EV Talk overheard at the dinner table

[smkettner]

Heh... interesting. I observed a similar conversation over lunch as the O.P. But the main difference was that the people that were bad mouthing EVs were my friends and what they were saying were being directed towards me. Not a lot of haters? I guess so, unforunately I happen to be associate w/ a few of them.

With friends like that who needs enemies :|

 

[lspooz]

“Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.” -Robert Heinlein

rah, Rah, R.A.H!

So far I've been lucky, those who've asked about the LEAF (in red-state Nawth By Gawd Carolina) have only positive things to say, or just interested questions about range, cost per mile, and cost of the car. Given that electricity is 8 cents a kilowatt-hour here [with reasonable city driving habits yielding a cost of 2-cents-a-mile], it's fun to watch their jaws drop when you take the cost per gallon of gas [divide by 2] and tell 'em it's like having a fun quiet 5-seater that gets the equivalent of 189 mpg...

 

[LakeLeaf]

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."

 

[Randy3]

The next time some one brings up charging protocol, I'm thinking about bringing up the way things work for horses. I think the LEAF vs. horse idea makes sense -- both will go for a limited range before they need to be fed. Both can make use of "opportunity charging." And neither requires you to be present the whole time that they charge/feed.

 

[thankyouOB]

The next time some one brings up charging protocol, I'm thinking about bringing up the way things work for horses. I think the LEAF vs. horse idea makes sense -- both will go for a limited range before they need to be fed. Both can make use of "opportunity charging." And neither requires you to be present the whole time that they charge/feed.

very nice.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i am with aldric; there is no way i would let them leave the table without saying something. now, i probably would not have changed anyone's opinion of an EV, but i would have said it anyway.

i have had more than a few people come to me, days or months later asking more questions after swearing they would not be caught dead in an EV and this was when i was in my Zenn...which was a much much much greater compromise.

the Leaf is a no-brainer. it should be easy to pitch

 

[KJWL]

The next time some one brings up charging protocol, I'm thinking about bringing up the way things work for horses. I think the LEAF vs. horse idea makes sense -- both will go for a limited range before they need to be fed. Both can make use of "opportunity charging." And neither requires you to be present the whole time that they charge/feed.

Here's an approach I've been using: Every driver checks their "range" every day. Do you have enough? If not, you go get some more. (If you have a 1/4 tank, I have more range than you w a full charge.) The ONLY difference is that we have all spent the last 100 years making sure there is a gas station on every corner of every city and town and everywhere else in between, and creating the global infrastructure to supply them all. Then with honest enthusiasm, I will tell them that we LOVE our LEAF. and Hello. . . we don't have to buy gasoline for it . . . EVER. It's going to be $7/gal kids, that Tennessee plant can't be cranking 'em out soon enough. I'll buy a 2013- the one we have now is my wife's , FYI I filled my dodge ram 2500 yesterday $105.45 and it's still pretty "cheap" in Utah. . . indeed!
Mike L. :mrgreen:

 

[thankyouOB]

i had a nice experience as i was parking at trader joe's yesterday.
a 60ish guy in a mercedes got out of the car next to mine and asked:
how do you like your Leaf?
I told him that yes, I like it very much and went through some of its positive aspects as a car, as well as its A-1 qualities as a commuting vehicle for my 50-mile daily drive to and from work, concluding with "I havent bought any gas since last April. What's not to like?"

He thanked me, and I thanked him for asking.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

i had a nice experience as i was parking at trader joe's yesterday.
...

If you think about the math, there are what, 200 million drivers/cars in the U.S.? If each of 10,000 or so Leaf owners share a positive message with 100 other people in the course of a year, that's still only half of one percent that have heard anything about an EV directly from someone who has one. The rest are left to form their opinions, or leave already-formed opinions unchanged, based on preconceptions based on older technology offerings that looked like golf carts or science experiments and misleading media messages.

It's going to take a while to change the thinking.

 

[umsneeze]

I've had a few myths to debunk. Most people are curious, and the most frequent question I get is "what does it do to your electric bill?" When I tell them it adds about $30 per month and then remind them I no longer spent $60 per week on gas they seem to get it.

The misinformation is incredible. The Fox news piece on the Volt was horribly damaging.

When someone asks me "where do you charge it up?", I answer at home. And mention that there are a lot more plugs then gas stations around.

 

[Yodrak]

I don't like the idea of equating EVs with horses - to many people it will provoke the immediate reaction that they do not want to go back to the 'horse and buggy days'.

The next time some one brings up charging protocol, I'm thinking about bringing up the way things work for horses. I think the LEAF vs. horse idea makes sense -- both will go for a limited range before they need to be fed. Both can make use of "opportunity charging." And neither requires you to be present the whole time that they charge/feed.

 

[davewill]

I don't like the idea of equating EVs with horses - to many people it will provoke the immediate reaction that they do not want to go back to the 'horse and buggy days'.

I don't like it because the last thing I think of when thinking of a horse is easy and cheap. I instead think of them as expensive and a lot of work.