It may be small comfort, but then isn't every other sedan which competes with the Model S even worse?I don't believe that the BMW 5-series, Mercedes E-series, nor any car in that class or price range will get 40 mpg. (Someone will post one in 10 seconds to prove my ignorance, I'll bet.) So you can either get a smaller car, which is more economical and cheaper, or you can get a similar car, which will obviate your range concerns but cost you more in fuel. Or, I'm missing something.
You are correct in your comparisons; I am not comparing this car to the cars other people would compare it with. If I were getting a gasoline car, I would be getting a much smaller car; my actual taste is for econoboxes. :redface: The trouble is that there simply *isn't* a smaller car which is (a) a four-seater, (b) all-electric, and (c) has a real-world cold-weather range long enough to handle my trips, out here where it's 70 miles to some of our doctors' offices (specialists' offices). This year's Leaf can't even handle cold weather well. Next year's Leaf should be better and should have (a) and (b), but still not (c). I don't see suitable (long-range) electric econoboxes becoming available before Tesla's GenIII, thanks to the idiocy of the major car companies. (I think a Leaf with a 200-mile range would be flying off the lots even at high prices.) I also don't see a network of Superchargers showing up here for 4-5 years, either.
And dammit, I want OFF of gasoline SOON! :scared:
Basically, I'm paying a whole lot extra in order to get an electric car 4-5 years before the "perfect electric car for me" becomes available. (The extra cost for the Signature was too much for me; I decided I could wait another year. But another 5 years? Too long!) The main point against the Model S as a car, for me, is simply that it *is* a large car. I'm mentally trying to justify the oversized car by saying "Well, but see, it's great in every *other* way..." :love: ... so any flaws which show up how uneconomic my pure-electric choice is, make me sad. :crying: (This is also why I'm much, much happier to be further back in the production line rather than having the Signature reservation I had; I would not have been happy with a buggy, incomplete car, or with repeatedly calling the rangers out, 400 miles from the nearest service center. Showing off a nice, complete, car with the bugs worked out makes the extra cost a lot more justifiable in my head. :biggrin
Now, back to the topic. 700 watt-hours/day? :love: That makes vampire load a non-issue. I saved more than that by switching to LED lights in my house. I can leave the car unplugged for a month and have 150 miles of charge. :tongue: Nothing to worry about here.
