Not sure if my reply will get posted, but here it is if not:
The 40 mile commute you mention costs at least 2 gallons of gasoline, likely three or four. At $3 a gallon that means $6 to $12 a day. Thirty days of that means $180 to $360, or half to all of the monthly lease cost of a Leaf. That is just fuel cost savings mind you. Count in oil changes, belt wear, transmission fuids, etc. etc. and the saving add up faster. Should you be able to find electricity where you work (Hard to do I know, but it can be found most places these days.) the range issue isn't (Six hours of charging from any standard outlet will get you back all of 40 miles, plus a bit, so go to lunch too!). Of course to use that little fuel in an ICE you would have to drive slower and be very careful when accelerating. In an EV, the cost to operate would be reduced by at least a factor of three, so $6 would turn into $2, or less. Add to that equation that you can make electricity if you want to, unlike gasoline, and your costs can really go down if you put some effort into it. Solar, wind, or even a gas powered generator will create electricity that is more cost effective when used to charge the battery in the Leaf. 75% or more of gasoline burned in an ICE car goes toward heat production (That means 75 cents of every dollar spent on fuel, or 3 out of 4 dollars), not propulsion. Simply put, you go further on electric drive, and it frees you from the stopping where you don't want to stop, a Saudi Arabia supporting gas station. You simply plug it in where you are! If you are not around electricity, buy a generator and again, no issues. If you want to spend 3 hours or more driving in a car, consider taking a train, bus, or plane. You and the others on the road will be safer for it, since fatigue is a large factor in road deaths.
