You are assuming that every city allows cars into dining areas. There are many examples in Europe where this is not the case. The whole electric vs combustion car argument is predicated on the fact that we need cars in inner cities at all.
Mmmmm, I don't think I assumed that. I'm pretty sure I described my current scenario, and the scenarios of others who live in similar places. I know how loathsome this scenario is because I have lived and traveled in those places in Europe you mention.
The sad reality is that cars are so thoroughly stuck into the urban areas in so many places and it will take longer than my lifespan to unring that bell here in America and fix mobility in urban centers. However, we can potentially unring some smaller bells a hell of a lot sooner with EVs. It's a really valuable transitional tech in that regard, in my eyes. I don't think ICE will ever truly go away, due to the huge power density of the fuel. But, if we just replace say, half of the passenger fleet within say, 10-100 miles of american cities with EVs as they age out by like 2035, life will be much better here from that point until I die. Of course if we can increase the portion of those cars that age out and are not replaced, especially in a 1 mile radius of the city center, that's a much larger win than swapping an ICE SUV for an EV SUV.
