KEY POINTS:
Most concept cars are unlikely to get to production, and with good reason - they're either totally impractical, incredibly expensive to build or just a little bit stupid.
This year at Detroit's NAIAS (North American International Auto Show) there was a definite move towards concepts that aim at
keeping tree-hugging legislators happy, environmentalists slightly less angry and, of course, alleged global warming at bay.
While this shift towards hybrids, hydrogen, and battery banks is responsible and probably quite necessary, the fact remains that most car fans like petrol.
It's been the lifeblood of our universe for a long time and it's hard to shake a habit, although the ever-increasing price is helping.
But we also like the noise of a proper engine nearing its redline and, in all honesty, the sound eminating from a battery-powered car is about as exciting to the average petrolhead as a toasted sandwich maker.
But this year a bright orange apparition from Chrysler appeared that - along with machines like the 'Lotusy' Tesla and General Motors' Volt -could almost make electric cars cool.
The Dodge ZEO (Zero Emissions Operation) is a sporty 2+2 'shooting brake' that's rear wheel drive, good for 200kW and capable of hitting the legal limit in 5.7 seconds seconds.
Dodge also claims a lightning quarter mile time of just 11 seconds and a top speed of 210km/h.
Rather than a nice big tank of stinky fuel though, the ZEO packs a 64 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack with a claimed range of at least 400 kilometres. This equates, says the Dodge literature, to 1.96l/100.
Four rising scissor doors help add that touch of cool, giving slightly easier access to the rear seats, which obviously aren't designed for lofty passengers, in much the same way as Mazda's RX-8 ground-breaking double doors did a few years ago.
Chrysler's spin machine was rotating at full speed at Detroit, and probably with good reason - aside from the 'please don't spill it' white interior; it's a cool looking car.
"The Dodge ZEO concept is designed to break the paradigm of what an electric car should look like," body designer Bill Zheng said.
"An electric car can be as expressive as any petrol-powered vehicle. The Dodge ZEO concept proves that point, and then some."
It even features a lit-up Dodge front grille, which Zheng says is "designed to communicate the use of electricity as the ZEO's power source."
The high-waisted design with wildly flared arches pushes the 23-inch wheels as close to the corners as possible and will likely mean some decent balance and high-quality handling.
Battery-packs line the skeleton and mean low-slung weight will further enhance road-holding.
On the inside, aside from the retina-searing white, the cabin is dissected by a thin centre console - housing flush-mounted controls and an LCD screen - which runs through to the rear of the car.
Rather than a conventional instrument cluster the wheel, column and instruments are kept as one, with the driver airbag and other switchgear mounted further back. The steering wheel only has two spokes for visibility.
So, fellow enthusiasts of fossil fuels and fast cars, does the ZEO bring us one step closer to a cool electric car?