Proselytizing

I bought an electric car -- a Chevy Bolt to be specific. I bought it used, but it only has 16,000 miles on it so it's about as good as new. And guess what else? It was cheap. The sticker price was $16,500 and with the dealer conveyance fee, registration and taxes I handed over a check for $19,000 and drove away. I'm spending about another $800 to install a fast charger, and that will be that. I will never pay for an oil change, or an emissions test, or a muffler, belts, coolant, any of the maintenance expenses you expect for an automobile. There's no catalytic converter to steal. I don't have to stop and pump gas, I just plug in the car when I'm home. 

However, in case you haven't noticed, there is a lot of hostility out there to the whole idea of electric cars. Somehow they constitute an assault on our freedom, apparently because people don't just have a right, but affirmatively take pleasure in spewing toxins out of the back end of their conveyance. And yes, it is true that most of the automakers have committed to going all electric in the near future, and many states are considering banning the sale of new gasoline powered vehicles in the fairly near future. But what people are missing is that the reason the automakers are going all electric is because they know that is what the people will want to buy. Once you try it, you aren't going back.

That's because electric cars are better. They're quicker and more responsive, and they handle better, because the weight -- the battery -- is in the middle, not the front. There's no transmission, and no differential -- just the right amount of power goes to each wheel exactly as it's needed. It seems wealthy enthusiasts are buying up all the high end muscle cars they can before the gasoline engines go away, but the manufacturers are just waiting for them to find out the truth:

Owning a vehicle with a large, powerful engine has long been a status symbol for drivers. Yet these gas-guzzling vehicles -- trucks included -- are now scorned by an industry that's quickly replacing them with fewer cylinders or electric motors. Bugatti will soon cease production of its storied W16. Production of Bentley's mighty W12 engine will finish next April. Audi recently said "Tschüss" to its euphoric V10.

"When enthusiasts hear that gas engines are going away, they think, 'They'll take my Lamborghini and put me in a Nissan Leaf,'" Jonny Lieberman, a MotorTrend TV host and editor, told ABC News. "Few people think an electric vehicle is engaging to drive -- but it is. Electric sports cars are coming."

Lieberman pointed to the next generation of the 718 Cayman and Boxster, which Porsche confirmed will be electric-only by 2025.

"It will be interesting to see how the electric Cayman is perceived," he noted. "The Porsche Mission R was incredibly potent as a sports car." . . .

Ryan Lanteigne, a test driver for Rimac, has driven Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches over his career, pushing each one to its limits. Like many enthusiasts, Lanteigne "loves" a high-revving V8 and V10. Then he started driving the Rimac Nevera, a $2.2 million electric hypercar that goes 0-60 mph in a blistering 1.74 seconds. The GT makes 1,914 horsepower and has broken 20 acceleration and braking records in a single day.

"The performance is going to surprise enthusiasts," he told ABC News. "You can get hard on the throttle -- the back end does not start to rotate, there's no wheel spin. The car gives you so much confidence. There is no modern supercar or hypercar that can match the Nevera."

No, I don't want anything like that, I wouldn't even if I were wealthy. But if that's your thing, don't worry -- you'll be happy.