Well, I've got a 2011 Nissan leaf in the UK -- and I've just about completed 32,000 miles :)

Roy -
I think you misunderstood me. I'm a hardened EV journalist and I really do want EVs to succeed. And I'm not perpetuating the gas-station myth either. I've owned four EVs and I always charge at home for a full charge every day.
However, given the number of folks I passed on the freeway yesterday who had run out of gas there will be folks who aren't organized enough to remember to fill up!
My point was that many consumers who don't know EVs will panic (psudo range anxiety) if there's nowhere they can charge up away from home. And you're right, charging will take place at malls, etc.
I meant the familiarity of knowing there's somewhere to fill up - not the actual literal experience of pumping gas! ;) Hope that clears it up. My bad!

Absolutetly! I'm a biker at heart (in case you didn't already know) and I think the electric bikes hitting the market right now have done more for electric vehicles than many of the cars out there!
And ulinke many car drivers, motorcyclists seem to get the electirc motorbike more than folks get the electric car.

What really shocks me DC, is that you can say the lithium ion pack is useless before you've even seen the technical specifications! Don't forget that the battery pack in the Tesla Roadster is an impressive thing and capable of huge range.

Thanks Steve,
Now ammended. Thanks for the info, Steve. That's the risk when you've not driven it - you get the name wrong!

I do appologize for the spelling error. What can I say? We are all human.
Nikki.

Gary -
I'm not trashing conversion companies out of hand. As I said, there are a few good companies if you've got the large amount of cash they need. But for most consumers, professiona. conversions are impractical, costly and often lacking the refinement of a factory-built EV.
I'm a fan of DIY conversions. I've done two myself...
Regards
Nikki.

Actually, EV enthusiast, it's commonly regarded within both the industry and the EV world that the Volt is a plug in electric vehicle with a range-extended engine which ONLY drives a generator. That still classes it as an EV. It can be used as an EV provided only 40 miles between charges are observed.
As I said in the article, hybrids require the engine to run at some point - even plug in hybrids, to provide extra motive force from the engine.
You could run the Volt without gas in the tank and it would function with wall-charging. Most plug in Hybrids won't.

Stan - Absolutely. I personally prefer the pure EV model as it's something I'm comfortable with. However, many consumers aren't ready to make that jump yet. And if the only way they'll drive electric is with a gas backup (at least initially) then the Volt is a good way to get them hooked on EVs.

Thanks for all the comments. I'd like to just point out that this post wasn't intended to offend but to entertain. As a user of Macs, PCs and Linux (Yes, all three) it was a tounge-in cheek article intended as a light-hearted Friday read.
RSB - most Leaf drivers will find that the range of the vehicle is well within the daily requirements they have of the car. It's also one of the reasons why Nissan are being so careful to question perspective owners before purchase.