Dem Senator Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot: “On the issue of gas prices, I drove my electric vehicle from Michigan to here last weekend and went by every single gas station and it didn’t matter how high it was
Democrat Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow opened her mouth to brag about her new purchase and immediately regretted she did so. Stabenow was addressing the number one issue facing the American voter heading into the midterms, inflation, especially the skyrocketing cost of gas.
Stabenow addresses one reason this will backfire during her speech, that a chip shortage has led to a shortage of certain types of cars, but she left out the main reason why this will come back to haunt her, most Americans can’t afford electric vehicles.
She said: “I just have to say on the issue of the gas prices, after waiting for a long time to have enough chips in this country to finally get my electric vehicle, I got it.
“I drove it from Michigan to here this last weekend and went by every single gas station and it didn’t matter how high it was.
“And so I’m looking forward to the opportunity for us to move to vehicles that aren’t going to be dependent on the whims of the oil companies and the international market.”
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI):
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 7, 2022
“On the issue of gas prices, I drove my electric vehicle from Michigan to here last weekend and went by every gas station and it didn’t matter how high it was.”
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From NBC March 12, 2022:
Purchase price.
The sale price for an EV, on average, was $60,054 in February. That compared to $45,596 on average for all new vehicles, including electric ones, according to data from Edmonds. When compared to comparable gas models, EVs typically cost 10 to 15 percent more, although prices have been climbing steadily over the past couple of years and are expected to continue to rise.
This week, for instance, Tesla announced it would raise prices on all its models.
The Model 3, Tesla’s least expensive and most popular car, jumped $2,000 to $47,000.
Bailo believes the price gap between EVs and conventional automobiles will narrow, as battery costs drop and lower-priced models, some below $30,000, become available.
She predicts that by the middle of the decade, “we’ll have parity” between comparable models.
Energy costs.
Here’s where EVs have a clear and growing advantage. For example, the new Volkswagen ID.4 SUV, which starts at about $40,000, gets 250 miles per charge.
With the average residential customer paying about 14 cents per kilowatt, it costs roughly $11 to fully charge the battery.
Also, some customers qualify for discount charging rates. A comparable VW Tiguan SUV, which starts at about $26,000 and gets 26 mpg, would cost about $38 to fill up at $4 a gallon.
If you drive 12,000 miles a year, you could expect to spend around $550 to power the ID.4, compared to $1,900 for the Tiguan.
Average cost of an electric car: $56,000
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 7, 2022
Median household income in Michigan: $59,234