[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by island911

Thats just it ...cost will keep electric cars at a premium price. Batteries are just too expensive. and, they still require energy to be produced .

Think of it this way... A battery is just a (very) expensive fuel tank.

Don't be so sure, economies of scale can be very powerful. It's why my in-laws new $900 plasma TV would have been $4000 a few years ago. Widespread use of electric cars would significantly reduce the cost of batteries, motors, solar cells, etc. Really the biggest obstacle is the technology, current batteries are too heavy and don't have enough capacity, solar cells don't create enough power, and the charging infrastructure doesn't exist. Personally I think the future lies in fuel cells powering an electric motor, possibly powered by hydrogen. Honda's FCX Clarity uses this technology and supposedly works quite well. Another advantage is the ability to create hydrogen at your home. Still lots of obstacles with this technology, but it's promising. Also, lest we forget, electric motors produce 100% of their torque instantly.