Earlier this afternoon I was at a neighborhood birthday party, chatting with a couple of neighbor guys about the impracticality of electric cars in our region. We were largely in agreement but some of the back and forth clarified my negative thoughts about EVs.
I have not changed my mind that an EV is practical as a second car for a homeowner who will use it to get to work, school, the grocery, the doctor, etc within a 45 mile range from home, and park it in his/her garage every night where a charger will top up the charge.
Some businesses which have fenced lots in which the vehicle can be overnighted and which do a lot of short hops in town and to nearby suburbs might find EVs work as well.
Except … few families buy a new "second" car. The second car used around town is often an older once-first car that is paid for and still runs okay, even if we no longer want to risk it hundreds of miles away on a roadtrip.
Our "new car' is typically what we'll use if we find the need (or desire) to go 200-300 miles from home for work or play.
The consequence is that few EVs are purchased, and those mostly for virtue signaling. Buyers try to use them for longer-distance travel and have grief. Horror stories abound.
The advertised EV mileage is on nice days on level ground with a light load, and no a/c or heat drawing power. You will get less, often much less. Charging stations are often unavailable due to vandalism, damage or overuse.
My conclusion … in the US today, current EVs are very much a niche product. In a future US with a headstrong progressive government - determined to force EVs upon us - a reevaluation might come up with a different answer.
