Brooke Crothers of Forbes investigates why electric vehicle sales seem to be taking off in his hometown urban Los Angeles, but not so much a mere 50 miles away in the high desert and other more rural areas of California.

He finds a few factors, such as lack of dealer interest in and knowledge of electric cars in more rural areas (they’d rather sell Silverados and Camaros).  But it also may be the desirability of getting the carpool lane sticker for traffic-clogged commutes in the urban core.

I’m sure there are a bunch of factors at play, such as demographics, travel patterns, and the price and range of the vehicles.  But my guess is that as new models of electrics come out (especially SUVs), as battery range increases to allow drivers in rural areas to easily access the nearby big cities, and as prices come down, this divide won’t quite be so stark.