Conventional internal combustion engines (ICE's) have been in existence for over one hundred years now, and with the increase of the world population and demand for vehicles, the demand for oil has increased significantly (Chan 705). Today, there are several different types of technologies and fuels for transportation. Some of them are hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCV's). Burning fossil fuels have not just been detrimental to the environment but our economy as well. Countries, such as the United States, are making stricter regulations on vehicles based on emissions and global warming, fuel economy, and the supply of energy resources. Research has shown the impacts and benefits alternative fuels for transportation can have, and based on their availability, cost, popularity, and the harm fossil fuels have on the environment, and their ever-increasing price and demand shows that alternative fuels are the future of transportation. Current research shows that alternative fuel technology for vehicles has slowly been increasing in popularity over the past couple of decades because of the increasing cost and detriment caused by gas and internal combustion engines. Public appearance and acceptance of these new technologies is the key to success. Consumers play a major role in the success of new transportation technologies, and David Freedman argues that policy setting by governments, such as tax incentives, could accelerate technology maturation and lead to consumer adoption of these alternative fuels. On the other hand, Jonatan Pinkse, René Bohnsack, and Ans Kolk discuss how the automobile companies themselves can be innovative to try to sway the general public towards alternative fuel and low-emission vehicles. However, they state that the actual product innovation of the vehicles will not be enough to complete the transition from internal combustion engines. Freedman also states that it is unclear whether policy steps “will be delivered in time to allow alternative technologies to gain sufficient market traction” (21). While Freedman believes that governments should work with the consumer to encourage them to move towards alternative fuel vehicles, Pinkse, Bohnsack, and Kolk claim that companies use disruptive innovation to persuade consumers. By definition, disruptive innovation is innovation that helps create a new market and network that eventually disrupts an existing one, displacing an earlier technology. Pinkse, Bohnsack, and Kolk state that companies need to come up with alternative cars to survive in the long run, but they argue that these companies should “structurally separate disruptive innovation activities from core business” (44). Freedman, Pinkse, Bohnsack, and Kolk all insist that the best way to influence someone to buy something is through their wallet and by incentives, but how people think about an automobile on a personal level is also important. Mark Delucchi et al believe that like most automobiles, electric vehicles provide a function, such as mobility and transportation, but electric vehicles also have a symbolic meaning and can provoke strong emotional attachments. They state that electric vehicles can provide new personal and social values