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

@usbseawolf2000
"You recharge enough to get home.-------->Fast charging 10 mins if you ever run out of juice----->."
That would give you about 22 miles range. So you never go more than 20 odd miles from home than! Exactly what Top Gear was saying, it is a city car! You could drive from NY to SF in any car except a Leaf, unless you had a month to spare because of the battery charging time.
"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?"
NO NOT really. That is NOT like saying that. That is YOUR ridiculous simile. Do YOU really think a combustion engine is the same as a battery? Duh! Quote from the Nissan Leaf User Manual " Use the normal charging or trickle charging methods to charge the Li-ion battery and minimise the use of the public fast charge or quick charge"
Personally I think the Leaf is a good city car, but like Top Gear I believe it is not the future because it cannot go any where out of town!

 

@JNC - People drive from NY to SF everyday? You fly, not drive. That doesn't mean combustion cars are not the future.

The main issue is, TG uses EV and hybrid where they are not designed for and downplay their strength and importance. Why don't they drive Ariel Atom in downtown London and say how impractical it is for the everyday life? Someone should do it and sugar coat it as "entertainment".

EVs thrive in the city and it will meet a lot of people's need. I don't think BEVs are ready for primetime but they have valid market. I think plugin hybrids makes more sense in the near future. BEV does not meet my need but it does for many others. I just have issue with how they set up an EV for their gain (media attention) at someone else's expense.

They did make a valid point about not having charger between the two towns. Nissan responded by donating two chargers to be installed.

 

Looks like someone's never seen a quick charger, much less owned a leaf. I charged from 37% to 77% in about 11 minutes ... and that bit of charge took me 40 miles . . . . so I can't figure out what you're trying to say.



Maybe someone has watched TG one time too many - and took Jeromy's fake stuff to be gospel. It's best to double check the facts prior to proselytizing for TG. Otherwise you end up with Jeromy's credibility.

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From what I have seen of the American version of the show, every thing that is presented as real is made up.

Even the reactions and comments of the hosts are scripted. They are more actors than anything else.

Please count how many times they do something to each other and say "why would you do that", "really?" or the equivalent.

Even the time they were supposedly hauling cow manure in cars, it was actually mulch. You even hear one of the guys mess up and say that he's spilling "mulch".

 

Please don't insult actors by calling those clowns actors. Of the three, Tanner can drive and the other two have no redeeming qualities at all. They make the British crew look positively brilliant by comparison.

My main gripe with the Brit version is that with their generous budget, access to fantastic cars, an excellent track and a big travel budget, they should work in more useful information along with their BSing.

I wouldn't ask them to stop making fun of some of the cars they make fun of.

 

They really have it in for electric cars, the Tesla and Leaf ...

EV's are so different, they're almost threatening to some typical car buffs.

I watched a video of an electric dragster one time. Thing just sat there making no noise. All of a sudden it burns out to heat the tires and all you hear is tire noise. It goes to the line totally silent, then jams down the track making no noise.

As cool as the above is for EV enthusiasts, it would sorta suck going to a drag race with only electric dragsters and not have the noise.....

anywho ... yeah it's kinda lame those guys play games to misrepresent the Leaf and Roadter's capabilities.

 

Here we go again!

Where does it say fast charging damages the batteries? Top Gear?

The NISSAN UK WEBSITE says it's OK to do it once a day - This is NISSAN saying this. You know, the people who will have to replace this massively expensive battery pack if it fails under warranty.

You are right about EV's being good for towns (for now - Tesla has a 210 mile range and the new Tesla has a 300 mile range!) and Top Gear didn't really make that point. Also, the discussion wasn't about the review as such but the comments made after it. I am unable to find a clip of these on youtube.

 

Pretty shameful.

 

Yep - and there's pretty good evidence that any multiple/daily quick charge issues only apply when going up to 100% - as opposed to only taking the charge up to 80% . . . . but touting that may be more than Nissan is willing to admit.

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I like that "Fully Charged" gave a nice rebuttal to the Top Gear flaming of EVs.

 

I don't really know the background of Tanner, but obviously I can see he is some kind of professional driver. But they should work on their shtick a bit more so we don't see through it as much. Everything is way too scripted and prompted.

If they want to make the show more enjoyable, please change it up a bit. It's so predictable as well.

I highly doubt half of the stunts they do is done in real time as it would seem impossible. In fact in the recent episode where Tanner is driving the Rally Fighter, you see he broke the car in the first trial. Then he picks up the backup Rally Fighter. This is where they would have otherwise filmed a lot of the accessory shots to make the later editing of the actual race more seamless.

 

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanner_Foust]Tanner Foust - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Most of those types of racing don't interest me, but the kid has real driving talent and it shows no matter what he is driving.

I don't thnik Tanner has it in him to be a good entertainer but he is an excellent driver and a good factual commentator and straight man for the entertainers. He's a better driver than any of the onscreen personalities on the Brit version (not counting the Stig) and his enthusiasm is fun to watch. The other two clowns need to go though.

