And now for something completely different

Quite a long article on all-electric cars in the September issue of WIRED; well worth the read. I have the magazine version and read it twice- I was so encouraged by it. Basically the article is arguing that we can have electric cars tomorrow if we want- all the technology is there. Main elements of these revolutionary ideas are:
1. You lease the batteries so don't have to worry about the expensive purchase/replacement costs.
2. You have charging stations at home, at work, at the mall etc
3. If you can't make it to your destination on your charge then you drive into a battery exchange station (think gas station) and get your batteries changed for a fully charged one in 5 minutes.
4. It would cost 1/3 as much as gas.
5. You can keep your damn SUV if that's what you really want.

http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-0...

Excerpt:
Agassi dealt with the battery issue by simply swatting it away. Previous approaches relied on a traditional manufacturing formula: We make the cars, you buy them. Agassi reimagined the entire automotive ecosystem by proposing a new concept he called the Electric Recharge Grid Operator. It was an unorthodox mashup of the automotive and mobile phone industries. Instead of gas stations on every corner, the ERGO would blanket a country with a network of "smart" charge spots. Drivers could plug in anywhere, anytime, and would subscribe to a specific plan—unlimited miles, a maximum number of miles each month, or pay as you go—all for less than the equivalent cost for gas. They'd buy their car from the operator, who would offer steep discounts, perhaps even give the cars away. The profit would come from selling electricity—the minutes.

There would be plugs in homes, offices, shopping malls. And when customers couldn't wait to "fill up," they'd go to battery exchange stations where they would pull into car-wash-like sheds, and in a few minutes, a hydraulic lift would swap the depleted battery with a fresh one. Drivers wouldn't pay a penny extra: The ERGO would own the battery.
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By early summer 2008, Agassi had two countries ready to roll out the plan, a major automaker producing the cars, and $200 million in committed capital. He had launched the fifth-largest startup of all time in less than a year.




Interesting though that we don't hear too much about this in the USA. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.