I don't think that moving the application of force from the car body to the wheels or vice-versa would make much difference. The ODE cars had the thrust provided by the front or rear or all four wheels, using rotational movement (what you describe as the ideal case), but the car still swapped ends in an instant and was generally not that much fun to drive.
ODE even allowed soft contacts, but still you couldn't get a realistic car model because in the end the friction between the wheel and road was constant, and it either gripped and stuck or it bounced, leading to an on-off grip situation.
A "rubber tire -> ground" friction model is what the simulation needs.
As I understand it - if you look at the force a tire experiences when it corners, it can grip and grip until a certain level of total loading is reached, whereupon it starts to break and gradually or rapidly (dep. upon the tire) starts to slide and the traction level drops right off. The total force upon the tire must then be reduced (by slowing down and/or turning the steering) until the level is reached where the tire can grip again. Note that the regaining grip level is lower than the level at which the tire broke in the first place (presumably due to the way in which the tire reacts as it slides and heats up etc...?)
Have a look on the net for tire force-circles and you'll see the effect.
Alternatively, download Richard Chaney's excellent car demo and you can see the force circles displayed on the screen. Note that even in his demo, the car still displays a tendancy to flip into oversteer.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/richard.chaney/cardemo.zip
ODE even allowed soft contacts, but still you couldn't get a realistic car model because in the end the friction between the wheel and road was constant, and it either gripped and stuck or it bounced, leading to an on-off grip situation.
A "rubber tire -> ground" friction model is what the simulation needs.
As I understand it - if you look at the force a tire experiences when it corners, it can grip and grip until a certain level of total loading is reached, whereupon it starts to break and gradually or rapidly (dep. upon the tire) starts to slide and the traction level drops right off. The total force upon the tire must then be reduced (by slowing down and/or turning the steering) until the level is reached where the tire can grip again. Note that the regaining grip level is lower than the level at which the tire broke in the first place (presumably due to the way in which the tire reacts as it slides and heats up etc...?)
Have a look on the net for tire force-circles and you'll see the effect.
Alternatively, download Richard Chaney's excellent car demo and you can see the force circles displayed on the screen. Note that even in his demo, the car still displays a tendancy to flip into oversteer.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/richard.chaney/cardemo.zip