Rodricks: All charged up for an electric car? Getting an affordable one is still a challenge.

If you own an electric car or truck, or drive a hybrid plug-in, congratulations: You’ve made it to the 1%. At the end of July, there were 52,966 EVs or hybrid plug-ins registered in Maryland. That’s just 1% of all motor vehicles across the state. It has been 25 years since the first generation of the Toyota Prius — albeit a hybrid, not a hybrid plug-in with a larger battery — came off the assembly line. Since then, there’s been immense progress in battery technology, along with greater political and cultural acceptance of the environmental need to move away from gas-powered automobiles.