Firstly, most Americans won't buy electric cars in their present form, so that part is a non-issue. Our government is even offering tax-credits to buy the things. I would not buy one even if it cost 10K instead of 40K. Rechargable AA batteries were all the rage when I was a kid in the 90s, but now almost everyone is back to the old disposable kind because rechargable batteries = epic fail. It was just a pain in the ass, and every time you recharged the battery it didn't last as long as the time before. You just had to throw the damn things out anyway, so might as well avoid the hassle and get ones that will last!
I predict the same fate for the latest Government Motors offering. Electric Cars are a pain in the ass. A 3 to 4 hour charge time produces about 40 miles worth of driving. But not to worry! There is a gasoline powered generator in case you ever have to travel more than 40 miles. So it sounds good for short trips, but then you realize you have to continuously connect and disconnect your car from your charging port at your house, which adds that little extra two minutes before and after short trips. It doesn't sound like much but get in a hurry and it will be a major pain in the ass, not to mention that is an additional piece of equipment you have to buy and maintain.
But the environment is your concern you say? Well guess what, that electricity you are paying for to charge up your newly purchased smugmobile IS NOT GENERATED BY UNICORNS NOR RAINBOWS. Like most of our electricity here in the U.S., it is generated by good old fashioned fossil fuel plants. So you are simply buying the privilege of having someone else do your "dirty work". I could rant about these stupid things all day, but I strongly advise against wasting your money in this fashion. You have more warhammer to buy after all!
Second, "step on the gas" is a very literal description of what happens when you hit the gas pedal. When you step on the gas pedal, the throttle valve opens up more, letting in more air. So "gas pedal" doesn't refer to "gasoline pedal". Substitute "air pedal" when you hear an American say "gas pedal". Think gas as in the state of matter.
This doesn't change the fact that most everyone thinks it means gasoline pedal, but the above is where the expression came from. If I had to guess, it originated around the time of Henry Ford, when wanton ignorance was not part of our culture...
Now give me a hydrogen car and I'll gladly "step on the hydro"! They've got to innovate those quite a bit to make the technology affordable, but I think that would be the way to go.
We already have some of the most screwed up grammar and pronunciation rules of any language that I know of. So we will probably continue to call it a gas pedal for a good long time regardless of the type of car it is.
