Thanks to the limited electric vehicle test-marketing undertaken by automakers during the latter part of the 1990s, battery electric vehicles are on American highways today. Their advantages are numerous, including no harmful emissions, little required maintenance and lower operating costs. The cost of fully charging most production Electric Vehicles is less than $4 at the time this article was written as opposed to 3 to 4 times that for a highly efficient fossil fuel version to go the same distance. EV’s also tend to be extremely quiet, as there is no engine noise or vibration. Battery-powered electric vehicles have well-defined drawbacks as well. They are expensive, generally priced from $20,000 to over $100,000; though there is currently a $7500 rebate from the US Federal government, as well as other local incentives from state governments, local counties and other entities to encourage the purchase of these vehicles. Some states and municipalities also have other incentives such as unrestricted use of most carpool lanes and in some cases not having to pay for public parking. Most battery electric vehicles also have a limited range of no more than 120 miles - and often far less - before requiring a lengthy three- to eight-hour recharge. Charging will become less of an issue as quick chargers (where vehicle can be charged in 30 minutes) become available and as battery technology improves to allow quicker charging and more capacity and distance. The vehicle can be charged nightly at home as long as there is a plug to charge the vehicle. Additionally, it should be noted that they may require an expensive battery replacement after a number of years.