What's the Future for the Plug-in Electric Car? LA Auto Show Offers a Glimpse

We are currently just a few years out to the electric plug-in becoming available to the marketplace and a lot of automotive makers and reviewers are skeptical if these vehicles are really going to be what the consumer wants. Kind of like that all in one electric salad shooter you wanted a few years back. After actually getting it and realizing all the fuss, muss, and clean-up involved with using it, within a week you were back to the standard old fashioned knife and cutting board.

Well, this is what some experts are saying could happen with the plug-in electric vehicle. It might just fizzle out before it even has the chance to make any progress. At last weeks L.A. Automotive show we were able to catch a glimpse of the many vehicles manufacturers have in store for us after 2009, but many of them are still wondering how these vehicles will go over. especially without a very strong infrastructure (charging stations) in place in most areas.

"It's going to be a tough sell," David Champion, director of auto testing for Consumer Reports told Reuters. "People are used to buying their cars and being able to take them anywhere they want. There are a lot of hurdles for electric vehicles."

Sure, if you live in Portland, Oregon, San Francisco Bay, California , or Boulder, Colorado, these areas are fostering programs to initiate charging stations, but many other places will not be quite as friendly towards the electric driver. These stations are critical for the plug-in electrics to work, which is why GM vocalized their efforts to roll out charging stations to many areas they are expecting high sales for their new Volt. Of course the Volt is said to only have a 40 mile capability per charge, which is why it will also have a back-up gasoline tank for emergencies and long trips.

Other manufacturers, such as Nissan, are saying their first generation electrics should have a 100 mile capability per charge, with 200 miles being their goal for their line of second generation plug-in electrics. The electric Mini E, due out this 2009 in very limited quantities, will have a 156 mile capacity per charge, at an $800 a month lease.

To help build popularity among the all electric crowd, manufacturers are pushing the government to offer great incentive cash/credit programs, as well as solve dwindling consumer battery concerns. Nissan is opting to lease their batteries to consumers, so that they may upgrade at a later date without having to take the $3,000 chunk or more out of their bank account to do so.

Whether the monthly cost of the vehicle (the Chevrolet Volt is looking to have a price tag at around $30,000), the battery, and your electric bill will be less than what you are spending now on a gas is still unknown. As Chief Executive for Nissan Motors, Carlos Ghosn, told Reuters, "The reality is today there are zero electric cars on the market." So in other words, we really don't know what to expect, we just know what we hope can happen.

With this update of where the electric plug-in stands as of now, we ask our readers just how many of you actually plan on buying a plug-in electric once they become available? Why or why not?

More on plug-in electric vehicles
Get to Know the Electric C100
Technology of the Lithium Battery - We've Come a Long Way Baby!
World's First Plug-In Electric Car Goes On Sale Next Month -- in China
Hybrid, Plug-In Hybrid, and Extended-Range Electric Car Animated Primer
Source: Reuters: Automakers detail electric car plans at L.A. show