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Chevy Volt - 230 mpg Yeah right
There was a big fuss in the media up here a while back, all because an electric car made near here is a success, but you can't take one for a test drive out the door of the factory it's made in, That's because it's not legal to drive them on the road here in Canada yet.
We don't have an equivalent to the NEV that exists south of the border.
In a strange twist of fate though, it's legal to operate a moped, or an electric bicycle on the public streets though.
When it was in the news we were discussing it over coffee one morning, myself (an engineer) and a retired electrical engineer from the electrical utility in our area were crunching the numbers.
We figured that in the end, all the inefficiencies lumped together meant that it actually polluted more than several diesel cars did.
The other issue is that they are already threatening rolling brown-outs and black-outs on hot days because there isn't enough electricity to go around now.
The manufacturers also have two big obstacles to overcome in order to gain consumer acceptance of these purely electric-powered vehicles.
The first is that a purely electric vehicle has no adequate means of producing cabin heat. They can make some heat, but I suspect it's nowhere near enough to overcome the cold the north sees for a good part of the year.
Secondly, and another biggy, if they make marginal power just to move the vehicle, there is no allowance for 'wasted' power to run things like A/C either.
I just couldn't imagine driving in most urban environments and being stuck in a traffic jam in an e-Car with no A/C on a sweltering hot day and not having any A/C.
My two cents worth.
Best of luck.
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Chevy Volt - 230 mpg Yeah right
It may have changed, I know they are 'pending' approval in BC, and in Quebec I think there is a pilot project allowing them to be used in 'select urban areas' and (I think) only on streets with a 50 km/h (35mph) or less speed limit.
The vehicle itself is electronically limited to a maximum of 40 km/h (25 mph) anyways.
The reality of it is, vehicles like the diesel Smart have an overall cost per mile of travel that is lower than the electrics. The batteries are the stumbling block as Ken pointed out.
Personally, I think you will see CNG (compressed natural gas) as a common fuel long before electric.
Best of luck.
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Chevy Volt - 230 mpg Yeah right
IMHO biodiesel will be the same boondoggle that Ethanol is today.
Instead of using common-sense sources the Goober-mint will buckle to political lobby pressure and continue to allow the use (and domination of the industry) of Soybean oil.
Just like as has happened with corn and Ethanol, so too will the soybean / biodiesel situation cause global price spikes and waste of valuable crops and land.
Oh well.
Best of luck.
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Chevy Volt - 230 mpg Yeah right
Frank, you made my day buddy!!! 
Actually UPS (the people with the brown trucks  ) have spent a bunch of money to develop a very high tech 'rubber band'.
When the driver steps on the 'brakes' a hydraulic pump/motor connected to the drive line creates load by charging what is basically a huge pair of scuba tanks beneath the truck. Then when the driver needs to pull away from a stop, the charged tank then creates pressure that spins the pump/motor making the truck pull away and start rolling.
UPS feels that between the savings in brakes and fuel (the new trucks will have much smaller engines since they will be needed for 'cruise' only, not acceleration) on a fleet of their size it's worth the money in R & D.
Best of luck.
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