“None of us is getting paid for this. We’re standing there because we think it’s a better way to go,” she said. “How much do you have to believe in this technology to stand around for four hours and let people climb in and out of your car?”
The owners want to dispel misconceptions about electric vehicles, and differentiate them from hybrids that run on a battery charged by a combustion engine.
“People really don’t understand that it does not take gasoline. They think there’s a gas tank, that it has a regular engine,” Ceravolo said. “I think people don’t realize how much less it costs to drive and maintain an electric vehicle. There are so many fewer parts that there’s almost no maintenance other than tires and windshield wipers.”
Perusing the display is the easy part. Taking advantage of Inflation Reduction Act incentives requires serious homework. The act extended a $7,500 tax credit for purchase of new electric vehicles through 2032. Buyers of used electric vehicles can get a credit for 30 percent of the purchase price up to $4,000 starting Jan. 1.
Not every EV is eligible, however. The website fueleconomy.gov lists the ones that probably are. The hitch: Only models that undergo final assembly in North America get the tax credit. Even models on the list might be assembled in several locations.
To find out for sure if a car you’re considering is eligible for the credit, you have to look up the vehicle identification number online at www.nhtsa.gov/vin-decoder. The “Plant Information” field at the bottom of the page says where the car was built.
The credit phases out for models when 200,000 have been sold, as explained on the Internal Revenue Service website. That means that some popular cars aren’t eligible for the rest of the year, including the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and several Tesla models.
Beginning in 2024, high earners (single filers making more than $150,000, couples making more than $300,000) buying high-priced EVs (cars more than $55,000 and trucks more than $80,000) won’t be eligible for the tax credit.
But the tax credit is only part of the calculation. Ceravolo, who charges her EVs at home, figures that she can drive 100 miles on $2.30.
“They’re fun to drive and inexpensive once you own them,” Ceravolo said.
If You Go
What: Vancouver Peace and Justice Fair.
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, with electric vehicles on display 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Esther Short Park, Columbia and West Eighth streets, Vancouver.
Admission: Free.
Information: vancouverpeaceandjusticefair.org
