Rodney

They've been around for a while. The cars actually drive -- I've seen demo video, including one with a journalist driving it and reporting on it -- but range is the real issue. Whenever asked when the cars will be ready for release, the date is always "next year," and it's been "next year" for the past three years now. I suspect that they can't actually yet do anything like 50 miles in range, and some believe they'll never be able to. In the meantime, they raise money by franchising out manufacturing rights to entrepreuners in different countries.

But as you say, tecoyah, it's always good to keep thinking about alternatives. In my town, electric motor scooters are becoming more popular, because a lot of people commute less than ten miles and the weather's generally good. You can buy a street-legal electric scooter here (the eGo is the popular model) for about $600 (after a $300 subsidy that the county gives to electric bicycles), and they do about 20 mph, have a range of 25 miles per hour, and can haul a fair amount of cargo. And they're fully charged on 15 cents of electricity. The official eGo dealer around here (he's got an alternative energy shop) says he's sold 60 in the last six months.

The eGo is not a technological breakthrough, but it's a very practical package of features. It gives the single short-haul commuter a convenient and very low-cost alternative to the car with most of the advantages of a car. And it's more energy-efficient in a lot of ways, not the least because you don't have to expend the energy needed to move 2000 pounds of metal along with your bod.