My folks are doing that thing again where they call and ask me what kind of car they should buy so we can spend weeks getting to a consensus that they ignore. Most recently, I told them to go look at a Chevy Bolt to compliment their Honda Odyssey. My Dad probably doesn’t cover a Bolt’s range in two months, it’s practical and has enough safety tech that I feel good about recommending it to a septuagenarian.

“I dunno Joe, it’s pretty small. And what if I want to come down to Detroit?” (They call me Joe.) Some version of this conversation has played out with every person I’ve recommended an EV to.

Personally, I barely drive except for road tests and occasional long road trips, so I haven’t been able to justify it. Even as EVs surpass the ability to deliver daily driver-grade utility, buyers seem to be mostly people who are really enthusiastic about EVs. Is it range? Unfamiliarity?

When do these things start making sense to people who aren’t car-obsessed? When do we actually start buying EVs?