BBC: Top Gear admits Tesla didn't run out of juice

I figured it was staged or they did not give it a full charge to begin with.
I think they said they also had problems with the brakes. I wonder if they actually had problems with the brakes or if they was lying about that too. If they are lying about this then why should I believe that any other car they "test" can go 0-60mph in less than 4 seconds?

 

Another indication of their level of credibility, to go along with their Prius tests. I used to think you could always trust the BBC...?

 

And how is this different than running out of gas in a regular car? People do run out of gas every day!

 

Well it used to be a show about cars but now it's jsut a chat show with little or no factual content just a rake of moronic idiots blowing their own trumpets.

 

I didn't watch the episode but I find Top Gear to be TOTALLY worthless for fair, objective and factual car information. The trashing of cars, bizarro conclusions and Clarkson's attitude are entertainment to some but I don't have time for that.

He unfairly trashed the Prius (and gave a whole bunch of misinformation) and the 350Z.

He also gave some wildass conclusion that the Porsche Boxster was the BEST value in sports cars (something to that effect) which is just bizarre too. Porsches cost an arm and a leg to maintain besides their high upfront cost. I know someone who got rid of one in favor of a 350Z because the routine maintenance was insanely expensive. Luckily, he didn't need any repairs.

 

am i surprised at the slanted view of the Prius and the Tesla?? considering what they normally do and who their audience and sponsors are?...nah, not that surprised.

 

Top Gear is an entertainment show with cars not a car show that happens to entertain.

 

I believe the Tesla can be plugged into any 110 or 220 volt plug. It charges most rapidly from its dedicated high-power charger, but can be charged anywhere.

My Xebra has its own on-board charger. I installed an unusual (LiFePO4) battery pack that came with its own special charger/BMS, so now I need a 25-amp service to charge it, but the stock Xebra plugs into any 20-amp 110-volt plug.

The Zenn also plugs into a regular 110-volt outlet.

The biggest issue right now for EVs is the cost and weight or size of batteries. For many people, the distance they need to go would cost too much for the batteries. But for many two-car families, one long-range car is adequate, and the daily driver can be an EV.

Publishing (or broadcasting) an outright lie is not acceptable. There is a world of difference between stating that if the car ran out of juice you'd have to push it, and stating that after driving 1/5 its claimed range it did run out of juice! And there's a world of difference between a commentary with negative opinions, and outright lying about the facts!

Apparently Top Gear strives to be the Weekly World News of automotive broadcasting. Next they'll be telling us they have discovered Elvis Presley's limousine on Mars.

 

the new chinese EV has dual chargers and EV's will not succeed if this option is not there. sure 110 is slow, but opportunity charging, even if for 30 mins here, 20 mins there, will make a huge difference, if not just for peace of mind for the consumer...

i do it now, mostly to get the word out. cant tell you how many people think my car still takes gas although it has big bright lime green logo on both sides that announces

ELECTRIC!!

 

So Jeremy is a lying POS Propagandist, the Tabloid of the Turbocharger, the World News of British Auto. Nothing new there, we knew that all along, right? Will he be telling us next that Aliens crahsed on Honshu, and were rescued by Toyota test drivers, and to show their thanks, designed the Prius for them?...

 

ummm, yep, that would correct

 

Ah good. I get to go after Evan. He called me annoying once... so I'll fulfill that prophecy.

Steady there, Evan. There is NOT a gas station on every corner "in the middle of nowhere." Apples and oranges, my friend. If you compare being in town - there are orders of magnitude more power outlets than gas stations. If you compare "in the middle of nowhere" you're still way more likely to find electricity than to find gasoline. As Peak Oil pointed out, the only valid discrepancy in favor of the gas car is the speed of refill. Avilability will ALWAYS go to the EV. But anyway...

Yup.

