It's hard to have an all-or-nothing discussion, what's the topic of this thread? to "design" the car of the future? in absolute terms we should talk about "means to ensure the mobility of people" but hey let's talk about cars and therefore stay in the fairly near future, let's say 20/30 years at the dawn of the end of cheap fossil fuels and accessible.
Obviously, the renewal of the vehicle fleet and the technology used will not happen overnight and will require several "generations" of cars. Conversely, in this term, the use of fossil or agro fuels should be more reserved for uses that are more strategic and difficult to convert to other things (agriculture, aviation, goods, chemicals, etc.) without these sectors being exempted. to evolve.
Other evidence of the moment:
-Electric traction is more efficient, cleaner, cheaper, recent and therefore expected to progress rapidly.
-electric energy is "sealed" by its storage but benefits from a magnificent diffuse production potential
-the fuel engine is at its peak, real progress is rare despite a colossal gray matter investment, it remains heavy dirty noisy and not very flexible
-fossil fuels (including agro-) are still inexpensive, readily available and of incomparable energy density.
I think the car of the future will take shape in small touches,
-It must integrate the electrical kinematics first, I have a weakness for the wheel motor,
- do not seek too large or exclusive autonomy on battery,
-being completely hybrid, that is to say with an auxiliary generator, a field that has been little explored where great progress in consumption can be expected
-evolve in its shape, its weight and more in satisfying the need of the user than his ego
- integrate technological advances to increase its electric autonomy, rather by a PAC type generator where it seems to me that there is more room for progress than in storage technology
-to end up as an automated mobility tool for people, disconnected from individual property, but here we fall back into science fiction
But in fact the real progress is not there if we do not know how to change global governance and if we do not accept to speak of sharing and redistribution of the wealth that we have, and that we continue to plunder under the tinsel of the development, science and progress ... hop, hop, off the road !!