Top Gear sticks it to EV's... Again!

This is quite distressing, and the BBC should put them on notice--shape up or ship out. Sure, Top Gear is entertainment, but I've always treated the statements about what happened as being honest reviews of the car's capabilities.

What I find is bizarre: No race fan is going to compare the Nissan Leaf to a race car. If these guys had just driven it honestly until the charge ran out (as certain folks on this forum have run out of gas in their Prii just to see how far they could go), they could have said exactly the same thing about not replacing the gas car, and given more useful information about the Leaf.

 

After driving electric, I am just as likely to buy a horse-drawn carriage as I am a antiquated ICE. Those old fogies on Top Gear can drive whatever they want. Would be nice if they were truthful about it though.

 

Apparantly it's an entertainment show which means you can say what you like and cast it off as a bit of a joke.

(How would Top Gear stand legally when back in 2011 on the 'American Special' [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear:_US_Special"]Top Gear: US Special - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] when they told the US Government Visa office that they are a factual show and NOT an entertainment show? Either they lied to the US Visa office OR they're a factual programme. I wonder if Tesla's lawyers have picked up on this?)

 

Seems to me there's no difference between this and running an ICE's gas tank down to a similar range. They both run out of "juice" sooner or later. What's the point they're trying to make? Cars run out of fuel sooner or later?

 

Most important - Top Gear ONLY claimed to be a joke (but we all pretty much knew Jeromy is a joke anyway) when they were caught falsifying data. They were given their leaf with a 100 mile range ... and deliberately ran it down before leaving to make it look like the Leaf couldn't make the trip. But the Leaf's "Carwings" data (showing what a Leaf's charge is when any given trip begins) goes to Nissan. Nissan confronted Top Gear with their fraud, and only THEN, did Top Gear claim it was all a big joke. Poor Jeromy was to ignorant to even pull off a decent fraud.

 

Change and thinking outside the box is such a devil to most people. That is why the volt will fail from within Gm and Chevrolet itself. I still get slammed by everyone for buying my 2011 prius. If i had bought an EV i guess i would have been deported. Hey i heard that battery costs 10 grand to replace when it goes out in a couple years. My responce nope it costs 50 grand prius has to be disassembled and rewired big s**t eating grin on my face. You idiot as they just walk away. Thank you just keep on walking, take top gear and everyone like them with you.

 

I wonder if the Brits take Jeremy as serious as some people on this forum do. Jeremy plays both a bully and a fool. I don't take him seriously. When I was a kid I drove a Pontiac GTO and I'm still addicted to Formula 1. Will I ever drive a Ferrari or a McClaren, of course not. I suspect their limited numbers have a minimal impact on the environment so let the boys play and don't let them get under your skin. You don't have to be American to be ignorant, they are proof.

 

He is classed as a bit of a fool and mostly liked for his 'tell it as it is' style. I think where the problem arises regarding whether it's an entertainment programme or a factual motoring show is that Top Gear started out in the 1970's as a factual show with JC as one of about 6 presenters (late 1980's)- though he was popular for the reason quoted above. It then went off air for a year in 2001 and came back in its present format, though this new version started out more factual than entertainment.

I think the slide from Factual to Entertainment has been so gradual as to be unnoticed by many - esp here in the UK where Top Gear has been on our screens for over 30 years, 20 of them as a popular factual 'car' programme. To add more confusion over here you have the respected Top Gear magazine which is a very factual magazine which often has articles written by the 3 tv presenters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(1977_TV_series)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(2002_TV_series)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(magazine)

Clear as mud?

 

Thanks for the explanation. I used to get several British Motorcycle magazines and even in humorous articles, I didn't get it. I sometimes think we use the same language in very different ways.
Anyhow, I do think Americans should take some of this stuff with a grain of salt. We have plenty of our own nut jobs to worry about and Top Gear is a relatively new phenomenon to the U.S.
And, now we have an American version which is REALLY awful on the History Channel.
Thanks again Cabby

 

Let me preface. I have watched Top Gear, and I enjoy it. I get to see automobiles I'll never be able to own or probably drive. I get to see grown men, do stupid things and that always holds a degree of primitive simplistic entertainment value.

