But heat costs you in an electric car, in a gas powered car its a by-product,
Quite true. Heat actually costs more in an electric car if it gets its heat from a resistive heater than AC does! The Volt, however, often will start up its generator to make heat for the vehicle (at the same time it's making electricity). There are also non-resistive heat sources used in some EVs, and some do heat recovery from the pack, motor, and inverter (15% waste heat isn't as good as 80% waste heat, but it's not insignificant).