Higher gasoline prices ultimately mean higher costs for materials used to remodel homes and higher food costs as well. Gasoline prices will also affect where you buy your next home and what buyers will pay for it.

We explore what electric cars are on the horizon and what you can do right now if you are thinking of abandoning your gasoline powered car.

Americans don't want electric vehicles
Several years ago, General Motors (GM), Toyota, and other carmakers were giving lip service to electric vehicles. In all fairness, GM did try to get into the market. In fact, it spent four years and $1 billion before it pulled the plug on its EV-1 electric car. GM was widely criticized for that decision.

Back then, the facts were compelling though. Only 800 EV-1 cars were leased and only 50 people were interested in extending their leases. GM claimed that most Americans don't want these vehicles right now. They may have been right back then, but now things have changed.

Future oil and gasoline prices
The price of oil has increased to $120 a barrel. Some experts believe it will hover between $100 and $300 a barrel. If that happens we won't be able to afford to drive our gasoline and diesel cars and trucks.

We personally think prices will be higher. How come? Because energy companies and carmakers are making large investments to get more oil and provide consumers with some real alternatives to gasoline cars, respectively. See our article on Canadian oil sands. Higher prices mean that housing and food costs will go up as the cost of transporting materials and food is passed on to you and I.

Time to rethink Electric Cars?
There are two plans for electric cars. One plan wants to turn how we drive entirely on it's head with a battery driven car. It envisions electric refueling stations all over the country, in parking garages and in each home. The company that is pushing this idea is called Project Better Place. It has raised $200 million so far.

Investors include Israel Corp., an Israeli holding and oil company, which invested $100 million. VantagePoint Venture Partners and Morgan Stanley, and a handful of individual investors, including James Wolfensohn, the former president of the World Bank, and Seagram's heir Edgar Bronfman also invested in the company. See the Project Better Place electric car video and Marc Gunter's article for an excellent summary.

Then there's the fast and sporty $100,000 Tesla Roadster and inner city cars like the Chevrolet Volt that will only go up to 40 miles per hour. At a show we attended, a Tesla spokesman said that the Tesla Roadster was cheap compared to similar gasoline powered cars like the Mercedes SL 550 roadster that range from $96,000 yo $188,000.

Tesla also reminded us that we would not have to ever buy gasoline again. Right now for me that would translate up to $240 a month or $2,880 a year. We hope that Tesla will succeed with its high price roadster and offer a more modest electric car for about $25,000 soon. 

Electric Car choices are limited
Most of us don't need a roadster. We would gladly settle for a good car or truck to get around. Right now, there seems to be a divergence of opinion as to what is available. Then again, maybe traditional carmakers just can't canibalize their investments in the internal combustion engine and we need a company like Google to lead the way. See what Google is doing with respect to Plug-In Vehicles with it's own car fleet.

Lets start with the sure things and where you can actually see and buy electric cars.

Today, we can choose a Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Nissan Altima. These hybrids get between 33 mpg and 42 mpg and cost around $25,000. See summary of hybrid vehicles.

A dealership in West Palm Beach Florida is offering Zap Car's XebraÆ to the public. This an electric four-door compact car or two-seat pickup that transforms into a flat-bed or a dump truck. The vehicle was designed for gas-free, city driving up to 40 mph and plugs into any normal household outlet. Zap also manufactures electric scooters and bicycles.

Also check out Electric Cars are for girls for a list of electric car dealerships in each State.

Plug-in hybrids like the Saturn Vue Plug-in, Chevrolet Volt and Norwegian Th!nk cars are coming at the end of 2009.

The Phoenix Motorcars Electric Sport Utility Truck really looked interesting among the group of electric cars.

Hydrogen cars will also be available next year. Honda's fuel cell car is stunning and runs on hydrogen. While BMW's hydrogen car burns hydrogen directly and can also use gasoline.

Also check out Autoblog's recent article on the Evisol Thorr's electric car.

If you can't or are not ready to spend the money on an electric car, consider other ways of saving gasoline. See our article on teleworking.

If you have a hybrid or electric car, please share your experiences with us.