About a month ago, Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan took the “just buy an electric car” approach to people who are struggling to afford gas amid all the Building Back Better. To help prove her point, Stabenow described how many gas stations she drove past during an EV cruise from Michigan to Washington, DC:
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI):
“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.”
pic.twitter.com/VWSd9BJ3kk— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 7, 2022
The Detroit News’ auto critic Henry Payne did an analysis of how much money and time the senator saved on the drive:
.@HenryEPayne: EV or $5 gas? Tracking Sen. Stabenow's Chevy Bolt EUV journey to Washington, D.C. https://t.co/dAKfbtMpNR
— The Detroit News (@detroitnews) July 9, 2022
Democrats make it sound like if you buy an electric car you’ll save a fortune (after buying the vehicle of course). Reality seems to tell a story different from the one Stabenow has been passing along:
2/3
Stabenow added 3 hours of time to her trip back to DC, a $1,500 home charging system, and the Volt costs ~$5K more. All for a savings of … $8. pic.twitter.com/Ti3tKvUPV4— Sandy 〽️ (@RightGlockMom) July 9, 2022
3/3
Once gas dips below $4.25/gallon, Deb is operating at a loss in her "let them eat cake" trip back to Washington.Finally, we DO NOT HAVE the grid to support everyone making this dumb vehicle choice.
Blackouts predicted.— Sandy 〽️ (@RightGlockMom) July 9, 2022
Great examination at @stabenow’s famous trip to DC in her electric car by @HenryEPayne. 9.5 hour trip with gas turned into estimated 15.5 hours. https://t.co/r6mTJ6OcG5
— Jamie Roe (@jamieroe23) July 9, 2022
The savings in dollars? Eight bucks:
Assuming the senator left her home in Lansing with 100% of charge, the Bolt EUV would have have a maximum battery range of 247 miles. The Bolt EUV is the sister vehicle to the Bolt hatchback, which Chevy delivered in late 2016. In a battle of compact EVs, the Bolt beat the Tesla Model 3 to market, becoming the first mass-market EV to offer more than 200 miles of range. Just as Tesla ha supplemented the Model 3 with a Model Y crossover, Chevy introduced the Bolt EUV as higher-riding, more luxurious version of its $26k Bolt.
Over the course of her journey, ABRP calculates that the Bolt EUV used almost 200 kWh of energy at a cost of $80. Electrify America charging rates across Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania are a uniform 43 cents per kWh (like gas stations, EA also has discount rates with member programs, and some manufacturers are offering free charging with purchase of an EV).
That compares to $88 if she had driven a comparable, gas-powered Trailblazer SUV, which gets 33 mpg on the highway. That’s a savings of $8 for the 600-mile trip at $5-a-gallon gas.
The savings in time? Negative three hours:
Stabenow’s charging stops added nearly three hours to the 9 hour, 30-minute Lansing-to-D.C. road trip (13 hours, 9 minutes total) compared to a single, 5-minute stop in the Trailblazer to fill up. There are other variables as well, depending on which app you use to plan your trip.
Call us crazy but all this doesn’t seem like something for Stabenow to be smug about when people are struggling to afford gas (along with groceries and many other things).
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