Waiting for a train yesterday, I was struck with genius on how to make the electric car non reliant on batteries and charging off the grid. The technology has been around since 1914. With todays efficient electric motors, I would have a motor driving each wheel. A computer would control each motor making my car the most efficient and safest 4 WD on the market. In case of computer failure, a manual override would take over letting the driver use all 4 wheels or just front or back. Say a front motor started failing, then the front could be cut off and just the backs used. Another idea would be to eliminate the computer and use one electric motor to drive the front and another the back, although this would be less efficient than individual wheel motors because it would require the same mechanical differentials as used on current 4 WD. Eliminating the computer would certainly negate dependance on smart electronics and return us to a more self reliant way of living, howbeit, less efficient. A diesel motor driven generator would provide the electricity. Like a locomotive, the diesel engine would run more efficiently burning less fuel and lasting longer than if it was used as a direct drive. The highly efficient fossil fuels engine size would be smaller than a direct drive because of a more constant speed thus eliminating the need for more low end torque. No transmission would be necessary. Just an accelerator and a forward and reverse switch. This differs from the hybrid gas/electric because only the electric motors drive the wheels and NO BATTERY dependent on China for its lithium. It would be all AC which would eliminate a lot of loss and components found in todays DC electric cars. I am guessing my car could go 250 miles on one gallon of diesel. Bigger pickups might get 150 MPG. Semi's might get 50. Compare that to the 8 MPG that big rigs currently get. While todays locomotives get only .5 MPG depending on load, they move one ton of cargo (not counting their weight) 432 miles on a gallon of fuel. No semi on the road even comes close to that and pickups and delivery trucks are even less efficient.
I want to go back to computerless appliances. But that would limit control of the powers that be as would your car.