Prevention: With 2800 miles in an electric vehicle (EV) under your belt, you must have a good idea of who an EV could work for—do tell. Adams: EVs are commuter cars. They get 80 to 100 miles per charge, which is overwhelmingly more than most people drive every day. Gas cars are most efficient at 55mph, so town drivers don’t really get the full efficiency out of their cars. 7 Ways To Fix A Crappy Commute   [sidebar]Prevention: Are EVs cost-efficient? Adams: You’ll drop about $40,000 for a Focus Electric plus a few thousand more for the charger, which works in any 240V outlet (the same strength used for a clothes dryer) before the federal tax credit and whatever incentive your state offers. Here’s the everyday math: You pay around $4 for a gallon of gas, but one or two dollars for the electricity to charge your EV. With all the gas you’re not buying, the payback time is about seven years, and you’re only talking two or three thousand dollars. Bottom line: You should buy one because you like it, not just because of the cost and the environment. Prevention: Do they drive differently? Adams: The electric engine eliminates all those vibrations you get in a gasoline engine, even when you’re just sitting still. So driving an EV feels like you’re floating but with a ton of torque. Granted, driving fast and furious means you’ll run out of juice faster, but they can definitely do it. Prevention: Did the EV teach you anything about driving a gasoline engine? Adams: To get the most efficiency out of a gas engine car, drive the tachometer (it measures the car’s RMPs, or revolutions per minute), not the speedometer. Find the RPM point where the car is shifting, and try to keep it at or below that number. Overcoming the inertia of standing still kills the most gas, so do your best to coast up to red lights and try to roll as much as possible. Prevention: What’s the verdict—are you going to buy an EV? Adams: I like a big V-8 engine just as much as the next guy, but I really enjoyed driving around in an EV. For me, it doesn’t make sense because I bike to work, but maybe for my wife! If I lived even 25 miles away from work, I’d definitely get one.   Also see: Scary Toxins In Your Home, 11 Ways To Protect Yourself From Dirty Electricity, Find A Bicycle Built For You