General Motors is preparing to unveil its first all-electric car since the EV1. And speculation is growing about the breakthrough battery company that GM has invested in. Are 300-mile, $20,000 EVs in our near future?

The highway lobby tells Congress what to do, but that doesn't stop critics from accusing environmentalists, urban planners and rail advocates of ruining the country and hating the all-American automobile.

Americans are holding on to their old cars, both because of financial pressures and because 150,000 miles is a reasonable expectation. Want another factor? Automakers aren't changing styling every year.

There you are, yakking on your cellphone while I sit fuming at a green light one car behind. And that's just one of many things that you, the American driver, has done to me.