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Yep, without active cooling they're worthless. With active cooling you might be able to get a few volts out of it, but the problem isn't the volts, it's the total power. 300C, 60mm TEGs push less than 20W with >200C delta.
We don't even need higher efficiency TEGs to be able to use them on cars actually, we just need higher temperature ones. They're not commercially available though, to the best of my knowledge. Allowing 500C rated TEGs to interface with exhaust would mean a pretty simple and compact unit using perhaps 6 of them could supply all of the car's electrical energy.
Higher efficiency ones would be good when mild-hybrids become standard.
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