Electric Cars in Pacific Palisades

By LENNY MELAMED | Junior Reporter

Have you noticed a growing number of electric cars around Pacific Palisades? This is probably because of the many new electric car options to choose from, such as Tesla, Toyota and Honda.

In the past decade, electric car start-ups have rapidly grown. Tesla has sold about 50,000 Model S cars in nearly two years, according to hybridcars.com. Other companies have not fared so well, such as Fisker and Coda, which both went bankrupt very quickly.

Tesla recently announced the Model D, an all-wheel drive Tesla, with two motors and autopilot that has added power (691 horsepower) and will cost more than the Model S. The Tesla is a pricy car that ranges from about $73,000 to $118,500 – so will the rest of the public be able to purchase a Tesla? The answer is probably yes.

Tesla proposed a smaller, cheaper and more affordable sedan. This car with a price tag of around $35,000 available sometime in 2017 will have a range of about 200 miles. This car will be better for the rest of the public as Tesla has taken the price of its cars down over the years.

The question is if there are so many electric cars, what do people think of them? I asked Peter Trepp, a car buff in Pacific Palisades who has a classic Porsche, a Range Rover sport and has been in many newspapers for his exotic electric cars.

Trepp now has a BMW i3, which is a small, futuristic, all-electric sedan that ranges from $41,000 to $55,000.

When asked if he prefers electric over gas cars, and if he would consider a gas electric hybrid over his i3, Trepp responded by saying that he would prefer a full electric car over a hybrid because he would not have to buy any gas at all. Electricity costs much less than gas, plus he would get some free power by solar panels on his roof.

Clearly, Peter Trepp loves electric cars, but is an electric car for you? Although as of now many gas-powered cars can go farther on one tank than one charge, technology is improving. So, will your next car run by electricity or gasoline?