I totally agree, I expect to see us drop the whole FWD/RWD in favor of AWD as Hybrids like the Volt become common sense and as we push Clean, Hi output Diesel engines like the Duramax 2.8L, I can see us continue to get better milage as we merge these engines with battery packs and electric motors.
I can see one day driving a full size AWD SUV up the mountain with a 1L Turbo generator that manages 100 miles a gallon and you have a small 5 or 10 gallon tank at most as the space of past fuel tanks are replaced by Battery packs.
HOW does this relate to Kids hate Auto? Simple, as we break the traditional bounderies of auto's giving longer milage on cleaner auto's while delivering the ability for youth to have their active life style, we will see more and more youth come back to designing auto's.
Just as a colllege has come up with a way to put coils in the roads to power electric auto's long range, eventually we will have drive free cars where people will not have to think about driving, just get in, tell it where to go and sit back, sleep, read the news, watch a show, etc.
Kids hate auto's today is due in part to the Cost and the Bland boring cars. Just look at all the bland style that comes out of Japan and yet we can also see the potential in what is coming out of Detroit, Korea and elsewhere.