Changing Attitudes towards EVs

The desire for EVs is growing. Will the system deliver (cars, charging stations, finance etc.)?
A huge unknown is the price of gas at the pump. The price is too low (3$+) right now. There could be a blowback if the savings are not appropriate for the price and convenience premium that is paid.

Are US drivers beginning to get switched on to electric cars?

# Roughly 10% of the survey participants said they would consider a plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle purchase.
# 34% of survey participants said they would subsidize local charging stations.
# Public awareness of emerging powertrain technologies remains weak across the US.
# Not many consumers are willing to embrace the new technology prior to it being well-established in the market.
# No other plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle incentive or benefit is considered nearly as important as saving money on fuel.
# Among several considerations, access to charging stations, battery driving range and vehicle cost are by far the three most significant consumer concerns.

A skeptical take from LA Times:

Do consumers want alternative fuel vehicles? Maybe not, new study says

"If government and manufacturers go down the path they’re on now, we’re not going to get alternative-fuel vehicles into the marketplace for quite some time," said Rosanna Garcia, an associate professor of marketing at Northeastern University who surveyed more than 7,500 car enthusiasts to gauge their interest in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric and diesel cars.

Garcia cited a lack of cost effectiveness, uncertainty about fuel availability, uncertainty about the cost of the vehicle and replacement parts and a lack of understanding about how the technologies work as obstacles to greater adoption of alternative-fuel vehicles, which currently account for less than 4% of registered vehicles in the U.S.
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The main barriers to entry? For electric vehicles, it was price, coupled with insufficient range. Garcia’s study found that consumers were willing to pay as much as $70,000 for an EV, but they wanted a minimum of 110 miles per charge.

For consumers considering a gas-electric hybrid, fuel efficiency was most important. Cost was secondary. For such a hybrid, consumers were, on average, only willing to pay up to $30,000, as long as they got about 40 miles per gallon.