Simply search for “Mother Earth News” and then search for “electric vehicle with onboard power generator”.

Several years ago (prior to the advent of lithium batteries) an individual in Arkansas took the combustion engine out of his Opel GT, replaced it with a surplus aircraft starter/generator set to run as a motor, and then hooked up a second starter/generator, set to run as a generator to charge 6 deep cycle batteries. The generator was originally powered by a 5hp Briggs & Stratton lawn mower engine – initially with a pull start! (until he figured out how to add an electric starter). A small 1-cylinder gas engine emits a lot less than the original 4-cyclinder gas engine.

The generator was started, which began charging the battery pack, then the electric “motor” would start and the driver would select the transmission for forward or reverse. Since the electric vehicle’s batteries were charged all the time during travel, the only limitation was how much gas was used by the gas engine running the generator. At a sustained 55mph the gas engine used 1/2 gallon per hour. A 1 gallon tank takes it 110 miles on regular gas!

NO WIRES IN THE ROAD REQUIRED!

P.S. Later he replaced the 5hp Briggs & Stratton engine with a 7hp Chrysler Marine single cylinder diesel engine. This allowed it to turn the generator faster and generate more power to the battery pack. The diesel engine used 1/4 gallon per hour. That equates to 220 miles per 1 gallon of diesel!
(Honda may be able to build generators able to do better than that.)

The cost of infrastructure is always a barrier unless there is money to be made by someone in power. I heard the same naysayers downplay the viablility of cell phones when the issue of building out the cell tower infrastructure was raised…So, ATT, Sprint, and others built them…and to some extent, we are still paying for those infrastructure build outs..at least it seems so every time I get my cell phone bill…but we adjust…

Likewise, Chevron and Co. will figure out a way to fund and build out wireless charging points to stay and reinvent itself in the fueling game, once the politics of oil, along with China’s and India’s growing economies consuming most of the production, gets to be more of a hassle than a business model.