Comes back to money

Unfortunately, I don't think that car and oil companies will voluntarily compete just to win a contest--but they might if it could improve their bottom line.  We're beginning to see a tiny bit of this with the automakers, as American demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles increases.  Unfortunately, there's no incentive for the oil companies to promote cars that go farther on a single gallon of gas.  And while a literal "contest" is a nice idea, it's hard to imagine those companies working towards something that might cost them billions in revenue.

Rather, the demand has to come from the public and our representatives, as you've said.  I think a key piece of this puzzle is by passing public financing, so that lawmakers can act on the people's will without regard to the well-funded lobbyists on the special interests' side.  Then, if we say, "We need alternative sources of energy, and we'll subsidize that effort," that will more easily pass Congress and push oil companies and others to adapt.  And in the end we can find ourselves in a cleaner, more sustainable, and more secure energy future.