Gentlemen, charge your engines

Electric-car technology is accelerating at such a pace that even the most sceptical of petrolheads will have to take notice. For the British motorist, it seems, the electric car has all the automotive appeal of a milk float. Last year, with prices of $3 a gallon looming, Americans bought 200,000 fuel-saving hybrids; the gadget-loving Japanese drove 60,000 off dealers’ forecourts; but in