Ford's first mass-market, consumer-oriented battery electric vehicle offering, the Focus Electric, won't be reaching consumer hands until the end of 2011. After letting us know that the car would use lithium-ion battery cells supplied by LG Chem subsidiary, Compact Power, Ford today said that the Focus' battery pack would rely on active liquid cooling to achieve greater range and long-term reliability over a wide variety of climates.

As many of you are likely aware, earlier this week the BBC came out with a report that strongly suggested electric cars would be more expensive to operate than gas cars in the long run, mostly because they would depreciate (lose their resale value) much more quickly than gas cars. That article generated a lot of debate on the internet, but it seemed like such a strange report due to the fact that it's anybody's guess what kind of resale value EVs will have.

While many of us wait for the competition between plug-in car makers to heat up with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF and Chevrolet Volt later this year, the battle to be the king of the lithium-ion battery market is already in full swing. With an expected oversupply of batteries, most major battery makers are planning steep price cuts in 2010.