Electric cars are cool - but only for celebrities at $850 a month

The Mini-E has room for two, it's got a range of 156 miles and BMW says its 35-kWh lithium-ion battery can charge in as little as two hours through a "wallbox" that boosts the amperage of a household electrical outlet (eight hours is more likely from a typical outlet.).

NVDL: Electric cars are not really the answer. It is still a perpetuation of motoring, and it isn't ACTUALLY cleaner technology, because coal is burned to make the electricity, which is even dirtier. Also, batteries are expensive and have to be replaced after about 2 years. So this is a Phantom investment. Rail is better. We need an alternative to people driving cars or flying in planes or otherwise consuming, per capita, unsustainable amounts of energy.

You cannot beat the efficiency of a bicycle in terms of one person transports.

clipped from blog.wired.com LOS ANGELES — The only thing surprising about the full-electric Mini-E that BMW unveiled weeks after we'd already shown it to you is how much it'll cost to put one in your driveway — $850 a month. Leasing the Mini-E is little more than a real-world R&D program for BMW, which says it will use real-world drivers to further develop the EV with an eye toward production. Even at $850 a month, "they'll probably lease every one they offer," Aaron Bragman, an industry analyst with IHS Global Insight, told Wired.com. "It's as much about real-world testing as it is showing off. It's probably got a production future, simply because BMW needs it to meet the more stringent CAFE and emissions standards."