For the past 175,000 miles, I’ve driven a Buick Enclave. Nice car, but not so good on mileage and pretty expensive to maintain. I wanted an electric car for around town. Randy Denham at Denham Motors suggested leasing the Fiat 500 E for three years at $138 per month with $300 down after rebate, and the rebate check was good!

The first 3,000 miles have been, literally, a blast! As in tire squealing fast and straight into the curves! This car is fun to drive. The stereo and air conditioner are both quite good. I u-turn and park and turn around in unbelievably tight spots.

Economically, I estimate $22 cents per mile as the cost to drive electric. That’s all in…insurance, payment, maintenance, fuel.

Not gas…fuel. Because an electric car has no gas pedal to step on. You step on the electrons! Right!?

Redding to Round Mountain is a perfect electric car drive. I use 50 charge miles to travel 35 car miles, uphill. It’s a fantastic and beautiful drive from Redding east to Round Mountain on Highway 299. Through the lowland cattle grazing to the volcanic steppe to the ravenously carved Cedar Creek cut up the canyon.

The fast charger in Round Mountain makes the difference. In Redding, I plug the car into my front porch 110 volt outlet, like it was a coffee pot. Overnight, and I get my fill of electrons. Still, at 110 volt, it takes 10-14 hours to charge. With the fast charger in Round Mountain, the charge takes a few hours to full.