answer:what’s interesting is that battery tech has BEEN around for a while. at least for the past 6 or 7 years.. GM killed the project because they mistakenly thought that there wasn’t a demand for them.. then the Prius took off, and all the other companies ended up miles ahead of GM.. but they were okay because on the same day that the electric car project ended.. HUMMERS went online, which is obviously the opposite direction from electric. as for the present and beyond.. i think that there’s some hope, but a l ot of people are blinded at the moment by the myth of Ethanol (better for emissions, yes, but really a big joke on the grand scale of “good” environmental practices). Furthermore, there’s a ton of money being pushed into ethanol what w/ the untouchable farm bill, which means more advertising that electric cars will have to compete against.. just quick thoughts, though.. :)