Paradigm shifts in transportation occur periodically. At the dawn of the 20th Century, one was more likely to find a vehicle driven by electrons instead of oil. But the subsequent years were marked by a proliferation of the oil industry, as well as rapid technological improvements to the design of the internal combustion engine. It took less than a decade for the petrol cars to dominate the roads worldwide. Even the brief oil price shock in the 1970s couldn't revive the popularity of oil-free vehicles - it just created a demand in the USA for Japanese cars with economic small engines, rather than big cubic inch
Pony cars. By the end of the 20th century, attempts within the car industry to mass-produce a new line of electric cars all ended in failure. But now we are witnessing a new paradigm shift.