I tend to keep my vehicles longer as well, my last one was 11 years old when I decided to go with my hybrid, but I am not representative of the market as whole. In the United States people on average change cars every 5 years. Also the Clarity uses lithium-ion batteries, in fact it is the first production car to do so. I know that platinum is expensive and susceptible to poisioning, but because of changes in design they have been able to decrese the size of the PEFC, and therefore reduce the cost. Like anything these things take time to come down in cost. (I will be honest I was confused on this one. I did not realize that the FCX Clarity was a series hybrid powered electric vehicle when I started writing this. I feel a bit foolish now, minus the fact that I unwittingly described the exact system that Honda is using to power its new vehicle.) By the time the Volt gets here (if it is on time), or a comparable Prius arrives, Honda will have had 2-4 years of having a lithium-ion powered EV on the roads; giving them more time to work on improvements, and reduce costs.