When hybrid cars first started becoming popular, a lot of automakers kind of shrugged the whole thing off as a fad.  Sure, gas prices were more astronomical than actual astronomy and have only gotten worse, but because early hybrids were so much less powerful than their all-gas counterparts, some companies rightfully believed that they wouldn't last.

So if hybrids wouldn't last, certainly all-electric vehicles were an even bigger joke, right?  I mean, right?