It’s electric!

Last year while on a driving vacation, we stumbled across a Drive Electric event in California that was apparently part of a nationwide campaign with events in most states to promote electric vehicles and offer information. It was actually quite informative. I’m not finding anything scheduled this year. Was that a one-time-only thing?

Your timing is great. National Drive Electric Week runs from September 8-15, and organizers say there are events in almost every state. They’re mostly one-day events during that timeframe, where you have the opportunity to see all manner of electric vehicles (EVs) and talk with owners. Some states have events in many cities and towns (for example, there are 13 in Washington), and others such as Montana and Utah have an event in just one city.

Go to DriveElectricWeek.org and you can find the list of every event, by state.

I’ve been comparing prices and information on three regular, gas-powered compact cars against the price of the electric Nissan Leaf. Why would the first-year insurance quote for the Leaf be higher than those for the gas-powered cars? The Leaf has fewer moving parts, making service and maintenance less expensive, and I would assume repairs cheaper in the case of a wreck. I’m pretty sure the theft rates of the Leaf are low — what thief would target a Leaf? — so that can’t explain the big boost in insurance cost.

First, I commend you for considering the underbelly expenses of each car to make your comparison calculations. So many people don’t think about things like insurance (much higher for a new car than for the old one you’ve been driving) and registration fees (which, depending on the state, can be a flat fee or a complicated calculation based on vehicle weight, car age and listing price). That oversight can lead to unwelcome post-purchase shock.

The short answer (the only answer, really) is that post-wreck repairs for an EV can be higher than you’d expect (depending on what part of the vehicle was hit) because the battery system is so expensive and because not every mechanic is trained to work on them.