Our path to EVs (yes, plural) started with solar. We had solar on our previous house and when we moved, we got solar as soon as we could. The problem with that was our estimated power usage was high, so we ended up getting too much solar. Our new house was further from work as well, so the commute of 25 miles to work was not only expensive in gas it increased our car maintenance costs as well. I saw an EV at an environmental fair at work and decided to check out the possibility. After a little research we got our first EV – a Nissan LEAF. Because I knew this technology was advancing quickly, we decided to lease the LEAF. We were still eligible for the California Rebate, which basically handled the initial cost of getting the car. Our fuel bill plummeted since our EV was using our excess solar and we no longer needed to buy gas. Well, almost. My wife was still driving a gas car while I drove the LEAF as my commuter. The HOV stickers were certainly a plus as well, which reduced my commute time a bit.

Now my wife was incurring gas and maintenance costs our aging gas car, so we got a great deal on a lease for a second EV – a Fiat 500e. The CVRP rebate paid the initial cost of the Fiat Lease as well, and the monthly payments were less than what she had been paying in gas. We kept the gas cars for long distance trips but the EVs became our commute vehicles.

After the lease was up on the LEAF we wanted a longer range EV that would allow us to sell our gas cars since they were getting used very little anyway. Enter the Chevy Bolt. Not only was it a great commuter – instant torque is instant fun, it's cheap to run as well – virtually NO maintenance required (rotate and replace tires as needed and don't forget the window washer fluid). We got the fast charging option and actually took a 2,300–mile road trip in it from San Diego to Portland, Oregon and back. We realized we no longer needed the gas cars at all. They generally sat unused because we both enjoyed driving the EVs more. We sold all the gas vehicles and saved on vehicle registration, insurance and maintenance.

When the lease was up on the Fiat – no question – we got our 4th EV, a Tesla Model X 100D. This time we actually bought the car because it would become our road trip car. That totaled up to $10,000 off with the $7,500 federal tax credit and the $2,500 from state. There's other surprise bonuses like $500 off our power bill per EV through our power company this last year. The previous year we got $200 per vehicle and next year we'll get something as well.

Our first year of ownership of the Tesla is almost up and we've already driven it over 19,000 miles on it and we're still averaging 15,000 miles on the Bolt each year. About 12,000 of those Tesla miles are road trip miles while the remaining is all local stuff. This summer we did over 5,000 miles in about a month – visiting national parks and family in a total of 6 different states here on the west coast. We're planning our trip to Quebec for 2020 when we go pick up our camp trailer to tow behind our Model X.

So, if you peeked in our garage in Dec 2013, you would have seen a 2008 GMC Acadia, a 2003 BMW Z4, and a 1990 BMW K75 motorcycle. If you peek in now you'll only see our Chevy Bolt and our Tesla Model X 100D. We will never drive a gas car again. Yes, EVs are better for the environment and all – but to us they are just better forms of transportation. We love that we just pull into the garage and plug in when we get home and in the morning the car is fully charged and ready to go for the day. For road trips we use the Tesla now and couldn't be happier. The supercharger network gets us around where we want to go and fits our schedule fine. We like to stop every couple hours for 10–15 minutes and stop for meals a couple times a day. That's all the time we need to charge as well, so we stop and plug in, then do our standard break stuff and we're back on our way.