Comment- Hybrid Cars

Thus far, no manufacturer of hybrid/electric automobiles has gotten it right. For a while it looked like GM was tracking sensibly with the Volt concept, but they ended up with a technological masterpiece that leaves sensitive drivers wondering whether in the midst of all this traffic, the engine will start automatically the next time. For most drivers there is comfort in knowing you have a steadily running engine under the hood, and indeed hearing something running. All this marvelous technology comes at a price most buyers will balk at, and being beyond most drivers' understanding, the asking price at Cadillac levels seems a certain turnoff when the novelty wears off. But the hype has been flawless.
The right approach to a hybrid/electric design is a four wheel electric drive and a biofuel consuming engine that runs at a constant rpm at its peak efficiency, solely to charge the batteries. In colder climates its rejected heat keeps the batteries warm. The engine could be a Diesel that operates on a variety of fuels. Such a vehicle could easily have an 800 mile range on a tankful of fuel. This car is not high technology. Its simplicity means that it could be moderately priced.
There are of course a number of efforts underway to develop biofuel production capacity, but a significant switch to biofuels is unlikely due to both government pressure to raise mileage on automobiles, which is unlikely to veer from gasoline fueled, and powerful petro-political forces at play that won't go away as long as there are terrestrial oil deposits that are easily processed, and beyond that, oil in tar sands and shale.
At odds with its own intentions, the US Government has banned growing one of the most promising sources of biofuel - hemp. Is it because do-gooders fear people will smoke it (highly unlikely!)? Or is it because petro interests saw it as a threat and used political clout to ban its cultivation?