Batteries are for starting engines, flashlights and portable radios. There is no reasonable transport battery out there.
The complexity of the equipment for battery powered cars to work, makes it a ridiculous exercise in ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should’ engineering.
If the government financed stupidity, we would have lots of it. Come to think of it, isn’t that the problem?
I'm with you there. Electrochemical storage technology has not experienced a necessary quantum leap from 19th century technology. The lead acid battery hasn't changed at all since the Civil War!
However, within the constraints of the EPA game, there's some room for batteries as a motive storage device.
And if you're going to do it, and if you really need >40mpg (we don't), then all I'm saying is that a serial hybrid makes more sense than a parallel hybrid, and less pollution than an ultra-lean diesel.