Major car companies are working on ways that plug-in cars will communicate with the electric grid. Ford, Nissan and Volvo have displayed their visions. We spoke with Greg Frenette, Ford manager of battery electric vehicle applications, to learn which driver controls are essential and feasible—and which charging technologies are more fantasy than reality.

Ford Motor Company has developed an intelligent charging system that previews how its production vehicles will interact with the grid. The unnamed system enables all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners to restrict charging to when electricity prices fall below a certain threshold, or even "when the grid is using only renewable energy such as wind or solar power," according to Ford.

When President Barack Obama walked into Southern California Edison’s electric-vehicle test facility here today, he visited what may be the highest concentration of electric vehicles in North America. The president’s goal, says White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, was to highlight the role of plug-in cars in creating “clean energy jobs” that will spur economic growth.

While all eyes are on high-profile plug-in announcements from General Motors, Nissan, Toyota and others, Ford appears to be quietly inching into a leading position in the race to get electric vehicles on the market.