DEAR SUN SPOTS: The wife and I read your column all the time. You work hard getting the information. My question is a car that is totally electric, as opposed to a gas-electric combination. What would the cost be for, say, for 300 miles of charging through Central Maine Power for an electric-only car as compared to the gas car for the same mileage and the gas and electric car? Electricity does not come cheap, as a lot of it is made by oil, coal and hydro power. Thanks. — No Name via email

ANSWER: Sun Spots does not deserve your high praise in this instance, as she is probably going to disappoint you with her inability to answer your question exactly. But she will give you some background information to try and make up for it.

Have you ever seen the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” If you are in the mood for a night of teeth-gnashing, you might want to get it from Netflix or buy it (www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com).

There really was a viable totally electric car, which by the mid-1990s was beginning to appear on California highways. According to the documentary, the cost of operating this vehicle was the same as a gas-powered — if gas was 60 cents a gallon. Despite many well-known advocates (Tom Hanks), the vehicles (which were leased rather than owned) were “recalled” and demolished. The movie blames “big oil” and car companies that wanted to produce Hummers for this debacle.

True electric-only vehicles are tough to come by today. Most are hybrids, which allow for a far larger range, probably in an effort to reduce owner anxiety over “getting stuck.” Sun Spots live chatted with Rob at www.chevrolet.com/volt, and he offered the following on the new Chevy Volt:

“It only takes 9.6 kWh to fully charge a depleted battery; and it only costs only a mere $1.50 a charge, just a little over the price of a bottle of water! It gives 35 miles on a single charge and then the gas generator kicks in and propels the vehicle with a whopping 37 MPG.”

There is at least one electric-only car out there. Sun Spots found a story (http://tinyurl.com/3m2zcgl) about a Nissan Leaf being delivered in California. The source quoted in the story said it’s the only truly electric car currently available, and there is a waiting list.

According to the Nissan website (www.nissanusa.com), there are some special requirements for the home charging system for the Leaf, but she couldn’t find an estimated cost of operation.

Estimating the “true cost” in carbon (coal vs. gasoline) is even more complicated, but a couple of sites Sun Spots reviewed (www.slate.com/id/2179609/, http://tinyurl.com/3sbbypf) overwhelmingly gave electric the nod as being more environmentally friendly.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I have three boxes of high-density 3.5 diskettes for an old computer for free. If interested, call 783-8862. — Theresa, Lewiston

DEAR SUN SPOTS: For Marilyn who is looking for Red Sox fabric (May 23). I have baseball fabric but no Red Sox. If you are interested, you may call me at 783-3676 afternoon or evening. I have found Red Sox fleece but no cotton. — Lil, poppymeme6@aol.com

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