In the next two years, there will be 20 different either electric or hybrid or gas -- or plug-in hybrid cars hitting the road.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

This includes promoting electric and hybrid cars as an alternative to gas-guzzling cars idling on clogged city roads.

FORBES: China's Auto Industry Eyes Subsidies For Electric, Hybrid Cars

But all the electric cars and gas-electric-hybrid models currently for sale in the U.S. have captured just 3% of total sales through the first eight months of this year.

WSJ: Electric Cars Try to Break Out of Niche

In 2010, a forward-thinking friend of mine took me for a ride in a Ford Fusion, a gas-electric hybrid that gets more miles per gallon than comparable cars with conventional engines.

WSJ: The Problem With Going Green by David Owen

Sales of the midsize luxury cars, which are offered in conventional and gas-electric hybrid versions, have nearly doubled so far this year compared with 2012.

WSJ: Toyota to produce luxury Lexus model at Ky. plant