Back in 1994, solectria was the Netscape of the auto industry, a whiz-kid-led company whose light, advanced-composite electric vehicles were challenging Detroit and the reign of the internal-combustion engine. The challenge seemed real, because California's zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate-requiring that 2 percent of all new vehicles sold in the state after Dec. 31, 1997, emit zero pollutants-promised to give the market for clean electric cars a big jump-start.

But 1998 is here, and very few of the cars one sees in California are Solectrias. Why? Is it because unfair lobbying activities by the big automakers led to the elimination of the ZEV mandate in 1995? Or because Solectria didn't have the know-how or resources to scale up its manufacturing process quickly? Or because gasoline-powered cars still outpace electric cars in safety, convenience and affordability?