It sounds like you like the idea of EVs but not the reality. I'm in the same boat; it's a cool technology, just not currently very practical for my situation. Maybe future technology and infrastructure improvements will change that someday, but we aren't there yet, at least not for me.
Right, as much as anything I was addressing the OP's statement "top down government technology mandates never work". Some technologies need top down help to achieve viability and to my mind EVs fit that bill. If the government help bootstrap the industry it could easily achieve viability over the years. It's hardly without precedent: would car travel be the same without the interstate highway system?
