Hello, everyone. As all of you know, the world is experiencing record energy prices, and we are by no means immune here in the ‘States.

Of course, in relative terms we are still paying low prices for gasoline where I live, we have some of the lowest prices for energy in the US. But still, 4.49 is pretty high. However, it is nearly half what friends are paying elsewhere. An Australian friend reports 2.49 AUD/liter (6.78 USD/gal) and a European friend reports local prices at 2.10 EUR/liter (8.49 USD/gal), so things could definitely be worse. Also, prices vary wildly here in the US, with rates ranging from California around 6 USD/gal to here in the Ohio Valley, at 4.49/gal.

The sticker price at the pump has me thinking that it might not be a bad idea for the next family car to be electric.

Now, our small fleet doesn’t have a single vehicle that gets less than 30 mpg, so we’re doing OK at the moment. However, economies of scale are finally happening within the EV world and I think the next couple of years will be the time to finally consider an electric car.

Besides, why not make a clean break from gasoline altogether? With an electric you just plug it in at night- this is fine unless you are making road trips. I guess until the infrastructure is there we would just use the electric as a daily driver and we’d do long trips with either a gas car or a hybrid. I do anticipate that within the next few years Ford will make a hybrid AWD Maverick, and at that time I’ll trade in my gas burner for one of those- I have been pleased in all respects with my little Mav, an AWD hybrid would make the deal sweeter.

So, this seems doable. An electric as our runaround car, and a hybrid for off road and long trips. This seems to be a good compromise that should be attainable within this decade. I’m not seeing a drop in energy prices anytime soon, so now is the time to plan this out.

Now, if the car companies would just start to make more electrics and hybrids to drop the price down into the feasible range. Ford made a great decision with the hybrid economy Maverick- at base MSRP of 19,995 for the sold-out 2022 model this is affordable for most people. They simply need to expand their hybrid and electric lines out to other types of vehicles.

GM? Lol, they are the worst. I won’t consider one until they get their act together, and at the moment I am pleased with Ford’s offerings.

I see more and more electric vehicles on the road, the formerly niche market is going mainstream. Good. Gas burners are fine as hobby vehicles or in parades, but for daily drivers you need fuel efficiency. Better yet, you need no fuel at all.

This is where I’d like to be, and I think that this is where we are all headed.

My take is that by the time I reach Social Security age there will be few pure gas vehicles on the road. I’m really looking forward to the day when I’m not tethered to the pump station anymore. Promise you I won’t miss it all all; the grimy pumps, the hassle. Filling the tank in the freezing cold or the pouring rain.

Yeah, not so much.

I’d rather just plug in at night.