Ordinary lead acid batteries going back to the '60s have been sufficient to cover over 80% of American commutes. The reason there have been no commuter specials is because you'd only need to buy 1, barring wrecks. Car companies and oil companies have astroturfed against such vehicles because they would interrupt multiple revenue streams. Instead we've had little weird, glorified golf carts that barely attain city speeds -- and none made by the "Big Three".

There are reports of EV conversions being passed down from one generation to the next. I remember reading about one such in Britain where the grandson had to cut down some trees literally growing through the car to get his grandfather's EV conversion out of the woods. Replaced the batteries, greased some bearings and it was ready to resume work.

...push back and market manipulation by the fossil fuel industry is also largely responsible for our lack of progress in electric transportation these past decades.

That were junked decades ago in the garden.

...a culture that will die a painful death if we don't eliminate CO2 emissions as quickly as possible.

I don't think range is an actual concern, 300 miles per tank seems to be the accepted norm and EVs get around that.

We've only just started building out the EV infrastructure and I'm guessing before all is said and done there'll be just as many charging stations as there are gas stations now.

....to blanket the country with as many charging stations as there are gas stations. If we add more powerful solar collectors to cars AND make much longer-lasting batteries, we wouldn't need half the chargers that are planned.

Which will bump up against the "planned obsolescence" that is rampant today.

...that's a great idea!

But let's keep in mind that the vastly more important objective is to move away from CO2 emissions as quickly as we possibly can.

It could be a while before it's practical to have an array on a vehicle. It makes sense now to provide some shade over parking lots.

about 20 years ago and every issue had many dozens of things that "could" but never "would" happen. I grew tired of the hype that never happened and did not renew my subscription.
I am still waiting about 5 more years and if the time is right I will get an EV.
-Airplane

Perhaps we could use fewer solar panels to charge up the home battery and keep it charged for extended use.

That could really be the end of coal and gas used to generate electricity.