I find it ironic in this specific incident that while Top Gear proclaims EV's are not the future, it is the very same futuristic technology that has landed them in hot water. The fact that charge information could be monitored and tracked by Nissan thus proving they purposely "staged" the failure, is a result of pretty advanced technology...SUPRISE...your busted!

But am I too upset? Not if you watch the show with any regularity. I assume that a range of things get "tweaked" or staged for dramatic and entertainment affect. I think if you are too upset about this, you're taking it too seriously. You need some historical perspective. These guys purposely drove into walls, just to see what might happen...if they staged things with the leaf? Well big suprise...They also drove a car around a track with it's exhaust hooked up to a rolling greenhouse....which of course failed in dramatic fashion...did I take that seriously?

It's more about "tone" than reality. Some that like Top Gear, and the high performance automobiles, are of the crowd that would never want or appreciate a Hybrid or EV. And Top Gear caters to this demographic.

It is a muddy line. Because they do offer opinons and reviews. Clarksons scathing review of the Honda Insight was incredibly damaging.

I guess I just see Top Gear...as an enviroment, much like the Prius Chat. Within Prius Chat, there aren't too many inwhich you would have to convince that an EV or Hybrid IS a good idea...I would expect reviews from this enviroment to be mostly positive.

Top Gear has been consistent for years. They like high performance vehicles that go fast...burn gas...Their bible begins with "It Goeth from 0-60 in..."

And while that is counter to many Hybrid or EV owners philosophy or automobile ownership standards or criteria, it's okay with me.

They got their "entertainment" dramatic hands caught in the cookie jar because of the traceable technology of The Nissan Leaf's charging system. Well good for Nissan...and to a degree? Shame on Top Gear..BUT if you didn't expect something like this? Than greater shame on you...I think being too upset about the "results" of a Top Gear episode, is like being disappointed in NASA because you are comparing it to an episode of Star Trek.

 

I have to disagree with TEM.

I hate liars.

Top Gear's publicized (and faked) results, showing an extremely short distance driven on a charge, are exactly the kind of "factoid" that gets repeated over and over by EV nay-sayers and stupid people in general. Eventually, this kind of crap takes on its own kind of "truthiness." In other words, it does ongoing damage.

How many times have you had to counter the CNW article that claims that the Prius has a bigger carbon footprint than a Hummer? That the battery has to be replaced every 100k miles and costs $5,000? That the Prius carries a huge " hybrid premium". I could go on but you know what I mean.

I'd recommend that Nissan complain to the BBC and the British equivalent of the FTC. Nissan should sue Clarkson personally for misrepresentation and start a campaign to have other advertisers boycott any network that carries Top Gear.

And if Clarkson complains that Nissan is over reacting, tell him it's "just a big joke."

 

I'm not saying "misinformation" even in what should be the recognizable form of entertainment isn't potentially damaging. But I think most people are overreacting.

Clarkson's review of the Honda Insight was I think very damaging to Honda and the Insight.

What I'm saying is keep in mind the audience. And keep in mind the source.

What would you expect from Top Gear? Or Clarkson? What have they done for years? Someone just posted an old video clip of Top Gear and Clarkson having a Prius shot full of holes.

The truth is, IMO whether Pro-Hybrid and Pro-EV, in Prius Chat, or the majority of the audience for Top Gear, in both cases, everyone is preaching to the choir.

For those that listen to Clarkson? There is nothing he could say that would make them embrace The Leaf. If Top Gear came out and said it was the most fantastic machine in the history of mankind, the audience would just think they were kidding...

It would be akin, to Prius Chat running a "Let's All Buy a BIG SUV" campaign.

I did say, "Shame on Top Gear"...ultimately they should be more honest with their results.

But for those mortally offended?

I have a lot of friends that are "Anti-Hybrid", full of the usual misconceptions and embraced misunderstandings. Really? They could read every post in Prius Chat, and watch every episode of Top Gear and IMO it wouldn't make a difference.

