Should I ask: other car forums vs BP?

The ignorance of that post by "RunawayPrius" still blows my mind. I wonder what % of the general public has similar misconceptions and also is so errr... opinionated about it.

I'm semi-active on my350z.com (not as much as in the distant past) but there are at least two threads on the spill at Politics, War, & Religion - MY350Z.COM Forums. There is some misinformation in there. I don't know why it ended up or was started in the politics, war and religion area since it really has little to nothing to do with any of those.

Now regarding regarding the hybrid misinformation and our country's voracious consumption of oil on http://my350z.com/forum/other-vehicles-67/, OMG! There are a few who know and understand but there are a couple guys who are just as bad a RunawayPrius and couldn't give a damned about consequences, other drivers (in terms of their safety and wallet) and oil consumption. They'll cite garbage based on the CNW junk science, spout off all the common myths, label the Prius as being a "gay" car, have no qualms w/owning a Ford Excursion, etc. I did convince at least one doubter once I posted my analysis of CNW's crap. They saw the light.

Overall, posting much of anything about hybrids there is pretty much like pissing into the wind.

There are a couple German car fanboys who are also pro-diesel, anti-Japanese car anti-Toyota, but now w/some of the German makes getting into the hybrid game too, I think they'll finally be swayed...

 

I know some very nice people who asked/stated in all honesty about:

a) "how long it takes to charge the battery at night"
b) "what if I need to go more than 10miles"
c) "so you cant drive on interstates with that right?"
d) "once the battery runs out, it pollutes more than an SUV because the car is so heavy"

and the list goes on and on. I really am confused how people can be so misinformed, and how these things spread. It seems one idiot says something, then like that game telephone if no factual input is given throughout the chain, it will deteriorate into even more garbage by the time it gets to us. And at that point they cite sources from other people that were in the same "telephone game misinformation loop"....

 

Originally Posted by RunawayPrius
God damn stuck up Hippie liberals if you want to save the planet buy a diesel for god sake. They are much cleaner burning than your damn retarded spaceship looking cars and you can actually use these. Does the $45,000 check really justify itself Ever think of where gay little car gets it's energy from coal burning powerplants that have to burn more energy to keep your cars going down the block. Do you hand in your man card when you buy one of these cars? God damn you people piss me off I just had to vent. Good day and buy American and grow a pair.

Bob,

My one real concern is that this crackpot is serious!!!

 

While the post is obnoxious, it is no more obnoxious than some i have seen here on this panel as well. Be they red neck or self important elitists there is ignorance on all boards. But that said, the ignorant posts are a tiny majority on most boards, be they hybrid political or sporting.

 

I've only very briefly looked at other forums, as I have a real job on the side. The most apparent ignorance is one of general oil extraction principles, and of chemical engineering

I do not expect the average person - no matter if they drive a Prius or an Excursion - to understand anything whatsoever about how a BOP works or how the chemistry of Gulf oil makes it prone to emulsify in seawater

What does surprise me is just about two months after this tragedy, folks still think the BOP was entirely missing, or that the magic Acoustic BOP would have prevented the leak

 

Do you really mean they are a *majority*, be it tiny or otherwise? I would think they are in the minority.

Tom

 

Never underestimate the ignorance of the American public. It is truly frightening what some people think they know.

 

Here is a discussion going on in the Ford Explorer forum:

Well he's finally doing something right! Drill Baby Drill!!! - Ford Explorer Ranger Enthusiasts "Serious Explorations"®

Apparently one of the members believes that there is enough oil for thousands of years and that evidence to the contrary is disinformation from the government.

 

The number of ignorant people on evolutionm doesn't really surprise me much:
http://forums.evolutionm.net/new-off-topic/483744-behind-oil-drilling-story.html

But then, I never expect much of the people on car forums. Even the "PRIUS THE BEST EVAR" crap around here follows the mean.

It is always funny to see how many people are so busy cheerleading for a set of conservative/liberal/whatever talking points that they miss the fact that the people "representing" them are effectively leaving them with the short end of the stick.

 

How many car sites would let "BP = Bullsh!t Provider" go unchallenged?

 

On three other forums I frequent, there are several folks that are clueless about this spill/leak/disaster...

My kin in Miss, Ala and Texas are not however... one of em that rode out the Katrina mess and was just getting their lives back on the coast when this came and now ruined their place and stopped them from being able to continue to pay off their loans they got to rebuild. I really feel bad for em, but that is also one of the risks you take living on the coast...

 

Even before this incident, the joke was the BP stood for Big Problems.

 

Tesla, Aptera and Leaf sites

 

BP Deep Horizon Gulf oil spill - NASIOC


Are you still pumping gas at BP? - NASIOC


Kevin Costner to the rescue? - NASIOC

How can we get rich from the oil spill? - NASIOC

Should we send dead fish to the pres of BP? - NASIOC

Offshore drilling regulators high on meth, watching porn, skipping inspections - NASIOC


NASIOC Gov't cleaning up oil spill = SOCIALISM!!

 

Which is why BP is going to pay for all of it...at least until they declare chapter 11....

BP: A Month From Chapter 11? - Stocks To Watch Today - Barrons.com

BP hit by doubts over ability to pay spill costs - MarketWatch

This way, they become absolved of all remaining cleanup costs....

 

I wouldn't call the pro-Cheney/Bush "drill-baby-drill" outcome of an election, "a minority." Don't even get me started on the policy decisions of our current administration either, wow.

A person needn't be ignorant nor unsophisticated to justify defending their lifestyle or habits. Seriously, that is like saying pro-drillers are "stupid-republicans." Republicans maybe, but not stupid. Besides, you would have to be pretty smart to realize ignorance is a powerful weapon used to continually defend something fundamentally wrong, even in the face of worldwide opposition, like pretending the theft of hundreds of billions of dollars from the treasury is some kind of civil service, or that corporations swapping seawater for oil in the Gulf of Mexico should receive less media coverage than the important things like that "van der Sloot" fellow.

 

Well yeah, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill doesn't revolve around a pretty blonde white girl.