Monte Gisborne is a salesman in the printing industry from Whitby, Ontario.

He's a pretty regular guy who wanted to make the world a little better for his daughter, Deanna, and her generation.

He wanted to help reduce pollution and slow global warming.

The zero emission electric car was his answer. It burns no gasoline at all. But no one sold them in Canada. So he converted his Pontiac Firefly to electric.

He calls it the Electrifly.

"A simple bolt-in conversion…I compare this vehicle to a flashlight. It's that simple…There are 24 batteries in the car and 24 more on the trailer, which I can drive with or without. It's my own custom design," Gisborne told Marketplace.

$15 a month to run the car

It only costs Gisborne $15 a month to run the car. Of course, the batteries have some help. A solar panel runs the radio and the wipers.

The one thing Gisborne has to do that most other drivers don't have to is to disconnect his car before leaving his driveway. That takes about a minute.

Electric cars are accused of switching the source of pollution from the tail pipe to the power plant.

But Gisborne says his electricity comes from nuclear power, which is emissions-free.

Gisborne's car is quiet: it doesn't make any noise. It travels 160 kilometres on a single charge.

"My top speed is 140 kilometres per hour. The horse power of the engine is 75 horse, and that's actually more powerful than the gas engine that came out of here, which was only about 55 horsepower," Gisborne explains.

By doing it himself, the car cost Gisborne $20,000. For that he gets 10 years — or 100,000 kilometres — of driving before replacing the batteries.

Gisborne believes the time for electric cars is just around the corner. So where can you buy them?

We asked General Motors' manager of public relations, Richard James.

"General Motors has produced an electric vehicle that has been for lease in California and Arizona. It's called the GM-EV1. That was discontinued in August of 2000. There really was not a viable demand for the product, and the reason for that frankly was they don’t get the kind of range that people expect from a vehicle."

Gisborne's electric car is battery-driven, but there's something new coming down the road. Cars powered by fuel cells, which make electricity from hydrogen and oxygen. They won't have distance or speed limitations, but they're not available yet.

Car manufacturers have made a half-hearted move toward electric with the hybrid. Fuelled by a combination of gas and electric, they are available, but they cost more and don't sell all that well.

Still, Canadians love big cars. Last year, the fastest growing industry segment was Compact SUVs.

Just around the corner — for a very long time

Electric cars have been just around the corner for a very long time. CBC's Jim Nunn first drove one 20 years ago and reported that this exciting travel alternative was…right around the corner.

Even finding the Electric Vehicle Society's display at the auto show in Toronto in February of 2002 was an adventure. The display was tucked away in a quieter area — a sideshow to a three-ring circus.

Gisborne was there to promote another zero emission vehicle. It's a low-speed electric car called the IT, for Innovative Technology. It's made in B.C. In addition to his sales job, Gisborne markets it by leasing a prototype to fleet managers.

With a top speed of 40 kilometres per hour, it's proven a useful little workhorse inside gated communities and national parks. But the provinces still have to give the green light for it to go on the roads.

The Toronto Zoo is testing the IT car.

"It's quiet. You can drive through the crowds with no smells. It doesn't disturb the animals when its in the area," Trevor Chambers, the Zoo's fleet manager said.

Car companies don't see lots of profits coming out of small electric cars. They would argue the electric car is not on the road because people won't buy them. If you want to go from Winnipeg to Calgary, for instance, it's just too far for an electric car.

"My wife has a gas car. I drive electric. On weekends we hop in the gas car and go to the cottage," Gisborne said.

"It's like the microwave oven. When the microwave came along people were stunned by its limited use. They weren't able to cook a turkey dinner. But then they sat down and realized, how often do you cook a turkey dinner?"

Now there's a microwave in every house.

Monte Gisborne won't give up. His kind just doesn't. He keeps trying to convince us there's room out here for electric.

When will that happen?

Surely, it's just around the corner.