President  Barack Obama has a goal of 1 million electric cars on America's  highways by the year 2015. With the push of the Administration and all  the hoopla over green energy, one would think this should be an easy  goal to obtained. But not so according to a new report from the Indiana  University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The study makes  that goal unlikely to be met any time soon.

Sure  there are some drivers in cities such as San Jose, San Francisco,  Chicago and Boston ready to jump on the plug-and-drive car bandwagon,  but those are the exceptions. Drivers in cities such as Indianapolis,  Detroit and Nashville are less open to the idea of the expensive, but  energy-saving automobiles.

The  President has touted, for example, the Chevrolet Volt. In fact US  embassies around the world have replaced their fleet of official  vehicles with the Volt. The President remarked he may buy a Volt once he  leaves the White House. But consumers are not so enthused.

Cost  seems to be a major stumbling block for Americans concerned with the  limited size of their wallets. Another factor that is keeping drivers  from rushing to the showroom to pick out an electric car is the short  range of miles before a recharge is needed. Then there's the lack of  charging stations. Hybrids, with a backup gasoline tank, are more  favored.

Should there be such a big push on the electric vehicles?

You can read more about the study by going to: http://insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=57237

The full IU study with the cities surveyed can be read at: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/23610.html

From  the Cornfield, I know our environmentalists friends say it should not  matter, but the economics is a factor. Until the cost can be brought  down and the driving range expanded, I doubt there will be a big demand  for the plug-and-drive vehicles any time soon.