(First, I'm glad the comment
(First, I'm glad the comment box is working.)
Estimates are that between 60,000,000 and 100,000,000 households in the U.S. have two cars and a consistent place to park. (For those with one car or no consistent place to park, a PHEV is ideal.) I believe it is manifestly obvious that having an EV as a second car is the EV market for oh, say, the next decade or more, until batteries can enable cars to drive for 5 hours and then charge up in 15 minutes so that both household cars can be EVs. But we don't need to get to that place anytime soon, as the nation's vehicular fleet only is replaced at the rate of about 5% annually anyway. Let's focus on the positives -- economic, clean, patriotic -- that promote EVs as a second car. Once EVs are more regularly in the hands of people, and they realize that EVs are nicer cars that they prefer to drive, then the combination of technology advancements and market push will ensure their integration into every aspect of driving. (BTW: I also suspect that EVs are more readily adaptable as autonomous-driving vehicles, and that will be an advantage as well, as that technology becomes integrated into the mainstream.)
But: in my opinion, a story that confirms that long distance EV driving is difficult is focusing on the negative. Granted, it is hard to constantly focus on a middling subject -- that EVs are nice second cars -- but this is the critical message to impart. If anything, the interesting subject is what is a second car and what is a primary car: in my household, we use our Leaf whenever possible and are on track to put about 15,000 miles on it this year (unfortunately for me, this is more than I anticipated when I put PV on the house), while our minivan will get about 3,000 miles of use (outside of a very long trip we plan to take). Admittedly, it's not stunning news and doesn't make as interesting a story, but charging at home and work is the reality of EV owners.
If you want to do a public charging story, I'd like to know this: regardless that there are no fewer than 6 public charging databases, when will someone devise a program in which you can input the places you want to go and the lengths of each stop there, and you will be informed where to charge and be offered the opportunity to make reservations at the charging stations there? Now, that would be distance traveling news.
Thanks.