80% of Aussies live in Cities/city hinterlands and the 20% who need the long distance jobs are by far in the minority.
With the price of fuel the long goose chases of motoring intercity is no longer economically viable because air/train travel is relatively cheap and efficient.
IMO small Hybrids/PHEVs/EV are the answer to minimising CO2 emissions and making our cities more liveable.
Perhaps the Chinese (like with electric scooters) will supply us with mini evs which we can use via an IPhone ap like the electric scooters. This makes economic sense but perhaps does not cater to the extended ego?