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Comment by rayiner | Hacker News Reader

> Most people don't do roadtrip. They just charge at home.

It’s very common for Americans to drive long distances to visit family for holidays.

The median American lives within 18 miles of their mom and 80% within "a couple hours."[0] 55% are within an hour's drive of their extended family.[1] The majority of Americans do not drive long distances for holidays. It's common, but like, most people aren't doing it, which is congruent with GP's statement that "most people don't roadtrip."

[0]: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/24/upshot/24up-f...

[1]: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/05/18/more-than...

So a couple of hours. Say 140 miles. In winter, that's about your max range in a Model 3/Y. So you arrive with so little juice, and at a house that has no charger. So you have to charge forever on 110v. Then limp your car to a Supercharger and wait forever to get to 80%. Then make a stop halfway home to charge again.

Winter does NOT like EVs...

this is the type of thing i would say before i actually got an EV.

now that i have an EV and no place at home to charge it (like tens of millions of other Americans) and have to use public infrastructure...

its crap. its just utter crap. yes 90% of trips are not road trips but people do not want to buy a car that can do 90% of what they want any more than they would buy shoes or clothes that only work 90 percent of the time. (and imagine if you could only buy one pair of shoes or one shirt).

Yeah, I agree that buying an EV without charging at home doesn't make much sense. And if you do need to drive many hours, even occasionally, that would be a great reason not to get an EV. To be clear: I don't own an EV, nor am I planning to buy an EV next time I need a car.

Midwest especially; growing up a one day drive across the entire width of Illinois and Indiana to see relatives was a common occurrence for the holidays and our summer family trip.

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