It is cheaper to buy a US Prius, convert it to plug-in, and import it into Canada than it is to buy a regular Prius from a local dealer.

Changes in the exchange rate make this possible.

Modern petrol and Diesel engines are getting lighter and lighter,

however they are now approaching maximum efficiency given the medium

and the design cycle is slow and expensive. Improvements are now

calculated in percentage points per decade.

Li+ batteries are still on the high side of the price/weight curve for

energy density, but you are right, this is dropping quickly, not

quite at Moore’s law rates but close enough to qualify. Battery

technology is improving at rates that are more in line with

information technology than with mechanical engineering. It doesn’t

matter if the cycle is three years or ten years if the improvement are

orders of magnitude in scale.

The ICE is mature. Fuel cells are like fusion reactors. They will

always be the next big thing because big science loves science

fiction dreams and frowns upon chemical engineering.

If I had a billion dollars to invest I would put it in commoditization

of the Li+ battery and its successors, as Moore’s Law seems to be in efffect. In ten years you may no longer need an ICE except as a charger for the batteries when the car is sitting idle away from a plug.

Check it out.