Physics problem
Internal combustion engines are so inefficient in motor vehicle applications that it's much worse than the inefficiency of converting fuel to electricity and distributing over power lines. ICEs are most efficient running unthrottled at a constant speed. In a car, speeds changes all the time; in order to have adequate acceleration the engine must be much larger than it needs to be for cruising at a steady speed. When it reaches cruising speed, where it gets the best mileage, it's not nearly as efficient as it could be - pumping losses are increased because displacement is much more than it needs to be to produce the power to maintain speed, and because it's severely throttled.
Series hybrids like the Chevy Volt, where the ICE just charges the battery, can avoid those inefficiencies - it can be a very small engine that runs wide open when the battery needs charging and shuts down when it doesn't. This makes it a good transition type.
The cost of alternative electricity production is coming down rapidly, while fossil fuel prices are rising. It's true that electric cars will need to be charged with renewable electricity in order to be truly zero-emission, but that will happen before long. However, electric cars are lower-emission even if the power is generated by burning fossil fuels. That is the actual fact; there's a lot more involved than the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
