because the COO must include replacing the $12,000 battery (on the 85 kWh model) along with the cost of charging the vehicle (figure about $1200 per year amortized for the battery and about $500 dollars a year in electricity=$1700/year--which is far more than most people spend on gas vehicles in a year, let alone a high MPG car like the BlueTEC). The battery is only warranted for 8 years, after that, it's on you. Also, as I said in previous posts, I needed more range than a Tesla can give me. I just can't justify spending around 100K for a commuter-only car, although it is a breath-taking piece of machinery and design. I really do like that car! It's just not practical, even though it outwardly appears to be.

I went with the BlueTEC because it's a luxury car that still gets 42 MPG highway (45 in the RWD version) and 30 overall. That's insane! It's a great touring car with a lot of torque. It has super comfortable seats and amenities for roadtrips (it basically drives itself with Distronic) in our beautiful part of the world (or to Utah or Cali--which I can easily make on ONE tank of diesel now).

On the backend, the resale of a diesel car, which, on average lasts 30% longer than a gas car, is a big consideration. Having said that, I don't sell our cars typically. I donate them to other families or have them hauled off to salvage after they are no longer reliable and I can't fix them myself or with a reasonable expense by a mechanic. Buying a car 2-4 years used, maintaining it and driving it until it drops is the only real way to mitigate the poor investment that is an automobile.

A late-model used mid-sized diesel sedan is going to last me longer and cost me less up front and on a monthly basis while fitting my driving style and family needs. That's basically what it came down to after doing all the research and getting behind the wheel of several cars.

Here is an interesting tool I found at Edmunds.com. It's a TCOO calculator. You type in the make, model, year and trim and it tells you how much it costs to own that car for each year it is driven, including things like insurance, finance costs, depreciation and other items of which many people shopping for cars are blissfully unaware.

http://www.edmunds.com/tco.html