Tesla Model 3 and a glider

On Monday, December 16, 2019 at 11:49:26 PM UTC-8, Ramy wrote:
Tom, your comparison between hybrid and regular gas car is completely off..
I am on my second Lexus RX hybrid SUV. Cost few thousand more but I probably recoup it in couple of years.
Most of us glider pilots drive far more than 8000 miles per year. More like 20K miles per year for me. And at least anywhere in the west, cost of gas is $3-$4 on average. And you don’t need to use premium as they said. I am getting close to 5MPG more on average (26MPG overall average city+Hwy with lots of towing) And the maintenance cost is actually less as the brakes need replacement every 100-150K miles thanks to the regenerative braking. And the hybrid battery last longer then the car probably. My 2007 RX400 has over 250K, and never needed more than the scheduled maintenance. Never broke down. I only needed to replace the 12v battery few times. Best car I ever owned and towed gliders with. I hope my new RX450 will serve me as well.
My wife has a tesla model 3 and we both love it. But I can’t imagine hooking my glider trailer to it.

Ramy

Ramy,

My analysis was based on Toyota's published numbers for the RAV4 which are government approved. The mileage and gas price is a national average - look it up. I am a glider pilot and I drive about 6,500 miles per year. If I use your mileage and CA prices the payback period drops to between 2.5 and 12 years, longer if you figure the time-value of money. A hybrid clearly makes more sense if you live in CA and do (a lot of) mostly city driving, but most of us don't. And I haven't had to do a brake job on any of my vehicles in many years.

Tom