Sunday, July 21, 2013

Electric cars displayed at Vancouver show

Prices of the electric cars ranged from $40,000 to upwards of $100,000. (CBC)
The latest and greatest in electric vehicle technology was on display at Electrafest in Vancouver this weekend.
"People who say, 'I have to have the roar and the thunder of the V8' have never driven an electric car,' said Jerry Kroll, an e-car enthusiast who drives a Fisker, worth over $100,000.
Electric vehicles come with lofty promises of being fast, safe and as green as possible, but they also come with high prices.
The Tesla costs $77,000, while more modest models from Nissan and Chevy are priced around $40,000.
The B.C. government offers a $5,000 cash incentive to buy electric cars, but only 106 people have taken up the offer so far. Some $1.7 million still remains in the Clean Energy Vehicle program fund.
"That's one of the government's best kept secrets," said Bruce Stout of the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association, which hosted Saturday's show.
"They have approximately another 400 cars they can give those rebates to, but they've just got to tell people," he added.
Stout says electric cars cost 2 cents a kilometre to drive, and little to maintain.
But some say it's still too expensive to switch from regular to electric cars.
"As long as we have low price gas, what's going to change?" said attendee Gordon Saisho.

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