Okay, this is more not being able to sleep than anything to do with programming, but I'm surprised both by Chevy's new electric don't-call-it-a-hybrid vehicle and the lack of anyone explaining why the following setup is a very good idea for carmakers:

The second group [of which the Chevy Volt is one] comprises vehicles that have no ICE [internal combustion engine] mechanically connected to the wheels. E-Flex falls into the latter category.

Quite simply, all that you need between the engine and the rest of the car in this set-up is a wire from your oversized alternator. No transmission, no separate driveshaft, nothing. Getting rid of the ICE to driveshaft connection has to save car makers tons of dough when it comes to creating new vehicles.

This really is a pretty neat car, were it affordable. You even plug directly into your wall. No fancy charging station.

My biggest fear is pretty irrational, but I still wonder how difficult it'll be to be a shade tree mechanic on these EVs. Rebuilding a carb is one thing; cracking open fancy smancy battery cases is quite another.

Still, I've been wondering what I'll be looking back on with wonder when I'm 80, like The Greatest Generation (no bias there) and radio/TV/Internet. I'm beginning to think it's going to be the end of filling stations. In 30 years, we'll be putting weapons-grade plutonium into our tanks from our garages, figuratively speaking, cars won't be louder than large fans, we'll no longer be shifting gears, and we'll be driving from place to place without stopping. Heck, we'll probably perfect wireless recharging by 2037, won't plug a thing to our cars, and will cross-country it without so much as a hint of a pause or CO. The only stops will be for the humans to reload, and when they get tired, well, they'll sleep because they aren't the ones driving.

Face it, *that's* a big change, and a bit more likely than us all living in cyberspace.

Okay okay -- I wonder how many processors this thing requires, and what they're keeping track of. There're your 0s and 1s for the morning.