More anti-ev gibberish

[Robert.Boston]

Electric Cars Don’t Impress Car-buying Public - 24/7 Wall St.

An article based on an Indiana University study of 2300 adult drivers. I would think how questions are phrased can get you any result you want. So this study had an anti-EV bias and it was done in August of last year. The Model S is mentioned, but think about where Tesla was in August of 2011. The first public Model S event hadn't even happened yet. The Volt and the Leaf had been out for less than a year and weren't even nationally sold. Only a year old and the study is completely out of date with where EV's are now.

Agreed -- surveys like this are useless. People who have never driven an EV have no idea why they would be happy with an EV. If you had surveyed people before the iPhone release and asked if they'd be happy with a phone with five buttons and a bit of glass, you would have predicted Apple's demise. And how wrong you would have been....

 

[Doug_G]

Yeah, you can't do "focus groups", "customer surveys" and the like with a radically new product. People simply can't imagine how they would use them. They give you all kinds of wrong answers. They'll say, "yeah I'd buy that" then don't. They diss it but buy them by the bushel when they actually come out.

People are much better at these things with minor, incremental changes. Stuff they can easily picture for themselves. "I like the red better!"

 

[brianman]

An example of Doug's point...

Would you be willing to give up your refrigerator, stove, and oven for an "organic 3d printer"?

Most people would say no.

Now have them watch STTNG and ask them if they want a Replicator and they would say yes.

 

[herbvdh]

I do realize that this is positive on Tesla but consider the source Bloomberg has said enough anti EV amazing to hear this. Tesla Model S: Should This Be Your First Electric?: Video - Bloomberg

 

[JRP3]

Wow, that has to be the most enthusiastic review from a skeptic that I've heard.

 

[Doug_G]

Electric car crashes could pose new risk for first responders, group says - CNN.com

Fuel-saving gas-electric hybrid and all-electric cars and trucks powered by sizable battery packs and high voltage motors could present a new kind of danger at serious accident scenes, according to an industry group. A report by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) highlighted risks to first responders and tow operators from potential electric shock from damaged systems not disengaged during or immediately after a crash.

Actually the article is reasonably sane... but somehow the headline gives the impression of some massive risk that no one had thought of. Duh.

 

[jerry33]

This is the same kind of stuff that the detractors brought out about the Prius. A few years ago I was interviewed on the local news channel along with the city Fire Chief (who also said there was no problem).

 

[JRP3]

The group recommended automakers install switches that would kill battery power in the event of an accident.

Pretty sure they already do. It's not complicated.

 

[lolachampcar]

Did anyone mention that lack of a switch to disable your gasoline when your regular car gets hit? Es are actaully safer. You can not air frieght gas but I seem to remember that Tesla got their packs certified for air shipment.

 

[jerry33]

Pretty sure they already do. It's not complicated.

If the airbags go off in a Prius, the traction battery is isolated.

 

[JRP3]

Did anyone mention that lack of a switch to disable your gasoline when your regular car gets hit?

Fuel pumps do have an impact shutoff.

 

[William13]

The Tesla Model S has an emergency responder electric kill switch under the hood near the dash on the passenger side. It is labeled with a large paper pull tether.

 

[lolachampcar]

Fuel pumps do have an impact shutoff.

Now if only it would kill the flamibility... I believe each cell is fused in the Tesla which effectively shuts the battery down when shorted. Unlike gas, the stored energy is not available.

 

[CyberDutchie]

Wow, that has to be the most enthusiastic review from a skeptic that I've heard.

Except for the "worst feature of the car" they came up with:

Unclear how reliable it will be over time.

What kind of nonsense is that?

 

[Doug_G]

Except for the "worst feature of the car" they came up with:

Unclear how reliable it will be over time.

What kind of nonsense is that?

Many magazines require reviews to have a "we liked" and "we didn't like" box, or some such, as part of the article. This sometimes leads to silly "worst" comments when they can't think of anything negative to say...

 

[JRP3]

And to be fair there is no record for long term reliability since it's a brand new vehicle, not to mention completely new technology.

 

[lolachampcar]

JRP3+1 I actually consider it a compliment.

 

[Grendal]

Here's a lovely one:

2012: The Year of Taxpayer ‘Green’ Waste | National Legal and Policy Center

 

[herbvdh]

Why Tesla will need more loans to make it through 2013 Why Tesla will need more loans to make it through 2013 - Autoblog

 

[Objective1]

The National Legal and Policy Center piece generally contains facts. Sure, it's opinionated, but then you all are participating in a thread that assumes that all critiques of EVs are "gibberish." Objectively, the jury is still out. And there's no question that much treasure has been wasted pursuing what are still, mostly, cost-inefficient green technologies and untried start-ups in high-tech, capital-intensive fields like battery, solar cell, and car manufacture.

I am a Tesla fan because Elon has insisted on trying to build the best car in the world, and is trying to sell it at a class-competitive price. Model S is not just a green car.