Hm, let's see, my commute is 50 miles each way for 100 miles per day. One charge at 40 miles plus one gallon of gas for 60 miles. 20 days per month so 20 charges plus 20 gallons. One gallon is now about $2.50. One charge appears from your math to be 15kW @ let's say 12 cents per kW is $1.80. So total cost per month is $86.

Now, if I didn't use electricity and ran it gas only, it would be 2000 miles divided by 60 miles per gallon times $2.50 per gallon or $83.33.

Conclusion - electricity is more expensive than gasoline?

Eh, should have reached that sooner, was comparing 40miles on one charge versus 2/3rds of a gallon, or $1.67. So the Volt will only break even if electricity costs $0.11/kW. Now factor in this thing is probably going to cost $10,000 more than say a Corolla, factor that into let's be generous and say a 10 year life span (36,000kW used so $0.27 additional cost per kilowatt) of usage so you really have to beat -$0.16/kW, i.e. someone has to pay you 16 cents per kilowatt you use for you to break even on buying the car.

So your math on the electrical usage must be flawed or even the national media would have laughed hybrids off the market.

Conversely, right now I'm getting 30mpg with my Corolla (probably actually more like 31-32), so that 2000 miles costs me $166.67.

Screw the expensive electrical systems in that case where the car is going to cost $40,000, just give me the *bleeping* 60mpg new car at $17,000 (what I paid for my Corolla). That saves me $83.33 per month, which is decent but not earth shattering. On that basis I could pay $10,000 more for the car and break even over 10 years. If I said $50 savings a month was a no-brainer purchase (ALL other costs equivalent, i.e. maintenance costs), then I'd be willing to pay an additional $4,000 for a car that gave me 60mpg. Ho ho, that's a total cost of $4,000, which includes interest over 5 years, so I'm really only willing to pay probably another what, $3,200?