ELECTRIC CARS: Tesla, other electric vehicles poised to enter the mainstream

MERCURY NEWS, SAN JOSE: After decades of sputtering starts and stalled hopes, the electric vehicle is poised to enter the mainstream.
Tesla Roadsters, Nissan Leafs and Chevy Volts are already on the market, and every major automaker has at least one electric model in the pipeline, giving consumers an array of choices in the coming years. The new wave of EVs just beginning to hit American highways is not the first -- they were popular a century ago until cheaper, gasoline-powered cars gained dominance after World War I. But experts say the stars now appear to be aligned for an alternative to the internal combustion engine.
A Nissan Leaf electric vehicle is on display at Santana Row in San Jose

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