The moment that gas prices go back to 4 or 5 bucks a gallon people are going to ask that one person in their neighborhood "Hey, how much does it cost to run that thing?".

The paradigm will change quickly.

People need to remember that the first combustion engine cars were crap.

PS. Given how utility bills are often subject to creative accounting, I imagine some construction companies are salivating at the thought of installing charging stations in apartment complex parking lots.

GM may end up suffering from the same thing as Hyundai and Kia: a reputation for poor quality that takes on a life of its own.

I'm saying that for many people the old reputation is what sticks in their heads. Look at D.L. Barch at The Marmot's Hole and his regular digs — apparently based on his current views — at Korean cars. The dude is partying like it's 1989.

And that's a lot of people. I was thinking about this the other day: I think a lot of Southerners in the Georgia and Alabama area might start buying Hyundais and Kias out of pride, since those two automakers are making a big deal out of providing jobs to the area. That is going to seriously compensate for lingering bias against Hyundai and Kia, assuming quality stays high.

But the rest of America, it might take a little longer. I read a lot of stuff on the Hyundai Genesis, and it was a mixture of "wow, that's a nice car" and "come on, it's a HyunDIE!"

I haven't been in the market lately for a vehicle (I have a used car here in Hawaii that I plan to keep driving as long as I'm in school, while in Korea I've already decided to buy an LPG-hybrid [iLPG?] SUV or minivan from Kia for my next vehicle), so I haven't had need to check out some of the claims, but Buick and some other other makes are making some quality claims and backing them up.

IOW, I think the days of assuming GM is crap are over. Chrysler, I'm not so sure about. Several family members bought Chrysler minivans that seemed to crap out in unison, as if they were telepathically communicating with each other. I'd look at a Ford, though.

And of course for individuals (who typically only have access to their own car), it is impractical if they expect to make out-of-town trips.

On Oahu, of course, where you wouldn't drive 100 miles a day anyway (unless you're going back and forth between two points multiple times), there would be no problem with a car like this. In fact, a Prius driver told me that a Prius in Honolulu is not a good idea because it needs to be driven beyond a certain amount or you run the risk of battery drain.