plug in vehicles at 2011 denver auto show

Thousands of people attended the 2011 Denver Auto Show.

Although most came to see gasoline cars, many stopped by to see some of the electric cars at the Denver Auto Show, including this silver Nissan LEAF.

Quite a few not familiar with all-electric cars were dumbfounded by the LEAF’s electric motor.

No other cars at the show could compete with the LEAF’s annual estimated fueling costs of $561.

Technically, the Nissan LEAF isn’t Zero Emission – but neither is your refrigerator.

The LEAF drew many long looks and sparked many questions from Denver Auto Show goers.

The LEAF offers multiple charge options, as this dual charging port illustrates.

I’d never seen a Nissan LEAF before, much less sat behind the wheel of one

The kids fit easily into the back of the LEAF.

It’s not a big panel, but a little solar is better than nothing!

Nissan is hoping that by getting the LEAF out early it will draw people away from other automakers (it’s drawing us away from Honda!)

My daughter contemplates whether she likes the Nissan LEAF, as she sits behind the wheel …

And she decides, yes, a big thumbs up for the LEAF!

Toyota also had a plug-in on display, the plug-in Prius.

While the plug-in Prius didn’t seem to draw as many people as the LEAF or the Chevy Volt, it caught the attention of many, including these two men.

Will all Priuses be plug-ins in a few years?

If you look closely, you can see a big Ford pick-up truck through the window of this Prius plug-in hybrid.

GM had four Chevy Volts on hand for the Denver Auto Show, including this one on a revolving stage.

A salesperson works to get the crowd excited about the plug-in hybrid electric Chevy Volt.

You had to wait in line to get a chance to sit in this Chevy Volt, which drew a big crowd.

Yup, I waited -- and later I got to test drive a Volt outside the Colorado Convention Center.

There were no lines to test drive any of these GM cars.

Because everyone wanted to drive a Volt – but first they had to drive another GM model!

What will the dominant type of vehicle and fuel(s) be when my daughters start driving in 10 years?