Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, Transportation Minister Lynn Peterson and Nissan representatives joined Steve Marsh of Kent, Washington, to celebrate the 100,000 miles he has travelled with his Nissan LEAF. In early 2011, Mr Marsh purchased a brand new Nissan LEAF for his daily commute, a hike of 130 miles per day. Since then, he has accrued more than 100,000 miles on the car, all without using gasoline and creating the emissions associated with it; and, saving an estimated thousands of dollars in the process.

The limited range of electrics is generally accepted as the reason why people just aren't lining up for them. They definitely have our interest, but the potential inconvenience is affecting both EV sales and rentals. People worry that the car's battery will die before they can get to a charging station. It's an even bigger problem with rentals, as those customers typically rent vehicles in unfamiliar places.

With the myriad advances in green technologies in so many areas, have you ever wondered which of these are being integrated into current and future automobiles? Let's briefly examine some car models where solar panels, efficient lighting and earth-friendly materials are being built right in. Manufacturers such as Fisker, Ford, Toyota and Fiat are all looking at integrating solar panels into their cars. Fisker's Karma and Ford's 2013 Focus Electric are hooking their panels directly into the main power system to improve drive time through direct drive-battery charging, and in powering cabin temperature control systems.

Whenever gas prices soar, we can't help but ponder the idea of going hybrid with our next car purchase. Sure, the upfront costs are a little more, but hopefully the fuel savings will more than make up for the higher sticker price. In addition to fuel savings there may be other advantages such as government rebates, reduced greenhouse emissions and other incentives such as 'status' when driving a hybrid. All other things being equal, the initial purchase price of a hybrid model in Canada may be several thousand dollars more than the non-hybrid model. You'll want to do a side by side comparison of the two to get the initial difference in price.