Algr said:
Because it costs less to run a hybrid from electricity than gas.
Not in this case. Yes, US electricity at 12¢/kWh or 4¢/EV-mile on the
existing residence connected grid fed to an
existing plug-in via cables is cheaper than gas per distance traveled (5¢/mile @40 mpg/$2/gallon). The cost of electrifying highways, adding induction loops to new plug-ins,and the losses of induction very probably make the total cost of highway electricity higher than gasoline. And so again, to what benefit, for the 5% or so of driving that's long distance?
It seems to me the only rationale would come from proving, via production experience, that pure EVs with large batteries are substantially cheaper than comparable dual drive train, hybrid vehicles. So far, that's not the case. Further, a cheaper than hybrid EV works only if some kind of adoption model manifests where EV owners are not inconvenienced in areas with no highway electrification. Other answers requiring people to change behavior for acceptance, i.e. "sell your car", are outside of market economics based solutions.
Read up on the first coast-to-coast trip by car,
I'm familiar.
and how hopelessly impractical it was compared to the trains that were available. No one looked at that and said cars are hopeless stick with trains. Instead we saw opportunities and build a highways system. That's how change happens.
That's not the history of the 1950s built highway system in the US, which was built for i) national defense reasons, and from ii) localized support for highway funding that stood to benefit from passing highway traffic.
Change has occurred in this case via hybrids.