Hybrid and plug-in vehicles have been plagued by poor battery performance in the past. The next-gen rides simply do not offer that much MPG improvement because of the lackluster batteries, but LG Chem and STMicroeclectronics are working on something new. By harnessing a more powerful and efficient battery management chip, they hope to improve lithium-ion batteries enough to deliver 1600V to electric motors. Who knows when this will hit the market — or if there will even still be a car market — but the battery development can only lead to bigger and better things. I, for one, would like a super long life battery for my MacBook. Dreams. We should all dream.