Back the truck up...
ALL modern EVs will have onboard chargers. The Tesla has one, the EV1 actually had a portable one in the trunk, the GEMs have them. The Rav4EV was originally designed with an on-board charger, but for business reasons, they took it out and made us hang it on the wall. This is a manufactured hurdle, not a native one! And like I said, ALL modern ones will have onboard chargers. This is a requirement to make and sell EVs in NA.

Before we even get to that point, you'd have to work at running out of charge. You have to ignore all the warnings. You have to ignore the fact that you know *precisely* how much charge you have (this is not the guess guage of the Prius in question here!). And you have to dismiss the fact that you can self-rescue when you "run out of juice." Let the batteries rest and float back up. You'll get more miles for free. Everything else fails? Call a freaking tow truck like everybody else does for their broken gas cars.

I know you're on the right side of this Evan. But you are making WAY more out of this than reality has demonstrated. This fear of "running out of juice" is so amazingly over-blown in the public's eye, that it is somewhat pathetic, actually. I have over 100,000 miles of EV driving under my belt. I have 500,000 miles of gasoline driving under my belt. And I can say with great confidence that the big worry of running out of charge is a non-starter. If you can manage to safely drive a gas car between fillups, you can surely do the same with an EV. And in the future when there are charge stations at the mall, at work, at the theater, at the restaurant... well, this "issue" will be totally forgotten.

Why do we not worry about gasoline cars bursting into flames? That's a very real concern, and yet just about NOBODY even considers it. Why? Because we've driven them so often without becoming a fireball that we just ignore the possibility. But the fear of the unknown is huge. And those who haven't driven an EV are just itching to worry about something. There is plenty to worry about - this isn't one of those things.

The only reason Top Gear would have included this bit of distress is because it is what the viewer wants to hear. The viewer already thinks it, so show them how smart they are to be concerned. And pretty soon this bit of fairytale becomes everybody's reality.

I find that if you want to know what it is like to live with an EV... you're best off asking somebody who lives with an EV.

You assume that the only thing that can go wrong in a gas car is running out of gas? EVs are FAR more reliable than gas cars as far as breakdowns go. A battery "failure" is one thing. Do you mean running out of charge? Hitching a ride two ways to find a gallon of gas sure doesn't sound like a cake walk to me. Running out of fuel sucks no matter what kind of car you drive. Let's pretend it was your wife or child. At that point, I don't care what the fuel of choice is - you call somebody.

Experience has demonstrated just the opposite. But really - look at how many people are stranding themselves in the *gasoline* Prius. All you have to do is follow some VERY simple rules and pay attention. It just isn't that hard, and with all the other things to worry about in this world - this just doesn't rate.

Annoying enough?

 

I anticipated this sort of confusion, so my Xebra says "ALL ELECTRIC ALL THE TIME."

My Porsche, which appears to be nearing completion, six months after I ordered it, will have (so I've been promised) a 125 mile range at freeway speed. That means 100 miles and I'll still have 20% SOC, which with LiFePO4 is supposed to be plenty to assure long life. So I will never have to charge away from home. If I really have to go farther than 100 miles I'll just have to take the stinker. That won't happen except for road trips, though I will probably end up using the stinker any time the roads are snowy.

It's screwy, though: When we first got our Priuses everyone asked if we had to plug them in, and we had to explain what a hybrid is. Now that a few of us are getting EVs, people always ask if they use gas!!!

 

On the fear of running out of juice:

Sometimes people ask me what happens if my Xebra runs out of juice. I say that in that case it stops, just like a gasoline car that runs out of gas. They always smile when I say that. It's one of those obvious things.

As I've said elsewhere, the bigger issue today is the cost of getting the range that people need if they choose to live far from work. Enough batteries for 100 miles of range is still pretty expensive.

It's true that if you have a car with a 20-mile range (such as the stock Xebra) or even a 40-mile range (like mine) you do have to think about how far you are going to drive. With a stinker you need to fuel up less often. But this is more a matter of planning than anything else.

With a bicycle you never have to think about fuel. (You have to eat, but you need to do that whether you bicycle or not.)