Affordable electric cars are on their way.  GM is looking to bring the well received Chevy Volt concept car to market by 2010.  Here's a look at it and other electric vehicle news.

The ZAP-X Electric Crossover - 155mph, 644 bhp, AWD, 10 minute recharge, 350 Mile Range

from Automotive (1095 articles)

February 2, 2007 In a marriage seemingly well matched, electric automobile pioneer ZAP has chosen Lotus Engineering’s platform and body structure design as the basis for the development of the high performance electric ZAP-X. The car is based on the advanced APX (Aluminium Performance Crossover ) concept car and will be shown for the first time at the North American Dealers Association (NADA) exhibition which opens tomorrow (February 3). A combination of the lightweight aluminium vehicle architecture, a new efficient drive and advanced battery management systems is intended to enable a range of up to 350 miles between charges, with a rapid 10-minute recharging time. An auxiliary power unit is planned to support longer distance journeys. The good news for sports enthusiasts is the performance courtesy of a killer power-to- weight ratio. - four in-hub electric motors, deliver 161 bhp apiece, which add together for 644 horsepower in all wheel drive mode, and capable of powering the ZAP-X to a top speed of 155mph.

Link

This is rampant speculation on my part, but I've put a few facts together and they seem to add up.  

Bush has signed an ethanol agreement with Brazil. Bush has encouraged Congress to mandate a fivefold increase in ethanol usage.  The Bush ranch in Paraguay, so far as I have been able to learn, is suitable for sugarcane farming.  

This is in response to an earlier diary, Is GM this freaking stupid?: Lamenting the fall of Saturn.

The diary hits on a misleading but oft-repeated meme - the mileage of new vehicles is being sacrificed for horsepower.  To some extent this is true -  new cars do tend to have more horsepower - but that's only one side of the story.

New cars are also loaded down with the weight of extra safety features and amenities that consumers dictated through past purchases.

This is a diary about changing the public's perception of hybrid vehicles.  I believe the future of the automobile, barring a revolution in batteries, is going to be the series hybrid layout - using an internal combustion engine as an electrical generator to provide power to electric motors driving the wheels. In short, series hybrid is more efficient because the internal combustion engine (I.C.E.) can be optimized to run at one speed, meaning it can extract the maximum amount of power from its fuel.

Unfortunately hybrids are currently thought of as weeny economy cars.  They are only cool within a small circle of liberal or environmental types (which I am, but that's beside the point).  In order to gain widespread acceptance, they need an image makeover.

If I were wealthy, I'd do this myself, but I'm not.  So I'm going to try to pitch this in a way that will catch the imagination of someone who is.