I do see this as TOP GEAR getting their hand caught in the cookie jar. Funny that they didn't realize Nissan could track what they were doing.

But I guarantee you, even this will be good for Top Gear. Either the staunch denial, or the "Re-Match" will garner more ratings and more attention.

We live in an age where information and entertainment "blur". We also live in an age where one can tailor the information and entertainment one receives.

I'm not asking anyone to agree or disagree with me. But for me personally? I'm not going to be too suprised that Top Gear was unfavorable to The Leaf, I'm not going to be too surpised that they staged a failure.....(I am disappointed). But this is a entertainment show primarily. All you have to do is look at what they have done in the past....

 

You guys have completley missed the point that Top Gear was making. Have any of you seen the programme because I have. It was not about the range of the Nissan Leaf. They never ever mentioned that, so the fact the batteries only had 40% charge when they set off is irrelevant. The item was about what happens when the power of the batteries gets low. When running out of petrol/diesel you stop at one of tens of thousands of service stations and refuel in 5 minutes. If the batteries are low there are less than a hundred public charging points in the UK and then it takes 11 hours for a full recharge. High voltage charging points are quicker but greatly reduce battery life. Batteries are fine for town cars but you cannot go anywhere in them, the point Top Gear was making.
The Prius is not battery powered so in a way they where making a case for it!

 

You recharge enough to get home. Why wait 11 hours? Fast charging 10 mins if you ever run out of juice would greatly reduce battery life? Give me a break. It'll rarely happen.

That's like saying accelerating 0-60 by flooring the gas pedal would greatly reduce the life of the combustion engine and transmission. Duh! Really?

The itching point is the conclusion they drew from it, that the battery is the problem. Do they ever complain that combustion engines and step gear transmission? No, they are used to it. They are not used to EVs nor hybrids. "Not being used to" is the root cause of the problem for Top Gear and they made a show out of their bitching. Some people may find it entertaining but not me.

 

*sigh!*

Sometimes I think PC'ers are amongst the brightest folks on the planet, and other times I'm reminded of six kindergarteners in a room with only five toys.

Why get your bloomers in a bunch over a review in Top Gear? OK...I get the fact that our own news services (NPR included) are entertainment focused these days, and the average reader (watcher in this case) might not be able to tell the difference between a performance oriented tabloid car show and say....CNN. However (comma!) do you really really think that somebody was watching that episode, and suddenly decided to CANX their Leaf order?

I do not know.
I'm thinking that the average devotee of TG wouldn't be in the market for an EV.

I don't have any stick time in a LEAF, but I've read just about every review on this car, which Nissan did a pretty good job on. I see the TG review as a statistical outlier, and I'm thinking that the folks at TG are just poking the EV community in a very tender spot because they like to see people flop and twitch.
Don't fall for it.
Their main mission in life is to make money, not inform, entertain and enlighten.
If you don't like the review.....just walk it off.

 

problem is that TG is huge show, so when they make a point, indeed people do listen.

due to idiots like that, i think most of the Europeans have very bad opinions on hybrids and ev's.

in some local forums here, i saw some hybrid options that made me think it is 1873 and aliens are coming... gearheads have very, very little idea about hybrids in europe, and i read statements like "my cell phone battery lasts for 1 year, so it will Prii's".

a partially it is due to the bad mouthing from traditional car media writers who think hybrids will destroy their life as they know it.

 

Concur! I think the points of the bit were:

1) When you're out or near out of battery, it takes a long time to recharge
2) When you're in an unfamiliar spot, it can be hard if not impossible to find a charging spot
3) It's hard to tell exactly how many miles you really have in your charge.

All 3 points are pretty true. I could also see a naive person not realizing all 3 points before buying one...

If you haven't seen it yourself, watch it here (Skip to section 3):

[ame="http://www.streetfire.net/video/top-gear-season-17-episode-6_2292700.htm"]Top Gear Season 17 Episode 6 - Car Videos on StreetFire[/ame]