It's a near-constant refrain from the sanctimonious, those who would have the entire world adopt whatever cockamamie personal belief they happen to be obsessing at that particular moment.

No one, for instance, is more preachy than the ex-smoker who, having overcome his or her filthy habit, now counsels one and all to kick their nicotine addiction. For the prohibitionists of yore, it was a simple "I do not like to take a drink, therefore no one should be allowed to." And don't even get me started on the evangelicals, for whom the list of things they feel should be verboten seems to broaden every day.

To that list of the truly holier-than-thou, I would like to add the environmentalist, or -- as it specifically pertains to the readership of Post Driving -- the electric car enthusiast. Inevitably, whenever I pen yet another diatribe questioning whether the purely electric vehicle can realistically supplant the fossil-fuelled automobile, the responses always seem to come down to a variation of the classic, "I am willing to make sacrifices to drive an electric car, therefore everyone will--or so they should."

When faced with the question of what to do when a vacation forces a vehicle-based trip beyond their electric car's range, the acolytes' solution is simple: Since they are willing to rent a conventional automobile every time they stray beyond the proverbial corner store, so, too, will everyone be willing to schlep over to the rental car franchise every time they have to drive out of town.

National Post