Do you not think that to promote electric cars there needs to be a change in the law so that some electric vehicles could incorporate a small engine without running into all the legislative problems of being classed as a motor vehicle with an engine? A small engine similar to that used on garden machinery or model aircraft or smaller capacity motorbikes could transform the usefulness of electric vehicles, as they could provide a means of getting back home, should the battery run out. They could also be used to charge the battery when running to increase range, using very little fuel they would still be much more eco friendly than your average car. This would also mean that battery technology development would be accelerated and eventually all cars could have a hybrid function. At the moment it is very inefficient in any car to carry round a heavy battery, starter motor, alternator etc, that is only used for starting the engine. If all cars had a mile or so range off a battery or even just a hundred yards or so then this would be invaluable in allowing quieter smoother starting and there would be less initial wear on the engine. Anyone with a 125 cc motorbike will know how smooth a bump start can be compared to a starter motor. Short distances could be done on a battery, again saving the engine from running below optimum temperature and in sensitive areas where fumes accumulate, engines could be switched off for a few minutes or so but forward momentum maintained. A good battery system might also be useful for powering the engines turbo or other components, making them more fuel efficient as so many cars spend so much of their life running before they have reached optimum operating temperatures, a short range of electric power could save a lot of fuel. Hybrid has to be the best stepping stone towards cleaner systems but the law needs to be changed to allow a hybrid with a small engine to have comparable legislative advantages to an all-electric car.