Chevy Volt to cost $41,000 before rebate
A federal tax credit would bring the electric car's price to $33,500. Volt's main rival, the Nissan Leaf, could have a base price of $20,280 for Californians after subsidies. Both go on sale later this year.

The Chevrolet Volt, the first mass-market electric vehicle from General Motors Co., will have a sticker price starting at $41,000 when it hits showrooms later this year.

But government tax credits and rebates designed to speed the entry of electric vehicles into the marketplace will make the price more attractive. There's a federal tax credit of $7,500 for electric vehicles. That lowers the Volt price to $33,500. An earlier report factored in an additional $5,000 credit for Californians, which would have brought the price to $28,500, but GM said the Volt will not be included in the state's special rebate program.

The sticker price of the hybrid Toyota Prius, the current favorite of gasoline misers and eco-drivers, ranges from $22,150 to $28,820, depending on the trim level and equipment.

Chevrolet also plans to offer a lease program on the Volt with a monthly payment as low as $350 for 36 months plus $2,500 due at lease signing. And in a move to reassure potential buyers that they won't have to make a costly battery replacement early in the life of the vehicle, GM is guaranteeing the battery in the Volt for eight years or 100,000 miles.

Chevrolet also plans to offer a lease program on the Volt with a monthly payment as low as $350 for 36 months plus $2,500 due at lease signing. And in a move to reassure potential buyers that they won't have to make a costly battery replacement early in the life of the vehicle, GM is guaranteeing the battery in the Volt for eight years or 100,000 miles.

Here's the problem with electric cars - if you buy a used one, you're looking at a very expensive bill in the near future.

With how much fuel capacity?

So..

What happens to the used batteries?

From there, I'd say gradually rapidly toward hydrogen.

Plugging electric cars into our dirty dirty grid does very little. Or rather it moves polution around.

Baby steps are best, and we are kinda seeing the first step with Flex Fuel.

Electrics aren't the answer.

Electrics aren't the answer.

And instead, large plants have transmission loss issues. How significant they are in comparison isn't my expertise, but let's be fair and fully disclose.

Monte -- so you don't have an issue with keeping coal plants open, then? That's an interesting departure from people I associate you with, if so.