[atul]

Originally petroleum was just a toxic waste by-product from extracting "better" oil qualities from the stuff you pump out of ground. So there was a lot of incentive to turn it into something useful.

But the electric cars used to outperform petrol cars. Basically, who would be mad enough to hop onto an experimental device using highly flammable fuel that you could easily crash? Madness, I tell you. I've heard the version that it was the mass production that finally settled the fight between petrol and alternatives, but I could be wrong. Anyway electric network was in operation way before gas station networks were built.

I'm not too keen on all the conspiracy stuff with big oil vs public transportation, but it has happened that perfectly viable public transportation has been trashed in favour of cars, giving rise to claims that public transportation isn't viable in smaller communities. Resident Finns on the forum might want to check out Rovaniemi's history, I can't speak for other countries. But, thread carefully on the conspiracy front, it's easy to classify people a bit strange in the head if they go lone gunmen a lot.