From the 2011 Metro Cruise (GR's version of Detroit's Dream Cruise) - I didn't realize what I caught here until I got home. The car in the front is a 1910 Baker Electric, and the car in the back is a Chevy Volt. Two steps to the left would have made a better composition, but I wasn't consciously thinking about including the Volt to show the time span on this technology...
Electric cars were around as early as 1828, and by 1900 they were second only to steam cars in America. What happened? They were expensive, they had short range, and they could only go 20 mph, tops. The roads were soon paved, gas got cheaper, and when America wanted to go faster and farther... well, we know what happened next. Read the Wiki entry for a brief synopsis of the history of the electric car. You'll see that the car manufacturers never gave up on the idea (the GM Electrovette!), but until range anxiety and cost were addressed, it just wasn't going to fly.
And here we are today.
More coming from the Metro Cruise later. Been out trying to soak up the sun while I still can...