Julian,
Thank you for making the case for the "near term" obvious solution to zero emission battery electric cars. I don't know if there's something better 20-50 years out, but for now, renewable electrical power used solely by battery electric cars works, and works well with high efficiency. Electricity is ubiquitous anywhere in the world right now.
Yes, we still need the robust "refueling" infrastructure that gasoline vehicles enjoy, with 100,000 or more stations in the USA, and we need a few decades to retire fossil fuel electrical power generation in favor of zero emission renewables.
None of the Fuel Cell Vehicle manufacturers have plans for any widespread use of their hydrogen vehicles through at least 2020, and probably 2030 (if ever), whereby battery technology then is likely to have the energy density for 200-300 mile range cars at cost effective prices, and that those cars can be recharged quickly (5-15 minutes) when not available for overnight charging at home. Tesla is quickly moving toward those goals now.
Companies like Toyota have worked so diligently to dismiss battery electric vehicles, with their dismal failure of the Scion iQ-EV, with barely enough range to be used as a golf cart, and the limited production Rav4 EV that they really didn't even get their hands dirty to build, instead hiring Tesla to supply the key parts. The Rav4 EV was released with so many serious failures that it's a miracle that the US government hasn't demanded a recall (dozens of these cars have just shut down while driving down a highway is probably the most serious safety issue). And now, Toyota is going to build a few hundred hydrogen cars per year to comply with California Air Resources Board - Zero Emission Vehicle mandates.
Let's spend that hydrogen money to complete the West Coast Electric Highway, and make California the number one electric vehicle location in the world.
