EVcast #136: Everyone Wants Bailout Money!

Hi Bo and Ryan,great work at EDTA' 08.
Living here in the U.K. I was particularly pleased that you managed to "collar" the guy from Smith Electric Vehicles.I know your focus tends to be centred on cars but here we have also moved the game on to include trucks and vans,logically,the larger the vehicle the more petroileum product and hence greater pollution.Many of our cities are introducing "congestion charging" (not just London) but EVs are exempt so its an added incentive.Against a backdrop of low oil prices its going to be particularly difficult to sell the EV story but with China/India set to outstrip USA growth,oil will start rising again.
Keep up the good work guys and I have to say I'm surprised you don't offer your podcasts/video service directly to EDTA or any other exhibition/conference.In my opinion,and others here in the U.K. the EDTA (AND OTHERS) do not offer enough video/audio content.I'm sure there's a buck or two to be made there.Respect your work.

ENGLISHMAN.

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Let's do the math. Maybe Tesla Motors wants $400MM in bailout money, expecting their share might be cut to just a fraction (maybe 1/8) of the requested amount. Assuming the net amount of $50MM, wouldn't that just reimburse Elon Musk's personal investment?

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    The breathless way that Linda talks about her EV experience in the Tesla got me to thinking.  People always talk about the EV experience as resulting in the "EV Grin".  But perhaps she experienced something MORE than that in the Tesla.  Perhaps it is closer to the BIG-O and the experience can be referred to as simplely the EVO for short.  The EVO perhaps can only be had by driving a high powered EV like the Tesla.  If you are driving a G-wiz, you can just get the "EV Grin".

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Note to JohnBriggs- I think you're onto something. Linda Nicholes seems to be experiencing an EVO. (either that or she's on drugs) In any event, I'm curious.  What does Linda do for a living? Let's face it. The average American isn't going to be buying a Tesla anytime soon. In my experience these cars (and others in this price range) are pretty much reserved for the "rich and famous". Is Linda a "trust fund" baby? I noticed in the interview she mentioned her nephew and his new Porche. Wow. Maybe the entire family is rolling in cash.

Of course, being rich doesn't disqualify someone from having an opinion or advocating for a particular cause. On the other hand, it isn't a qualification either. To be perfectly honest, I'm a bit put off by "limousine liberals" lecturing us on the wonders of the "green" lifestyle. It kind of puts me in mind of snooty remarks from the Hollywood left regarding my therostat settings!

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Snit,
    According to the Plug-in America website

   "Linda Nicholes worked for 28 years as a Superior Court Reporter in Orange County."

That sounds pretty down-to-earth to me.  So perhaps we can give Linda the benefit of the doubt.

   However, you raise an interesting question.  How does one advocate for something one believes in without, seeming Holier-Than-Thou, offending the people you are trying to convience to change their behavior, and then they will not do anything.  Some people have a natural ability to say things in the right way and others do not.

   Some times I think that just a few "qualifiers" in a sentence can make a big difference.  I think Bo does this very well.  He will say something like "If you have the money for something like this, then why not."  I totally agree with that.  If this is something you can afford, than you can consider it.  If not, then you shouldn't feel bad about not doing it.

    I live in a wealthy suburb of Boston with people driving around Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Volvo, etc.  These cars are generally in the $40,000 range and people are used to paying this much money.  So if being green means buying a $24,000 Prius, then this is CHEAP, to these people.  However, for most people, a $24,000 Prius is really expensive.  It depends on your perspective.  If my well-heeled neighbors were to consider a $40,000 Chevy Volt, this will seem like a normal price for a car to them.  However, for the average person, this is totally out of reach.

   So looked at in this context, perhaps Linda is trying to encourage people that are already spending $40,000 or perhaps even $100,000 on a car to do the right thing and purchase an electric car.  In that context, I think she is doing the right thing.  She is also putting her money where her mouth is, so I have to respect that.

   As for people telling you want to do with your thermostat setting, I really object to this for many basic reasons.  For conservation to succeed, it needs to send the right message.  The old message of conservation = "freezing in the dark" is counterproductive.  Conservation must mean living a normal life and saving money and the environment in the process for conservation to succeed.  Personally, I now use 75% less electricity than I did 2 years ago.  I have not had to change my life style at all to accomplish this, and it was not expensive.  The only things that I have had to suffer is waiting 30 seconds for my computers to come out of hibernation, and hanging up my laundry to dry.  So if people don't want to deal with that, then perhaps they will only save 50% of their electricity.  Oh, and I am saving myself $1750 per year in electric costs.  This type of conservation might not be for everyone, but if someone is interested, I am always willing to talk to them about it.

   Sorry for the long post.  You have a lot of great points, but I say we give Linda the benefit of the doubt.

Later
John C. Briggs

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Smith Electric is apparently considering building the trucks in Kansas City.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RemVLS-iHS4

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