Wallace's World August 3, 2010, 4:35PM EST

The Electric Car Might Be the Perfect Second Ride

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In essence, having an electric car in the family to use just for city commuting means being able to distance the family a little from current and future volatilities in the oil and gasoline market. Not to mention being able to opt out of our nationally mandated ethanol scam. It's not as though Americans are averse to owning more than one car. According to the 2005 Census, more than 21 million U.S. households have more than two cars.

electric cars aren't really "green"

This does not mean that the new electric cars will become a major volume market, now or in the long term. Nor can they replace most families' need for a fully functional gasoline-powered sedan or SUV. Let's say the average family uses 2.8 gallons of gasoline per day in its second automobile. After critical sales volume is achieved, it would take only 6.8 million electric cars across the country to reduce our oil consumption by 1 million barrels per day.

That could take decades—or might never happen. However, even under the most optimistic appraisals (and given the extremely low emissions put out by our modern automotive fleet), it is doubtful that electric cars will do anything to reduce air pollution levels across the U.S. The auto industry's misguided promotion of electric cars as "green" should be moved into the hype category.

I recently spent a short amount of time in the new Mitsubishi i-MiEV in the hot Texas sun. The air conditioner worked well, the acceleration was breathtaking (and sure to cut the vehicle's overall range, if used often), and it was comfortable and highly maneuverable. In short, it was an extremely impressive piece of engineering. After test-driving that vehicle, I suggested to the wife that we place an order for one.

No, it won't and can't replace our 2008 Acura RL, except in fulfilling 100 percent of our local driving. I find it extremely appealing not to purchase 900 gallons of gasoline a year—laced with 100 or more gallons of corn-based ethanol—for our second car.

early Model Ts were expensive, too

This would not be a purchase based on deep-seated environmental concerns. It's simply one small vote for removing us from the crude oil cycle. True, direct savings in gasoline purchases for this second car would amount to around $2,400 annually. In the near future, as oil becomes further constrained and prices again skyrocket (over legitimate supply and demand issues, unlike the speculator-led climb from 2005 through 2008), we could potentially save the entire net price of the i-MiEV in just over five years.

Electric cars or plug-in hybrids are not for everyone. Maybe it's fair to say they will never replace the majority of cars in our automotive fleet. As for their high price, few remember that when Henry Ford brought his original Model T to market in 1908, it cost about a year's salary for the average professional worker. It took six years to bring the Model T's price down to simply half an annual income, and an additional 11 years to further halve that price.

The lease on the upcoming Chevrolet Volt is already set at $100 a month less than that of the failed EV-1 of the '90s. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV costs just a little more than other, likely more substantial, compacts sold here.

The tax argument is wrong. So is the extremely intelligent and accurate "principles of thermodynamics" argument. Buyers of electric cars will cast a simple, one-person vote against Congressional mandates for ethanol, against speculators in the oil market, against wars for crude oil. These will be votes issued with the certainty that in the next decade, peak oil production against demand will likely send gasoline prices to uncontrollable levels. Few will be doing this out of some naïve belief that electric cars will replace gasoline-powered vehicles or will do anything to reduce pollution. It's just that in the end, voting with one's pocketbook has a greater potential to change the country than a vote at the ballot box.

I'm willing to bet that others will feel the same way.

Ed Wallace is a recipient of the Gerald R. Loeb Award for business journalism, given by the Anderson School of Business at UCLA, and is a member of the American Historical Assn. He reviews new cars every Friday morning at 7:15 on Fox Four's Good Day, contributes articles to Businessweek.com, and hosts the top-rated daytime talk show, Wheels, 8:00 to 1:00 Saturdays on 570 KLIF AM. E-mail: wheels570@sbcglobal.net, and read all of Ed's work at his news site, www.insideautomotive.com.