Alternative Fuel Vehicles: Consumers’ Driving Cost Will Vary Depending Upon Where They Live - Pico-Car.com Can Help Consumers Sort Out Driving Costs of These Vehicles

Cupertino, CA, September 13, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Automakers, new and old, are churning out hoards of new vehicles running on alternative fuels in response high gas prices. However, consumers may be in for a costly surprise when their actual driving costs don't reflect the manufacturers’ claims due to the dramatic fuel price variations across the nation. Pico-Car (http://www.pico-car.com/) allows consumers to easily compare driving costs of alternative fuel vehicles and avoid costly surprises.

While the price of gasoline varies 26% across the nation ($3.43-$4.33 per gallon), the price of CNG varies 400% ($0.85-$4.25 per gge) and the residential incremental price of electricity varies at least by 500% (6¢-36¢ per Kwh). As a result, fuel economies claimed by manufacturers may have little to do with realities for the consumers.

Just as some consumers in northern California are installing expensive solar cells to alleviate exorbitant incremental electricity pricing, one electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla Motors Inc., claims, " ...it will cost you roughly 1 cent per mile to drive the Tesla Roadster."[1] These consumers are highly unlikely to achieve the claimed electrical vehicle driving costs. In fact, Tesla Founders Blog admits, "Depending on a lot of things, a Tesla Roadster will cost something between 2 cents a mile and 6 cents a mile."[2] Consumers need to know the actual driving costs of alternative fuel vehicles before they invest tens of thousands of dollars into one.

Pico-Car (www.pico-car.com) has a simple solution for these consumers. It is a consumer oriented site providing information and articles related to the latest alternative fuel vehicles. Using the vehicle data provided by the manufacturers and the fuel costs provided by the consumer, Pico-Car provides a direct comparison of driving costs of the alternative fuel vehicles and lets the consumers make the informed decision. Pico-Car also provides consumers a forum to voice their opinions on what they like or dislike about these alternative fuel vehicles. In this way, Pico-Car is closing the gap between the alternative fuel vehicle consumers and manufacturers and promoting their large scale adoption.

References
[1] http://www.teslamotors.com/efficiency/charging_and_batteries.php
[2] http://teslafounders.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/ev-juice/

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