Yes.
Calculations ahow that a lighweight 'compact' style car could do about
300 miles on a charge, that could be accomplished overnight from any power socket in the home.Rapid charging would requite something a bit more, say teh ability to slam couple of hundred amps in e.g. a service station or car park while you had a burger, or dd some shopping :-)
Won';t replace IC for transcontinental travel, but lets face it, most of us do short trips most of the time, and it would be ideal for those.
What you can't do tho is have a 2 ton SUV electrc replacement just yet. Light weight is essential, and efficiency. You could have a damned fast sports car tho.
I don't think they ARE that expoensive. In the UK, I pay about 20 quid at the LHS for a speed 400 pack - 8x600AE. Thats about $36. With appropriate adjustment to gear ratios and /or motor windings, I can get the same power out of three e-tech 1200 cells at $11.50 each. Double the duration, half the weight, same price.
Ok, at the bigger powers things are more expensive - about twice the price for equivalent NiMh say.
BUT a cheap $10 motor with a $30 ESC on $66 worh of lipos outperforms a $160 worth of brushless and ESC on a $25 pound NiMh pack.
Who cares about efficiency if you have the power to weight and duration to spare anyway?
I see no reason that LIPO is expensive other than small volumes and new technology. Get the volume up and teh price wil come WAY down.
I think the cost for a car is around $50k for 'here now' technology.
I can remember when a z80 was $20, you can get a PIC processor for $2.50 now, that is infinitely more powerful.
Lithum is a very common metal, tho extracting it is expensive, none of the other materials are expebnsive at all. Its all about amortizing R & D. I think a $5000 car battery, capable if cracking out over 400bhp is not too unresaonable. That means a full 90 powered model battery at $100 may be in the wings.
Just keep buying them, and help stimulate demand!