The "coverage everywhere" is the best argument for maintaining AM reception. No other radio technology covers a large area better than AM - or could if interference laws were actually enforced. It's not as line-of-sight and terrain-limited as FM, especially at night. We already have low power AM stations on many major highways for traffic alerts. Those stations are usually run by solar-charged battery and fed information via the internet using a VPN. You could expand the network that each state's DOT is already using. You could also put a LP AM transmitter on a cell tower to cover a much large area for broadcast because you don't need handsets to have the ability (or power) to respond.
Thanks to the big 50KW AMs, many of which are languishing these days, it's pretty hard to find a place that doesn't receive an AM signal. At least you'd have regional reach in case of emergency. In case of emergency, the ability to notify people of where to go and how to get there can be vital, especially once they've left home and are trying to get to a safe place.
As far as electric cars and recharging are concerned, I believe that's a problem that even much better batteries can't solve. Expect hydrogen fuel cells to generate the electricity for those vehicles once the problems of struggling power grids become so apparent that another solution becomes imperative. That, however, is a discussion for another forum.
