A massive shift in public opinion about electric cars is just a year or two away. In 2012, maybe 2013, the automotive industry will experience “an EV Spring,” predicts Tony Posawatz, father of the Chevy Volt.

The revolution is coming, most likely next year when enough electric cars are on the road to cause a massive change in public opinion.

Mass conversion to electric is inevitable, Posawatz says. It’s simple mathematics based on the price and limited quantities of oil available. But right now the problem with factory-built electric cars, is that they are still too expensive for the average consumer.

Early owners of the plug-in Nissan Leaf are claiming that, “total cost of ownership is the same or less” than a conventional car, according to Mark Perry, director of product planning and strategy for Nissan America.
Which is why Nissan-Renault has placed a $4.5-billion bet on the future by building bricks and mortar capacity for 550,000 EV units a year.

Posawatz, GM’s promoter of all things electric, believes the revolution will come when a critical number of drivers reach their “aha! moment.” That’s when they realize an EV will work for them, not just the neighbour or green-freak across the street.

Still, fewer than 10,000 Chevy Volts have sold due to a lack of availability and high price. “But we have in our customer base … fanatics” who are so head-overheels in love with avoiding gas stations with their Volts, you can hardly shut them up.

Some consumers call their EVs the best vehicle they’ve ever owned, and some couples even fight over who gets to use it in the morning. The problem remains however, that they’re still expensive vehicles.

Naturally, like any new technology, the price will fall with time. But, as the price of gasoline gets out of control, people are starting to realise the freedom of a gasoline powered vehicle comes at a cost – quite literally.

The interim solution for those on a budget? Easy: Why not tackle a “Do it yourself” electric car conversion, where you remove the engine from a gasoline powered car, and replace it with an electric motor and batteries. It’s not complicated, and can be performed with a standard tool kit, however you should set aside quite a few weekends for it.

Realistically, a neck-snappingly fast, long-range conversion will set you back around $15,000 if you plan on using new parts and lithium batteries. For those on a budget, a conversion can easily be acheived for half that price. It all depends on how far, and how fast you want to be travelling. For more information, download this.

For the meanwhile, we’d better get used to paying for gas. It’s going to be at least a decade before this new wave of factory-built electric cars comes down to a price the average person can afford. That’s ten long years of shelling out $60 a week in gasoline.

The death of the expensive internal combustion era can’t come soon enough.