poor old J Clarkson and Top Gear

Who takes Top Gear or JC seriously,  its a petrol head light hearted fun program.

If you think its supposed to be serious,  you might also believe Dame Edna is real. 

Problem is this case is bought by US lawyers - another breed of animals altogether

Telsa might be pissed with the way they got treated,  but naively expecting TG to give them a serious meaningful test without first approving the process beforehand shows a very serious lack of marketing professionalism & distinct lack of lawyers at that time.   

The totally unbiased & very fair TG test - - was pitting the Elise against a similarly quick electric car.  It seemed to me that the objective was to show electric cars have range issues, which it did.   

The test could just have easily been done against a petrol Mini & an electric Mini,  this would clearly show the petrol car to be able to travel the 50 miles from TG track to BBC Centre & return again on 1 tankful,  but the electric car would not be able to make it on 1 charge.  

But that would be just too boring for TG wouldn't it. 

Clarkson's an utter arse. Anything that dents his monstrous ego has to be good.

Tesla should accept that no publicity is bad publicity and get over it. TG is an entertainment, not a scientific testing organisation.

As for TG and JC much as I find them irritating in anything other than the smallest quantities I do appreciate that it is occasinonally nice to watch a consumer programme in which products are actually criticised or have some negative opinion expressed about them. Actual opinions rather than bland statements for fear of upsetting marketing deaprtments (and lawyers) are quite refreshing at times.

Bruce

Now a hybrid owner!

backfromoz,

"yup i do think electric cars are not the way forward or even hybrids for that matter."

What is the way forward once the oil runs out? Biofuels or what?

Cycling.....?

And I agree, JC and the program are dire.

The argument for electrics is that it costs a fraction of the money to run compared to a petrol car. (although they do seem damn expensive to buy). They're only meant to be little run abouts.

I don't think any electric car manufacturer would claim their car is quicker than a petrol, but if you travel 200 miles, it would cost less (assuming the electric gets that far of course.....)

One thing I really dont get are hybrids. Whats the point! They still only have similar economy figures to diesels, yet cost a lot more.

Not strictly so,  try buying a set of replacement batteries, eventually a maintenance item. Then consider what if a replacement battery/drive management system goes south.   

Whilst the overall cost of buying & running an electric car will probably be less than an eq petrol car, the battery pack is a big ticket item that must be planned into the running costs,  assuming you plan to keep the car 5 years or more.

The jury is out on how long the battery will last, no one knows for sure; but as the mnfrs are all spinning the smoke around the high gloss mirrors on this, we can all assume it might not all be as much as we might like.  But the cost at today's prices will be (dependant on car) in excess of £2000,  probably over 3000.  

Then add the very low electric car resale value into the mix & it really does seem to be a plaything for the overtly verde with a healthy disposable income.  

Petrol hybrids have lower particulates and CO2 than diesels. They may have advantages in packaging, a smaller petrol engine with a battery positioned elsewhere helps weight distribution. Range extending engines that power an all electric drivetrain are also just about up and running, they allow the engine to run at a single speed for absolute efficiency but provide the torque of electric motors driving the wheel etc. All the various ways of producing hybrid powertrains are going to deliver a variety of benefits in a more convincing way as the technology improves I suspect. Costs are also dropping and battery sizes get less too.

My little hybrid Honda CRZ is reasonably efficient (averaging high 40's with no long trips so far) but the main advantage of the battery assist is that it provides a nice torque boost that makes the relatively small engine flexible and effective in the low rev range and as the revs rise the battery assist fades out as the engine is getting into its own power band. It just makes it nice to drive-which ultimately is why I bought it. I much prefer this combination over a diesel personally, even though a small diesel might be more efficient.

Bruce

What elements are needed to make batteries for electric cars. Lithium ?

is lithium in endless supply, easily won without using oil ? Is it easily converted into batteries.

Or are we just creating a highly desirable product that is going to make Bolivia very rich.

Or perhaps battery ingredients can be endlessly re-cycled using endlessly available nuclear power.

No irony here. Just substitute "very, very long time" rather than "endless"

Cheers

Don

I don't know all the cost numbers etc but I find all electric cars to have problems in the future, they are a good step but I think hybrid is what I'd buy into.  Electricity is expensive, here in sunny CA we don't have much in the way of solar panels, and Dept of Water and Power is raising rates.  Our old coal fired plants are belching as much crap as before and EVERYTHING has to be recharged, and the Chinese are buying up the Lithium sources as fast as possible. Hmmmmm

I also find it oddly scary to be in a parking lot and suddenly a car is moving and you can't hear it. They should put soft beepers, or something, to warn people.  Long gone are the days when a V8 rumbled to let you know a car was approaching.

My wife and I got a Prius in 2008. On our last highway trip we averaged 4.9 l/100km or about 48 mpg (U.S.). I kept cruise control on while on the highway. This mileage was obtained with lights on, snow tires mounted, heater on, and it was snowing much of the time. I kept to the legal limit, 60 mph. The car will be exchanged for a new one in a year or so. My biggest concern isn't the batteries, their price has come down and life expectancy is about seven to eight years. I think there is an electrical inverter that's quite expensive, and the high voltage electrical harness runs underneath the car and since there's not much clearance can be easily damaged. The electric motor has almost 295 ft/lbs of torque so it's pretty decent to drive. Very quiet on the highway, and a very solid feeling car at speed with tractor-trailers on either side. My last four cars have been Toyota's—as usual, not a hiccup, just add gas and change the oil on a regular basis, and that comes free, special package for the life of the car. I don't even wash it, it's silver in color, and always looks clean. It's been a great car.

Dave

The whole Tesla suing thing was a hoax I believe

No mention of a hoax anywhere on the web. It's definitely being reported everywhere that Tesla are suing the BBC.

But it apparently happened two years ago. Strange that Tesla would wait for so long.

It is a great mad cap show and Clarkson is so outrageous.  Never seen a better car show over in the states except Click and Clack on radio, those guys are very funny answering calls on car problems. They love to get people to make the sounds their hearing from their cars and they just laugh and laugh at the funny situations people get in.