Astongate: fake emission figures, an embattled carmaker and a sock puppet PR company
Bet there will be some interesting conversations happening today!
Bet there will be some interesting conversations happening today!
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#astongate - Interesting read on Aston Martins involvement in recent EV FUD
- Thread starter DaveW
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At a time where F1 are discussing the future of their engine technologies after losing Honda from 2022 so that they can focus on more 'relevant' technology that helps the consumers...
Lawrence Stroll's newly branded Aston Martin F1 team and McLaren (both mentioned in the article) will be using the hugely dominant Mercedes Hybrids from next year so no wonder they're keen to downplay the effect of electric powertrains and keep with the status quo from 2026 onwards.
Lawrence Stroll's newly branded Aston Martin F1 team and McLaren (both mentioned in the article) will be using the hugely dominant Mercedes Hybrids from next year so no wonder they're keen to downplay the effect of electric powertrains and keep with the status quo from 2026 onwards.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
More from the Guardian
Aston Martin in row over 'sockpuppet PR firm' pushing anti-electric vehicle study
Aston Martin is at the centre of a climate lobbying controversy after a study co-commissioned by the company that cast doubt on the green credentials of electric vehicles was found to have been attributed to a PR company registered to the wife of a director at the luxury carmaker.
The study, which has since been widely debunked by experts, was presented as “groundbreaking” third-party research and appeared to show that electric cars would have to travel as far as 50,000 miles before matching the carbon footprint of a petrol model.
Aston Martin in row over 'sockpuppet PR firm' pushing anti-electric vehicle study
Aston Martin is at the centre of a climate lobbying controversy after a study co-commissioned by the company that cast doubt on the green credentials of electric vehicles was found to have been attributed to a PR company registered to the wife of a director at the luxury carmaker.
The study, which has since been widely debunked by experts, was presented as “groundbreaking” third-party research and appeared to show that electric cars would have to travel as far as 50,000 miles before matching the carbon footprint of a petrol model.
ACarneiro
Active Member
Nobody will care and this too will fade away.
As will, by the sounds of it, Aston Martin.
As will, by the sounds of it, Aston Martin.
phil4
Member
Am I missing the point?
from what I’ve heard the report is full of bobbins claims, cherry picked and misrepresented from other reports. That I get, and that’s bad.
I’m not sure though why the PR agency and their connection to AM is relevant? Lots of manufacturers and firms claimed to be involved in the report, Honda, McLaren, Bosch etc, but also AM. So why does it matter that the PR agency was related to AM? It’s not like they were hiding.
perhaps this is a level of subtly I’ve not reached
from what I’ve heard the report is full of bobbins claims, cherry picked and misrepresented from other reports. That I get, and that’s bad.
I’m not sure though why the PR agency and their connection to AM is relevant? Lots of manufacturers and firms claimed to be involved in the report, Honda, McLaren, Bosch etc, but also AM. So why does it matter that the PR agency was related to AM? It’s not like they were hiding.
perhaps this is a level of subtly I’ve not reached
mspohr
Well-Known Member
This was presented as an "independent" study but...Am I missing the point?
from what I’ve heard the report is full of bobbins claims, cherry picked and misrepresented from other reports. That I get, and that’s bad.
I’m not sure though why the PR agency and their connection to AM is relevant? Lots of manufacturers and firms claimed to be involved in the report, Honda, McLaren, Bosch etc, but also AM. So why does it matter that the PR agency was related to AM? It’s not like they were hiding.
perhaps this is a level of subtly I’ve not reached
(nothing subtle here)
But it can be revealed that the same companies that were credited with commissioning the study collaborated to write the report themselves, and the communications firm is a company registered under the name of Rebecca Stephens, who is the wife of Aston Martin’s government affairs director, James Stephens. The company was set up in February and registered to the address of a property jointly owned by the married couple.
Concerns over the report were first raised by Michael Liebreich, the founder of Bloomberg’s clean energy research arm BNEF, in a Twitter thread that has become known within the industry as “Astongate”.
“We need to have a proper discussion about how we are going to get to net zero,” he said. “What we can’t have is the auto industry and fossil fuel incumbents twisting the discussion to their own advantage using sock-puppet PR companies and underhand tactics. The time for that is over.”
Rustybkts
Member
I sent the link the OP attached to all the publications mentioned in the debunking report but very much doubt there will be a follow up apology from any of them.
Whatever happened to "investigative" jornalism? I guess that went with the time served journalists when the much cheaper teenagers were employed to replace them.
They print anything these days and it all appears to be negative when the subject is regarding EV's.
Contrary to that I find that anyone who sits in the co-pilots seat in any of mine or my daughters cars for a quick spin is immediately converted.
I even recently converted my brother in to getting a 22kWh Leaf and despite his daily commute being on the edge of winter range, he loves the car and happy to top it up on his return journey at Leicester's first and only city Rapid which I was pleased to find is an easy to use Instavolt.
His previous petrol costs are paying for the car. Who said EV's are expensive?
Whatever happened to "investigative" jornalism? I guess that went with the time served journalists when the much cheaper teenagers were employed to replace them.
They print anything these days and it all appears to be negative when the subject is regarding EV's.
Contrary to that I find that anyone who sits in the co-pilots seat in any of mine or my daughters cars for a quick spin is immediately converted.
I even recently converted my brother in to getting a 22kWh Leaf and despite his daily commute being on the edge of winter range, he loves the car and happy to top it up on his return journey at Leicester's first and only city Rapid which I was pleased to find is an easy to use Instavolt.
His previous petrol costs are paying for the car. Who said EV's are expensive?
As with all of these, they know it will be debunked, but they don't care.
They expect the general press cycle to be Big! Negative! Headline! followed by small debunking article, and it's the big headline that makes it stick.
It's only becomes a problem for them if the whole media sees the possibility of a bigger story in the fakery. Guardian articles don't matter.
phil4
Member
Thanks too the previous posted that spelled out what I'd missed. For what it's worth, as I'm cynical I -always- look at who commissioned the study, because regardless of who did it and how independent it's supposed to be, it won't be... it'll say whatever the commissioning firm wanted it to say. It sounds like this is no different... I'd already assumed they'd made it up, I'd not taken their "independence" to mean anything... so I guess I missed the outrage.
For what it's worth I thought it was widely accepted approach to any PR release, Lobbying company statement or study like this. Forget independent... if someone is paying for something they'll be making sure it says what they want it to say, or for example the case of a lobbying company, don't be surprised they disagree with the govt, that's their job, to disagree and they'd not have said anything unless they did.
As Mulder once said... trust no one.
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