What are the largest obstacles to the adoption of pure electric vehicles in the consumer market?

Cheap batteries

Cost, design and in the long run, efficiency. Yes, the car may not produce any emissions but think about the energy source, which is still mainly fossil fuels burned in a factory.

A gasoline car gets about 25% efficiency out of the gasoline it burns. A power plant may get roughly the same efficiency but then as the electricity is transported along power lines some of it is lost. By the time it reaches the car battery, it is only about at 8% efficiency. So, if both energy sources are coming from fossil fuels, which one is better?

The cars ranges are too short and the recharging time is too long if you stayed in the city the car would be just fine. replacing bad batteries are very expensive and disposal of the old batteries is a problem as they are considered toxic waste. In cold climates the batteries lose a lot of there charge and thus there range shortens even more.

Batteries,

with the advent of hydrogen cell batteries we may soon have a viable alternative to the big ole lead acid ones .. but the technology just isnt efficient enough yet. The cost of the power isn't cheep enough yet. would you pay 1.40 $ per mile ??

price of the technology, the distance the car can go on a single charge, the price to insure such a vehicle, the fact that they would have to retrain the entire fire department on how to deal with car fires with batteries the size of a coffee table.

Battery tech is about 10yrs behind were it should be. I think this is the limitation. Also excellent responses on my question "Is gravity constant"

They are not much more cost efficient than gas powered cars, after you consider everything. And distance is limited.

THE BATTERIES, AND POWER STATIONS, AND DISTANCE.