Electricity isn't only thing that gets them mooooving

Some of the cars had plug-in cords, some didn't. Some can still be purchased, others are out of production. One had three wheels, another is powered by cow poop.

The collection of electric vehicles on display at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond on Monday testified to the fact that owning a vehicle designed for a petroleum-short future is both an adventure and a passion.

Stephen Bernheim of Edmonds bought a used three-wheeled Sparrow made by a defunct company called Corbin. It carries only one person, and there's just enough room for a couple of laptop computers in the trunk.

Daniel Davids of Woodinville brought his all-electric Toyota RAV-4, a limited model no longer produced. He disputed auto-industry executives who said they can't yet make the long-lasting batteries needed to mass-produce plug-in cars.

Davids said he recharges his battery under a solar panel at his workplace in Everett.

A few of the vehicles at Monday's conference on alternate-fuel vehicles are shown in the accompanying photos.

One without a photo:

All-electric Chevy S-10 pickup

Body: Normal pickup truck, built in 1997, with electric engine

Range: 90 miles

Charging time: estimates vary

Top speed: 75 mph

Comment: Formerly used by the Air Force, it is no longer being built.

More info (Wikipedia site): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevy_S10_E