Very funny write-up of a very real problem, Liz. I used to commute 40 miles each way in a first-generation Nissan Leaf, which had a nominal 100 mile range. It was great for a year or so and then I started running close to the edge. My commute included going over a smallish mountain ridge (Highway 17, for those who know the Santa Clara/Santa Cruz CA area) which, I figured, cost me about an extra 5 miles of my capacity each way. The funny thing was, the peak of the hill was about 15 miles from home, but on my commute home, if I could get to the peak, even with 0 miles left, I could make it home! Because of so much of it being downhill after that, and also the charge I got back from regenerative braking. A lot of sweating (literally, on hot days when I dared not run the AC because of the charge it consumes) in stop-and-go rush hour traffic crawling up the hill... but I never once got stuck. After a while, I had to find somewhere to recharge on the way home, and a while after that, I wanted to get the battery replaced. But Nissan didn't want to replace it, they preferred to give me a pretty good lease on a new model. Apologies for too long a story, but I thought the hill thing was funny.