Today, GM unveiled the production version of the Chevrolet "Volt". This is an electric car, which includes a small gasoline engine to recharge the battery and extend mileage to beyond the 40 it would otherwise be limited to. The car is intended for sale sometime late 2010.
There should be more changes coming, but they will not be immediate. Consider the possibility of a very light weight automobile, possibly of carbon fiber laminate. Never rusts, never ages. Consider that it includes a "drop in" power plant. It could be gasoline or hybrid or electric or compressed natural gas or hydrogen.
A vehicle of this type could last for decades. Instead of taking it to the junker after 8 years, a new power plant could be installed. Perhaps we wouldn't own such a vehicle, perhaps we would "lease it" as GM did with the EV1, the controversial electric car that they produced from 1996 to 2003.
I'd love to get my hands on such a vehicle. The question is, who will be the one to produce it? Such a vehicle would require complete retooling of the automative factory. For that reason, I don't think it will happen from mainstream automotive manufacturers who have too much invested in their existing manufacturing technology. But I could be wrong.
I am of the opinion that someday such a vehicle will be produced, and in large numbers.
Reference article on the "EV1":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1
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