It's wonderful. In about a year, everyone's going to hear about plug-in hybrids.

Our goal for the build kit is this summer, but making this happen will be a volunteer project--as are most open-source efforts--so I'm not in a position to promise.

I get about 99 miles to the gallon. When gasoline costs $3 a gallon, driving most gasoline cars costs 8 to 20 cents a mile. With a plug-in hybrid, your local travel and commuting can go down to 2 to 4 cents a mile.

Many hybrid owners realize how sharply fuel efficiency goes down over 55 mph because they get instant mileage feedback.

You're substituting electricity for gasoline - that's the big benefit.

When I was working in desktop publishing, I could often get my clients to include a small credit, and I'd get referrals from them. That is not always the case with Web design.