It's a chicken vs egg situation, initially. If the infrastructure is not there, people won't buy and drive EVs. Infrastructure is catching up, too - PSU and PGE just opened up Electric Avenue, which features a number of different types of charging stations on SW Montgomery.

EVs that are priced lower than the LEAF are coming soon, too. Tthe Mitsubishi i will be available in Oregon later this year and is a more value-oriented car, and Ford, Smart, and GM will have electric cars coming onto the market soon, so competition should drive prices down a bit.

Also, GM killed the user fee last session, so that rate is a non-starter. The Road User Fee Task Force begins meeting in October to try to determine a rate that's acceptable to manufacturers, drivers, and the state.

For more info, check out the Citizens' Utility Board of Oregon's blog:

http://oregoncub.org/news/posts/electric-vehicles-continue-to-emerge-in-oregon

Sales have not lagged because of lack of demand, they've lagged because of production delays.

Electric cars are perfectly feasible for any family with 2 cars, and viable for 90% of the rest - how often *do* you drive more than 75 miles in a day? The difference between $0.02/mile electricity and $0.15/mile ($3.75/gal in a 25mpg car) will pay for the occasional car rental.

For anyone in the market for a new mid-range car, the only reason not to get an EV is that you'd have to get on a waiting list to get one.

Mileage fees are reasonable, but have a lot of issues, and there won't be enough EVs on the road to make a difference in either road wear or in mileage income for several years, so the problem doesn't bear rushing into. A good solution should be worked out, not something half-cocked...