Lexus advertisement talks trash on EVs (and makes no sense)

[wallet.dat]

From what I've seen, Toyota actually believes gasoline powered hybrids are superior and that EVs are not practical. They just don't get it. That's why they bet the company on hybrids. And I'm pretty sure they believe the FUD they spew.

I must be missing something. What's wrong with hybrids that you would think all-electric is superior?

 

[ZsoZso]

I must be missing something. What's wrong with hybrids that you would think all-electric is superior?

1. Hybrids get 100% of their energy from fossil fuels (they only reduce waste by the electric drivetrain) -- that are past production peak
2. Hybrids still produce large amount of CO2 emission & other toxic emissions too
3. You still need to waste time filling them up with stinky liquid
4. They still require oil changes and other regular maintenance like all ICE cars
5. They are noisy

so in short pretty much all the same problems as ICE cars

 

[MikeL]

I must be missing something. What's wrong with hybrids that you would think all-electric is superior?

Not long ago an old friend came to visit me at my workshop. When he learned of my enthusiasm for the advancement of EV transportation, I just HAD to take a ride in his new hybrid. 'Uninspiring' would be a kind description of the experience. By all means, get better mileage, burn less gas, drive a hybrid, but the all-electric car IS better. Its superiority is self evident in a side by side direct comparison. From a mechanical standpoint alone, a hybrid is the worst of both worlds. The EV has to haul around an ICE vehicle, which is a cobbling together of hundred-year-old "technology" further handicapped by having to share limited space with an EV.
Full EV = no compromise.

Lexus ad is shameful. Here's the way I see it - in order for them to proceed and succeed, they have to get as many people as possible to believe things that are not true. Only so long that can continue

 

[Doug_G]

I must be missing something. What's wrong with hybrids that you would think all-electric is superior?

Environmentally all-electric is far superior. Here in Ontario only 5% of electricity production is from carbon sources, and that's mostly daytime peaking - I charge almost entirely at night. A hybrid vehicle is simply a gas-powered car with modestly better fuel economy for city driving, and no better for highway driving.

Driving experience with all-electric is far superior. You want an extreme example, drive a Prius, then drive a Tesla.

 

[jerry33]

Driving experience with all-electric is far superior. You want an extreme example, drive a Prius, then drive a Tesla.

Right. The Tesla is to the Prius as the Prius is to a full ICE car.

 

[RandyS]

Wow, very interesting...Especially considering that Toyota sells the RAV4EV all electric vehicle in California with a Tesla drive train. I realize it is a compliance car that they have to sell to be able to sell their other gas cars in the state, but talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face...Why be so offensive?

My respect for Toyota just dropped a fair bit...Along with GM and that arrogant ad they recently released about the Cadillac XLR. It talks about us leaving the keys in the moon rover because no one else is going back there but us. And of course the Chinese just landed a spacecraft there last December with their own moon rover, so we "Americans" look very dumb making that statement...

I thought advertising was supposed to make you WANT to buy the product? Spending money to push away potential customers, what a concept!

 

[jerry33]

Wow, very interesting...Especially considering that Toyota sells the RAV4EV all electric vehicle in California with a Tesla drive train. I realize it is a compliance car that they have to sell to be able to sell their other gas cars in the state, but talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face...Why be so offensive?

Toyota has been against EVs forever. When they made the original RAV4-EV, the executives called it "the battery carrier", and put a lot of effort into getting the California laws changed. Once that happened, they stopped production immediately. They would have crushed all the cars except that they saw all the bad publicity GM got and so sold them. Many are still running just fine. The problem is that Toyota fears EVs because it disrupts their business model and invalidates most of their core competency. I suspect it will take a major downturn in Toyota sales to get them to change direction. (A major downturn in sales is what led to the Prius).

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

There's no luxury brand more uninspiring than Lexus on the road today; oh, maybe Acura runs them close. Boring looking land yachts mostly and their hybrid offerings with their blue badging are long in the tooth. When I couldn't take the wait for the Model S anymore back in 2011, almost convinced myself to get the horrible-looking H250h - now, there was a pointless take on a hybrid.

 

[wallet.dat]

Environmentally all-electric is far superior. Here in Ontario only 5% of electricity production is from carbon sources, and that's mostly daytime peaking - I charge almost entirely at night. A hybrid vehicle is simply a gas-powered car with modestly better fuel economy for city driving, and no better for highway driving.

Driving experience with all-electric is far superior. You want an extreme example, drive a Prius, then drive a Tesla.

Environmentally, sure... I get that.

For driving experience there's really not enough examples out there (hybrid or electric) to have a fair head-to-head comparison. Speaking of extreme examples, how about McLaren P1 vs. Tesla S? That's not even close to being apples to oranges, let alone apples to apples. So we have to go by what we know now: all-electric's greatest strength (the ability to produce maximum torque right out the gate) happens to also be one of it's biggest weaknesses. The problem is that power is all front-loaded at 0 RPM and gradually drops off after that. That's just the nature of the beast. A regular ICE engine on the other hand will generally make more power the faster you twist it. A properly designed hybrid (one that is closer to the P1/918 end of the spectrum than the Prius) will combine the off-the-line torque of an AC induction motor with the on-the-roll power of an ICE engine. We've already seen this done at the hypercar level, and it's just a matter of time before more attainable performance-oriented hybrids start hitting the streets. In fact the R36 GTR is rumored to be a hybrid, employing electric motors to fill in the gap between idle and full boost. All the strengths of an electric car, with none of the weaknesses -- an automotive Daywalker.

 

[Doug_G]

The Model S produces ample torque well above any street-legal speeds in the USA or Canada, or most countries for that matter. It also produces instant torque at any speed, in comparison to my former G37, which could take a full second to start accelerating if the double-clutch transmission had preselected the wrong gear. The driving experience is far smoother, quieter, and more responsive in the Model S.

Now if you're talking supercars on a race track, sure, there currently aren't any production pure EVs that are on a par.