Well obviously it's different for each person and each situation. I was mostly referring to my truck, that I LIKE to refuel around 1/2 tank although I don't always. A 1/4 tank of gas in my truck doesn't get me that far, and I live in a rural area. Not the concrete jungle that is socal. My drive to work is around 35 miles on a country road, and 35 miles back. I work on call, when my phone rings I grab my **** and go. Leaving myself in a position where I would need to stop and get fuel on the way (or back) would be retarded for me. There are still plenty of places here that are pay inside only, closed at night. Driving along a nearly deserted road with no gas stations nearby, staring at your gas light isn't my idea of fun.
In Oregon, I often went to see friends/family all over the state through mountain and desert roads. Several times I've taken the truck far into the mountains late at night to rescue a friends broken or stuck vehicle. Finding an open gas station (no self serve in Oregon) at night isn't always easy. Having to back track to find fuel is less than ideal as well.
Or on another occasion where my best friend was nearly killed in a motorcycle accident 150 miles away, and his wife needed support as he was still unconscious. Not the time you want to have to stop and think about fuel.
It also wasn't uncommon to have storms where I grew up that left the place without power for several days, and the towns were somewhat isolated. The storms that brought powerlines down generally closed roads with fallen trees. It was always good to have fuel and be able to help friends and family when they needed it, instead of hunkering down and worrying about having enough fuel to last.
I could not care less if other people want to run their cars to empty, except when the idiots around here run out of fuel in the middle of the road. Oddly enough it happens here ALL the time. It seems like at least twice a month I come up to a spot in the road where traffic is backed up, and I find someone walking back toward the car with a can of gas. I just don't understand why you would want to do that. I would rather have it and not need it, than the other way around. I can't think of a single time in my truck, a car, or a helicopter than I'm flying where I wished I had LESS fuel (unless it was a weight consideration).
Having a car that can go 600+ miles between fill-ups is awesome, but my feeling is... Just because you can, doesn't mean you have to. I will gladly stop and spend five minutes to fuel the car/truck before I get to empty. On the other hand, I've known plenty of people who drive on empty all the time and refuse to put more than $10 of fuel in their car for some reason, and never have problems with it. To each his own.