PluginCars.com has done a lot of reporting about direct anti-electric-car venom. EV-Haters, YouTube ranters and politically motivated attackers do their best to arrest the growth of electric car sales—which is forecast to expand from 17,000 units in the US in 2011, to between 60,000 to 100,000 sales this year. But in this age of Internet self-publishing, perhaps the greater threat is from mostly well-intentioned car buffs—trying an electric car on for size for a day or two, rather than living with one as a daily ride throughout the year or speaking to real-world drivers.
Case in point: A Boulder, Colo.-based car review website called “The Fast Lane Car,” which yesterday posted a good-natured video attempting to portray a day in the life of an electric car owner. Roman Mica, the site’s editor rides along with reporter Nathan Adlen, who “writes out of high-octane passion,” according to the website. (You can see where this is headed.) Early on, Mica asks, “Is a Nissan LEAF a usable car as an everyday commuter?” Adlen, who made a 45-mile one-way trip to Boulder, replies, “I traveled all the way up here and I don’t have enough juice to get back.”
Adlen and Mica seem genuinely interested in investigating the capabilities of the LEAF, and showing it in a decent light. They are also very likable and funny. I would have enjoyed watching the 14-minute video, if it wasn’t riddled with so many nonsensical notions about daily EV driving, such as:
- The LEAF is a car well suited to a 100-mile round-trip commute, plus local errands
- Any thinking person would set out on a 100-mile trip in a LEAF without planning ahead, and only look for a charging location halfway through
- Weaving stops to recharge for an hour or less, in between errands, is a good long-term strategy
- Thinking that an electric car when driving slow or stopped is using much energy
Adlen admits that, despite knowing that the state-of-charge was dangerously close to his desired journey, he wasn’t driving in a particularly efficient way. Referring to the dashboard’s tree-graphic that adds branches with efficient driving, Adlen quips, “Mine has been chopped down. It looks like the Brazilian rain forest.” Later, he confesses, "This is a car that’s beyond my limited capacity for memory and intelligence."
Adlen eventually makes it safely back home, but not before Mica drives off in his large gas-powered SUV, concluding, “I have to tell you that sometimes old technology like in this Range Rover is the best technology.”
The video was done in a spirit of good fun, and the range anxiety sequence was well-executed for maximum dramatic impact. But at the end of the day, the fellahs do a disservice to EVs by perpetuating some of the most persistent myths about electric cars. Hopefully, pointing out where they have it wrong will prove instructive, and help achieve the videomakers' original educational goal.
Check it out for yourself:
I think they did a very good job presenting real life situations and just how real people really would have to behave. I don't see how they perpetuated any "myth". I love tech especially green tech when it produces true efficiency. I am not seeing how the nissan leaf or any of the electric cars so far are going to be a viable choice for average income ppl like myself in real life situations. My point is that like it or not the electric car just flat out needs more work and refinement and until then gas, diesel, and hybrids going to be what ppl can afford to drive. Sorry bud I just feel I have to disagree with your assessment of their video. No hard feelings