By Sharon Silke Carty | USA TODAY | Oct 22, 2009

DETROIT — At a three-day conference on the future of plug-in hybrids, one lingering question kept coming up: Who's going to buy these things?

The answer, according to outsiders and industry leaders here: no one, if they're not fun to drive. Fun to play with. And fun to look at.

Naturally, people want safe and reliable cars, but, they said, the key to wide public acceptance of more expensive plug-in and electric cars is making them fun.

"We're asking, 'Can you give us the next big thing? Can you make a profit? And can you make it fun?' " said Wesley Clark, former presidential candidate and keynote speaker at the Business of Plugging In conference. "If you can do that, it's a whole new age for Detroit and a whole new age for America."

The auto industry has been looking for an alternative to gasoline for years, said Bill Ford, chairman of Ford Motor. He pointed out that four years ago, hydrogen was the next big thing. Two years ago, it looked like ethanol was the fuel of the future. Now, the industry sees electric cars and plug-in hybrids as the next generation of vehicles.

"The question is: Will the customers want these vehicles?" said Ford, who promised an electric Ford Transit Connect on the market next year, followed by a plug-in hybrid Ford Fusion in 2011. "The short answer is: It depends on how many trade-offs they have to make. It's our goal to make sure there aren't any trade-offs."

Ford recalled test driving an electric Ford Ranger pickup about 14 years ago, an experience that seemed more stressful than fun. The vehicle was powered by then-standard lead acid batteries, which filled the pickup bed and ran down quickly. He worried about making it from his home to Ford headquarters in Dearborn, about a 35-mile drive, before losing power.

Now, he said, the technology has developed far enough that customers won't have those worries about how far they can go. But, he said, price will be an obstacle, because the latest batteries will be expensive until electric and plug-in vehicles sell in large volumes.

Tony Posawatz, vehicle line director for General Motors' Chevrolet Volt, said GM is working to educate consumers.

"Our job is to make this something they fall in love with, so they're not talking about the (higher sticker price than a similar gas-engine car). They're talking about how they want the car," Posawatz said.

John Waraniak, vice president of vehicle technology for the Specialty Equipment Market Association, said every electric and plug-in hybrid will need to wow buyers.

"That cool factor is critical to acceptance of green vehicles," he said.