Meanwhile in Australia, I can't even get my landlord to allow me to pay for my own power point to charge my Volt!

ra ra ra ... when the government stops subsidizing them then they have made it ...

I know I have 75 minutes to waste during a fill - NOT. Then there is the issue of batteries degenerating over time so that a 30 KWH battery becomes 25, then 20, then 15 and so on. The range following the capacity. The volt is promoted on the basis that after 8 years you'll need a $10,000 battery replacement but says the salesperson, this is just like replacing a worn out engine. Hello- has anyone ever had to replace a gasoline engine after only 8 years? Not unless it's been hugely abused. Fast charging equals heat equals early failure. If an EV dies away from charging, can AAA bring a can of electricity to fill it? Clearly a lot more work and better technology is required for this to become mainstream.

All I can say in answer to the naysayers above is that, in more than two years of driving an EV, I've only twice been inconvenienced by range-related issues. Both of those times because I was driving more than the estimated 90 miles in a single round trip. The inconvenience was only that I needed to recharge while parked at the location so I'd have sufficient charge for the return trip. It was actually less trouble than stopping at a gas station, because I could just plug the car into a power outlet and go about my business, unplug it on my return, and head home—no muss, very little fuss.
Exactly once, in heading to a temporary job in another state, I had to leave my car behind, because only California has the power-station infrastructure in place to accommodate long-distance travel. I rented a car at my destination, for which I was reimbursed by my car's manufacturer.
Electric vehicles aren't for everyone. They are, however, perfectly suitable for millions more people than currently drive them. They will continue to improve, and more people will drive them. There's really no practical alternative.

Good article touching most of the relevant points. However the biggest miss is the EFFICIENCY of electric cars vs gasoline. It means HUGE money savings for SOCIETY as a whole. That alone is more than enough reason to go electric. It is coming sooner than people think. All the excuses of range, charging time, longevity of the battery and subsidies are just that. Weak excuses. They are the same type of arguments that were made in the days of the automobile taking over from the horse-carriage.
Autonomous is fortunately happening at the same time and also a better marriage than with an ICE (to to electronic vs mechanical controls). This too will benefit society TREMENDOUSLY. I think even more than the switch to electric. We will need less cars causing less waste and better resource utilization. Better traffic movement, safer, more efficient and more effective. All this stuff will happen because that is what always happens. Constant improvements to efficiency and cutting out of waste.
As for subsidies, the fossil fuel industry were subsidized to the tune of $325 Billion last year. In 2014 it was $500 Billion. For renewable energy the figure was $150 Billion last year. So yeah, level the playing field and electric cars will get adopted even quicker!
With a 14% annual improvement in battery energy density, energy densities will double roughly every 5 years. It's game over for gasoline. Just like those clinging to their horse and buggy businesses could not see the ICE taking over their industry, the same will happen today with the ICE industry. People will always hate what they don't understand, or resist changes to what they believe in. Humans unfortunately never changes much.

Range anxiety should be irrelevant. It would make far more sense for the consumer to buy the car batteryless and buy, lease or rent batteries for the car depending on need. Car manufacturers would just rather sell a $35,000 car instead of a $20,000 car. With swappable batteries, recharging on road trips would amount to trading discharged batteries for charged batteries, car owners could save money for typical commuting with fewer batteries installed, batteries would be continuously upgraded by battery owner, and batteries could be transferred to new or different vehicle.

All of this started by Bob Lutz...
Who was removed by Rahm Emmanuel, now the Mayor of Chicago? And Ed Whitacre who arrogantly took over and almost screwed things up.
b

I love the complaint that one expense of 10k in 8 years (though the price will come down) is somehow more money than the price different in gas vs. electricity and maintenance on the 500+ moving parts (belts, fluids and broken parts). Buying electricity versus gas alone is going to more than make up for that in less than 8 years.

@Jeff J Carlson, if government subsidies defines a failure then I would readily add the fossil fuel and nuclear industries as well to that list.
@Joe Blough, entropy will deteriorate an ICE vehicle as well as an EV, and you should research how many electric vehicles have had battery replacements. GM Parts Online, for example, is selling a replacement Volt battery with an MSRP of $2,994.64 but, with an online discount, the price comes down to $2,305.88.
Our family has an EV and we would not trade it for anything. With over 20-30 already models on the market, thousands of chargers already installed and well over several billion electric miles combined traveled on electric vehicles already, the future of EVs is here.

PREDICTION: EV cars will not outnumber gas engines until the cost of electricity is about equal to the cost of gasoline per mile. Taxes and demand will make that happen. Look at electric prices in Los Angeles now.... The capacity of the electric grid is also an issue, and improvements will be subsidized by taxes, same as roads. The only real difference will not be electric vs gas, but personalized commuter transport using self-driving electric vehicles. The car will become an appliance - a toaster with wheels - where the driving and ownership experiences are irrelevant.