Electric Cars are overall better than Gas Cars

Expenses Yes gas prices are expensive right now, I won't argue there but owning an electric car isn't always cheap. When you buy an electric car you're most likely going to have to buy a home charging unit that are very expensive. Without the home charging unit you are going to have trouble giving your car a full 8 hour charge. When having a charging unit in your house you'll have to factor in how much your electric bill will raise. You will have to limit the amount of electricity you use during the day so you can try keep your bill down as much as possible, so at night you can give your car the full 8- 12 hour charge it needs every day Maintenance You might not have to worry about oil changes, but the electric car does have many moving part that will need to be lubricated which your mechanic will have to apply. That might not need to be done as frequently as an oil change but it does require a trip to the mechanic. With electric cars you also have to deal with the fact that they will need new batteries every few years and batteries aren't cheap. Like every other electronic device like phones and iPods the batteries can never hold a full charge a few years after you buy them. It does depend on how often you use your car and how much you let the battery drain out all the ways to empty will determine your life of you battery. Depending on the size of the battery, buying a new battery can cost as high as $9,000 when it cost $375 per watt. Charging Because charging your electric car fully will take between 8 and 12 hours, so at night would be the best time. If you have a gas vehicle all you have to do is refill your tank at the nearest gas station that won't take more than five minutes. If you out for the day you might need to see if there are any charging stations that can charge your car so you can have enough electricity to get home. If you look there are gas stations everywhere you look, not very often do you see a charging station for electrics cars. That can be very inconvenient, especially when you need to give your car a quick charge. Distance With electric cars the number of miles you can get on a full charge can become an issue. On a full charge the Leaf can go about 120 miles if you drive about 40 miles per hour. Driving on the highway will cut the 120 miles in half because on the highway you are driving twice as fast. If you're not driving fast on the highways then that means you're in traffic. While in bumper to bumper traffic your car is still using its energy just because it's on. But also having the radio and heater or air condition on will also be eating up the energy. On a hot day you might be forced to turn the AC off just so you can save enough energy to make it home. Environment According to a study done by The Union of Concerned Scientists, electric cars aren't better for the environment in some cities. It depends on where a charge is charged whether or not a car like the Nissan Leaf will be able to protect the atmosphere from the greenhouse gases. Also when you use electricity, coal has to be burned, so the more and more electricity we use the more and more natural resources like coal will to have to be used.