>As this article from HybridCars points out, the main problem with electricity or hydrogen powered cars is not the technology, but the consumer. As of yet, most alternative drivetrains are completely driveable and useable, but consumers do not want to compromise in size and power.
In fact, the only time in recent history when the world did that was not because they wanted to, but because they had to. And that time was the 1973 oil crisis.