But the machine that changed the world stoutly resisted changing itself. The complex technology is expensive, however. Ultimately, the electric motor and the highly aerodynamic body are likely to be used in a fuel-cell version that gets more than 100 mpg.
Efficiency is high for a five-passenger car, and so is the cost.
But in reality, the sheer number of cars in the world today creates its own challenge to any newfangled upstart. Last, it ought to be conceivable to manufacture 10 million or so a year, at an average price of about half the median U.S. annual household income today. Even if all the criteria are met, a full frontal assault on existing technology is doomed to failure. Some 200 million or so cars are already on the road in the United States alone, which means any radically new car must coexist with old cars that will stay in circulation for another 10 to 20 years. In any serious attempt to replace gas with an alternative fuel, the two systems of distribution will have to coexist for several decades.