New Jersey Realtor Jeffrey Kaffee couldn’t care less about gouging gas prices at the pump — he’s bought only 8 gallons since December for his fuel-stingy ride.
“I love it. It’s fabulous,” Kaffee exclaimed about his Chevy Volt, General Motors’ first plug-in electric car.
The 68-year-old former airline pilot is the first US driver to own the eco-friendly hybrid, unshocked by its $43,000 sticker price.
“It’s worth every penny,” he said.
Every evening Kaffee plugs his beloved four-seat, silver-and-black hatchback into an ordinary electric wall socket in his garage in Parsippany and recharges it over eight hours for about $1.40 in electricity.
The little spitfire can accelerate to 60 mph in nine seconds.
The downside: The lithium-iron battery pack doesn’t get much mileage. In cold weather the 145-horsepower engine averages about 29 to 38 miles per charge. In warmer temperatures it will last about 40 miles.
When the battery is depleted the car automatically shifts to gasoline.