Pump prices for gasoline may be lower compared with a year ago, but battery power remains a popular alternative to internal-combustion engines.
It doesn't come cheap, though.
As carmakers strive to find a replacement for fossil fuel that is efficient, economical and acceptable to consumers, they continue to develop technology to fill the gap between the reality of today and the hope for tomorrow.
A number of new, as well as redesigned hybrid-electric vehicles, or HEVs, from General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Lexus and more are arriving in showrooms, sparking a fresh look at battery power as the most likely viable alternative to gasoline-fueled transportation.