I really don’t understand why all the EVs and most of the hybrids are tiny little cars. If we want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and help the environment, the biggest change would be seen by increasing the fuel economy on the vehicles that use the most fuel! Just convert MPG for a ford to gal/100 mi (or L/100 km). Going from 15-30mpg (i.e. from 6.67gal/100 mi to 3.33 gal/100 mi) is a bigger absolute fuel savings than going from 30-300mpg (i.e. 3.33 gal/100 mi to 0.33 gal/100 mi). Sure, 300mpg sounds impressive, but you’re saving less actual gas. Multiply the savings in gas on the former by the fact that the F-series is the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., and you’re talking about a real impact.

As far as range, a lot of people don’t go very far in work trucks and I’m sure many could have access to plug up while they’re at a job. Now that rapid-charges have gotten down to anywhere from 10-30 min, I agree with Rodger’s post above that restaurants could capitalize on that for longer trips with 30 min wait times. The 10 min wait times I’ve seen for other vehicles are not that bad to wait even if one wasn’t planning on stopping for food. To pay electric rates vs. gas–that’d be worth the wait. It costs ~$100 right now to fill up a full-size tank in an F-series. I wouldn’t imagine the actual electricity costing more than ~$5 (guess)–with 100$ profit, that’d be $10.

As far as mass production, I find it very suspect that Mitsubishi can fit everything they need into the iMiev for ~$30k and Ford couldn’t fit it into a full-size truck for “reasonable prices.” A fully loaded King Ranch or Limited goes in the $50s. Given that gas on a vehicle like that costs $4-5k/yr, I could easily see someone paying an extra $10k for a plug-in electric and maybe 5k for double fuel mileage on a hybrid.

High battery costs and long charging times hinder acceptance. A range-extended serial hybrid setup can provide greatly needed flexibility.

Until there’s a hydrogen infrastructure in place, fuel cell vehicles will never be built in large numbers.

Ford & GM are morons for not having done this years ago – designed in from the beginning.

For the enthusiast, one solution to this might be to have an intermediary company place an order (and the bet) on a significant number of motors, with the goal of making complete kits available to the general public.

It’s my hope that we’ll begin to see opportunities like these present themselves in the coming months. As I walked the SEMA show floors a few weeks back, I thought how it seemed odd that there was a huge disconnect between what needs to be done and what’s currently available. The parts are out there. They just need to be integrated and marketed.

With luck, I’ll find some answers at the Electric Drive Transportation Association’s (EDTA) Powering Sustainable Transportation Conference the first week of December …