If you’ve got a Christmas wish list that includes, “Electric vehicle with 500 mile range,” then you might be in luck. The Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010 is a bill that’s currently sitting in the House and Senate which could help grant you your Christmas wishes.

The bill has several important measures but the Senate version has a particularly interesting measure that would award a $10 million prize to the first company to create a commercially viable electric vehicle battery that could provide a range of 500 miles on a single charge.

While a 500 mile range sounds wonderful, it also sounds a little ridiculous. Maybe it would be better to encourage a lower cost battery with a range closer to 200 miles and focus on quick charging stations. Lots of gas powered cars can’t even make 500 miles on a single tank of gas. So heck, why stop at 500. Why don’t they offer $100 million for a 2,000 mile range battery that sings Carmina Burana to you while massaging your back and doing your laundry?

If you’re looking to get around town this Earth Day, the smiling Peapod car might be your best bet. Chrysler has outfitted the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle with an iPhone docking station, which also transforms the iPhone into the car’s key.

Another nifty feature is that the iPhone will also work as a green meter, outlining the Peapod’s energy savings. The iPhone also functions as an interface to the Peapod’s sound system as well as a navigational system.

Maxing out at 25 mph (standard for all NEVs) on Earth Day today Chrysler will begin taking customer orders for the Peapod, which goes on sale at $12,500 and costs about two cents per mile to drive.

Bill O’Reilly opened his giant hole of mouth of his again, claiming that he would be more than happy to buy a Prius, if only he could fit into one. Sigh.

Now, the peeps over at ElectricAid.org, have challenged the right-wing ranter, writing an open letter where they enclose pictures of their Bill O´Reilly stand-in, who stands one inch taller and is clearly able to fit into their all-electric Th!nk City with room to spare!

Richard from ElectricAid tells O’Reilly, “It may look small, but the fact of the matter is that it is very spacey. It is designed for a 95-percentile person which means that 95% of the population would fit into it, and on top of that, Think has added some extra height to the headroom just to ensure a high comfort level. This makes the headroom taller than with the Toyota Prius. We could not find a person that matches your height exactly, but we did find one that is an inch taller than you. Lets just call him Bob. Bob is 6 foot 5 inches tall pluss an extra inch of hearstyle, and plays the Chello. He is also a sailing enthusiast. As you can see from the pictures below, even though he is taller than you, he is quite comfortable in the Think City and there is plenty of room for his rather big instrument.”

Richard adds as he closes the letter, “It can go a 110 miles on one charge which would more than bring you to work and back every day without using a single drop of oil.”

The company challenges O’Reilly to to sign up for a Th!nk City to see for himself. Think (pardon the pun) he’ll take the bait?

EVII showcased their three all-electric vehicles at the New York Auto Show, including the LiV Harmony, an ex-Pontiac Vibe. The Wave (pictured above), boasts a 170 mile range, 80 mph top speed and a $34,900 price tag.

They also displayed their $139,000 Inizio, EVII’s sports car model, which reaches a top speed of 170 mph and can go up to 200 miles between charges.

Although they’ll take orders and deposits from you the salivating consumers, who knows when you’ll be crusing the strip at 170 mph. The company hopes to start building both in 2010, but speculation is that this timeframe seems a tad bit optimistic given the company’s indecision over three or four wheels on the Wave.

Mazda, yet to jump on the EV or hybrid bandwagon, is at least taking steps to revamp their vehicles for the sake of the environment. And they also make promises to begin production on hybrids and electric vehicles, but not until 2015.

Yes, the brand that has you singing “zoom-zoom” after their ads air, is planning to focus on a more cost-effective venture for now, focusing on fuel efficiency and weight reduction in all of its vehicles with the goal to increase fuel efficiency 30 percent by 2015.

According to Mazda CEO Takashi Yamanouchi, “Our new gasoline engines will achieve the same fuel economy as current diesel engines, and our diesel engines will achieve similar fuel economy as existing hybrids.”

Mazda hopes that with these changes, they can offer eco-friendly vehicles that are more accessible to the mass market. Along with weight reduction to their fleet, Mazda plans to add improved aerodynamics and low rolling-resistance tires to their vehicles.

LemonFree.com

Think an electric vehicle for less than $10k is just a pipe dream? Canadian car company ZENN is offering a deal through the end of June to offer their neighborhood electric LSV vehicles for under $10k.

Now bear in mind, the ZENN LSV isn’t for everyone, as a neighborhood electic vehicle only reaches speeds of 25 mph and is permitted only on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less. However, if you’re looking for something to putz around town in, the ZENN LSV might be just the ticket.

Up until the end of June, combined with tax incentives, EV car buyers can own the $15,995 LSV for only $9,995.

Good news for the electric vehicle industry. President Obama announced $2.4 billion in grants he intends to designate to the electric vehicle industry. After promoting environmentally friendly vehicles on Jay Leno last night, the auto industry is reveling in the news that Obama plans to put one million of the environmentally friendly vehicles on the roads by 2015.

“We can let the jobs of tomorrow be created abroad or we can create them here in America and lay the foundation for lasting prosperity,” Obama said while touring the Southern California Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center.

Operating for 16 years, the Edison Electric Vehicle Center maintains a fleet of more than 300 electric and gas-electric hybrid vehicles that it says has logged more than 17 million miles.

“We’ve been at times feeling maybe a little lonely out there with our support for electric transportation,” Edison International Chairman Ted Craver Jr. said after showing Obama around the plant. “To have this recognition, this exposure of electric transportation and what we have been able to accomplish is just a real thrill for the company.”

“Whether you capture everybody’s enthusiasm and get the adoption, of course, is part of what all of this is about,” Craver said of Obama’s plan to put one million more electric vehicles on the road. “To get people to understand what the benefits are and how it could really be good for the system and good for the individual.”