[samtheman]

There are a lot of advantages to an electric car. We have an almost unlimited amount of natural gas to use to produce electricity if we only would. I drive less than 20 miles back & forth to work, so that would last me ten days. I would be a little nervous about taking long road trips, but around town they would be good.

We spend more money subsidizing ethanol which costs more money and energy to produce than it produces. It also shortens the life of engines.

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Good points. Except there is the issue of the battery. What is the true cost of a vehicle that requires a battery replacement as a major expense a few years down the road?

[Smittie]

Good points. Except there is the issue of the battery. What is the true cost of a vehicle that requires a battery replacement as a major expense a few years down the road?

Yeah that's still an issue, hopefully they'll get better & less expensive. I'm hoping the hydrogen car can be perfected and we can use water to fill up with, but I don't think "they" would ever let that hit the road...

[RegulatorCountry]

Battery life has been better than expected in some early hybrids, the ability to hold a charge decreases over time but outright failure or diminished capacity to the point of being unusable has not been all that common. Generally speaking, the car itself is ready for the junk heap by the time the batteries are shot. Whether or not this has any bearing on a pure electric vehicle or not might be another matter, since range depletion is an issue there whereas it’s not for a hybrid.