gutless for normal driving, only 90 hp. We stayed at Skinner or maybe it was Uncle Bud's hut on the east side of the divide (we could see the lights of Leadville at night) and drove daily over to Betty Bear. After the first day, I realized that if I kept this up for a week I wouldn't have a clutch, as it was necessary to rev the car to about 3,500 rpm to get enough torque (we were over 11k ft.) without stalling, and then slip the clutch at that rpm to keep the speed down to a walking pace or slower. Fortunately we had several other high clearance 4WD trucks and SUVs along, and after the first day hauling all the equipment we didn't need my Subie.

My biggest surprise was seeing the line of power towers crossing the divide, in what in California would probably be classed as primitive or wilderness, even with all the old mining roads.