Thanks Chad. May I ask you to review your trip more precisely for the time between SF [or SV] and LA???
Both directions I was visiting people in both LA and SF, so I left and arrived mid-day and spent the night in between, and I didn't keep track of exact times--so I can't give a meaningful number of hours that I was on the road, sorry.
However, Google says SF to LA is 381 miles, which will take about 6.5 hours of driving at the speed limit. Assuming I start with a full charge, at those speeds I'd need about exactly one full extra charge along the way to make that distance. It's around 4 hours for a full charge on the Rabobank HPCs; so I could make the trip in 10.5 hours.
That's assuming I drain the car, and then fill it up completely. I wouldn't (and didn't) do that; instead I stopped at every charger, and got a partial charge while doing something else--getting coffee, eating a meal, shopping, etc. That makes the drive more pleasant and is easier on the batteries, but more to the point it avoids charging the last 10% which goes slower. However, the multiple stops take a few extra minutes each, so it probably works out to about the same total amount of time.
If you don't make any stops (well, most gas cars would have to stop to refuel), and speed is your only goal, it's clear that a gas car is significantly faster--no argument there. If that's your daily commute, get a Volt or Prius. But if you stop for meals and restrooms and sightseeing anyway, and/or are concerned with cleaner/cheaper/more pleasant driving, I'd say the electric car wins. After a 3k trip, I would still much prefer to make my next trip in an EV than a gas car.
And if you usually drive the car for things other than this trip...well, the EV wins hands-down. Too many people focus on a little inconvenience for a once-a-year trip (for which they may well take another car, or fly instead anyway), but don't think about how much more convenient an EV is the other 364 days of the year.