 

The Escapist : News : Jackass, SNL, Top Gear Stars to Play The Stooges

Moe, Larry and Curly!

 

And money's all that counts, right? Who cares whether somebody is a lying, pompous nice person - they're respected because they're rich and famous. Is it the viewers fault for no longer being able to discern reality from television?

Also, we're giving Top Gear far more attention than it deserves.

 

This is sooo true. Couldn't have said it better myself.

They've published a book entitled, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" and people still listen to him, believe every word and even quote him.

 

Money is all that counts for them, maybe....or maybe they're having a little fun at the EV community's expense.
If they're lying, pompous arses, then let them lie and be pompous. Aren't we all supposed to be sensitive to the rights of others to be wrong, or do we always have to be selective in our outrage?
If these guys did a smear piece on the 2012 Suburban saying that "It's a stupid lumbering mastodon that only gets 12 miles to the gallon of petrol..." then I do not think that they'd be beset by a screeching horde of cry babies that could rightfully point out that the fuel efficiency rating was underreported by over 20 percent!
(The Suburban gets 15/21 according to my beloved government.)

If we're going to be about the business of changing hearts and minds WRT more fuel efficient vehicles, they we're going to have to learn to use light rather than heat to illuminate the way.

TG?
Personally?
I take them for what they are.
Performance oriented automotive tabloid publishers.
I don't give them the power to raise my blood pressure and make me have to wipe spittle off of my LCD screen.

 

Having worked in the Television Industry for the last 35+ years, ....I would have to say YES!!!
As it's refered to, the program content, is just filler until we can start making more money on the really important things, commercials!
Personally I find the show very entertaining, the Americanized show is a waste of valuable DVR disk space. I take what I see with a grain of salt. I saw the Prii shows, Putting JC in one was like putting a match to well, gasoline. Of course he hates it, with what he has driven over the years, the Prius is a toy. Simple as that, something to make fun of. The BMW race was a perfect example of how not to drive a Prius, I saw that right away. Too bad they did not mention it. Like I said, a grain of salt!
I still will DVR it every time it comes on enjoy it, save money driving my Prius, and if I EVER win the Lottery, I am buying a Lamborghini Gallardo. Period!
I'll be burning all the gas I can find!!

 

You and 98% of the general population. A bigger house, more and faster cars, more airline trips to exotic locations, more gas-burning toys.....I'm going to build a sailboat as self-sufficient as possible, and sail off into the sunset. No house, no cars....but lots of big tax donation receipts.

 

@usbseawolf2000
Sorry driving from NY to SF was a poor example. TG was driving between to places further part than the cars range and had problems recharging the battery. That was the story. Yes, it was a set up to attack at the Leaf. Have watched the programme again you could turn their argument on its head and say it was a demonstration of why we need better infrastructure in the UK for EVs. Well done Nissan for providing 2 charging points. They are only 300 in the whole of the UK, mainly in London. Some towns have installed free one which have never been used! It is the old chicken and egg thing, no one will buy an EV unless there are lots of public charging points, and companies will not go to the expensive of installing them unless they are lots of EVs.

@Hill
"It's best to double check the facts----" I did. Nissan quote 100 mile range (US NEDC Cycle). Leaf User Manual " 30 minute quick charge gives 80% maximum capacity". That is therefore about 80 miles, so a 10 minute charge will give about 27 miles range. I am sure you do not plan to arrive in your driveway as the power runs out so lets say a 5 mile safety margin, which gives 22 mile practical range.
I certainly do not proselytising for TG. I watch it because it is entertaining and sometimes very funny. It is NOT a factual programme about cars, nor does it pretend to be. It is a comedy based on cars. One recent item involved building a train from a car and 5 caravans fitted with rail wheels. Can you take such a programme seriously? Clarkson has admitted many many times that it is all scripted. His views are deliberately controversial for the publicity value. Most of the time the cars are driven by professional drivers, not the TG team. I would never be influenced by anything I saw on TG.
By the way double check your facts, he is called Jeremy not Jeromy.

@GrumpyCabbie
You have picked an appropriate name!
"Where does it say fast charging damages the batteries?" No where. No one said it did. Read the Leaf User Manual -
"minimise the use of public Fast Charge or Quick Charge"
"not more than once a day"
"use of quick charge should be minimised in order to help battery life"
All battery capacity reduces with age. Nissan quote 80% charge after 5 years and 70% charge after 10 years. Fast charge can prematurely reduce the capacity i.e. the battery ages quicker. By the way do not be under the delusion that if this happens Nissan will replace it under warranty, they will not. The Leaf, in the UK at least – comes with a five-year warranty but it does not cover battery deterioration.

Lighten up guys, no one called your baby ugly. TG is entertaining but who cares what Clarkson thinks? I certainly do not and he would never influence which car I bought.

 

Top Gear is like Jerry Springer show with cars instead of people.

They both are messed up and I don't find them entertaining.