Within a few months, it will be possible to step out onto a New York City street corner and hail a Nissan Leaf. The city's starting a pilot program to see how the cars fare as taxis, and exploring the possibility of an all-electric fleet.

But EV enthusiasts shouldn't get too excited yet. Nor should EV haters get their hackles up. At most, three Leafs (Leaves?) will be out on the street at any given time. So the chances of stepping off the curb and into the future are slim.