Refueling Stations versus Plugging into a Wall

The biggest issue we all know with plug in electric cars historically has been, they have limited range, they're slow and they take forever to recharge.  Some of this holds true and the only true electric car available in any real numbers today is the Nissan Leaf.  Don't be fooled for a second over the hooplah surrounding the Chevy Volt.  Yes, it's a very advanced, next generation hybrid, but it's still a hybrid.  Electric cars don't burn gasoline, even if it is to power an on-board generator that recharges the battery.  But I digress.

I have read that realistically, the Nissan Leaf is good for about 60 miles of real world highway driving, and driving like a normal human who floors it to merge onto freeways and doesn't drive like a grandma who just crapped in her depends.  And that's probably good for most commuters on a set schedule where you can recharge it once a day, probably in the evenings when you get home.  But the problem is, it takes at least 8 hours on a 240 volt industrial line, and upwards of 18 hours to fully charge a Leaf using a standard 110 volt household outlet.  18 hours is a long time to sit idle.  Even UAW workers would say that's too long of a coffee break. 

The Mercedes F-Cell "recharges" using compressed hydrogen.  You pull up to a station like the one pictured above in Torrance, California, one of the newest and most advanced of the hydrogen stations.  After connecting the nozzle like you would a regular gasoline car, you pump hydrogen from empty to full maybe in about 10 minutes, depending upon the station.  That's a bit longer than filling up an average mid sized sedan full of dino juice, but it's certainly faster than charging for 18 hours! 

We still lack hydrogen fuel stations on every street corner, but I argue that with a little planning, one can live a routine life more normally with a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle than a rechargeable electric car.