Let's not forget the changing electricity production landscape
@JohnMcGrew - Great point about controlling emissions from a power plant instead of 100,000 tailpipes. I've made that point myself in other forums so it is good to see others recognize that point.
Here in Iowa, the case against EVs because of our traditionally coal-fired electricty grid is weakening. By the end of 2012, the power company reports that 30% of the production will come from the thousands of wind turbines populating the farm landscape. Obviously that is a boon to the clean air crowd.
To be fair, however, the downside of an EV here is the increased load on the battery during the winter months at the same time that battery efficiency is decreased in cold weather. In addition, my auto mechanic told me that it also costs more to repair a hybrid (and presumably an EV) because the equipment to do so is quite expensive and the cost can't be spread among a large number of vehicles.
