The efficiency is undeniable, but it couldn't make up for the awful battery technology and absurd drag coefficient of a garden-shed-on-wheels car from the 1910s

The efficiency is undeniable, but it couldn't make up for the awful battery technology and absurd drag coefficient of a garden-shed-on-wheels car from the 1910s. Streamliners and aerodynamics matured a little later. It's a pity we didn't go for Otto-electric hybrid drive cars like the EMD locomotives that have been running since before I was a going concern. The genset runs at its optimal RPM for power delivery and fuel consumption, with rapid refuelling and the massive range benefits of liquid fuel while the electric motors deliver a wall of torque and minimal driveline losses all the time. Dump it into a battery (or a flywheel KERS, whynot) to smooth out the peaks and valleys if you're feeling fancy. I am nearly certain that we had all that tech in 1912 - it's completely analog and self-regulating! - but it probably didn't pay for itself back in the days before they'd invented things like the environment and non-unlimited supplies of crude. Bummer. I still want to build an EMD lawnmower.