http://linkfilter.net Daily fresh links en-us http://linkfilter.net/images/newbutton.jpg http://linkfilter.net/ http://linkfilter.net/?id=150051 The Volt has long been rumored to retail for about $40K, and the Leaf will likely come in at a hair under $30K (now that Nissan has decided it will be sold battery included). The Volt should run about 40 miles on its 16 kWh pack – using just half its stored energy to head off safety issues and preserve its life – before its thrifty IC engine kicks in to keep it going. The Leaf promises "up to" 100 miles from its 24 kWh, depending (as always) on temperature, terrain, time of day, speed and driving style.     The going OEM rate for li-ion packs today is an estiimated $1,000-1,200 per kWh. At the lower end of that range, Volt's pack is a $16K bill and Leaf's $24K -- 80 percent of (my) estimated price for the car. Both companies insist they will not pay anywhere near that much, especially once they're building their own packs, but lop that in half to $500/kWh, and it's still $8K and $12K! Search linkfilter links q http://linkfilter.net/