A Garage Party for Electric Cars and a Roast?

A local Seattle-area man is so excited about his new electric Nissan Leaf that he had a driveway party this weekend to attract other potential drivers and owners to electric cars.

James Billmaier, a former tech executive, entrepreneur and author of "Jolt! The Impending Dominance of the Electric Car,"showed off his special charger and drew some locals to his garage for some show and tell.

A garage fire from ftzdomino via flickr

Meanwhile, another garage in Connecticut suffered devastating results when it burned down last week. There was a new Chevrolet Volt charging, as well as 1987 Suzuki Samurai the owner had converted to electric power. Both vehicles were destroyed. Fire officials aren't sure what caused he fire, but I would bet it was the converted Suzuki and not the Volt.

It's important to note that there are plenty of garage fires every caused by gasoline-powered vehicles, so it's too early -- and a bit unfair -- to blame the electric cars or make generalizations about their safety.

Still, most drivers will find it more practical and get significant savings if they just follow some of these gas-saving tips rather than going out and spending tens of thousands of dollars on a bleeding-edge technology electric vehicle.