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Clarkson and the gang caught fudging the shows details and harming the Tesla in the process. (http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/was-top-gears-test-of-tesla-roadster-misleading/)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Tesla_Roadster_BEV_with_Arnold_Schwarzenegger.jpgRichard S. Chang – NY Times – Dec. 30, 2008

2009 Tesla Roadster BEV – 240 miles AER per the EPA – Only 50 + miles per a faked Top Gear show?

This drops my trust in Jeremy and the gang off a cliff :mad: Note: Embedded video of this episode -- Ed.

“Top Gear,” the British television show about cars, has a flair for the dramatic, but a recent episode (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVZXT7LytjE) featuring a review of the Tesla Roadster electric car has called the show’s methods into question.

In the segment, Jeremy Clarkson, one of the show’s three hosts, flogs a Tesla around a test track – to whoops and hollers – until the car slows down and unexpectedly stops. Mr. Clarkson looks at the camera, seemingly befuddled. He and three others are forced to push the car into a warehouse for a battery recharge. At least that’s what the video seems to show…

But did the car actually run out of juice?

No, says Tesla Motors, which stores its cars’ driving history in memory sticks. In fact, it didn’t lose its charge at all. According to Rachel Konrad, spokeswoman for the San Carlos, Calif., company, the battery charge of the two cars that Tesla lent to “Top Gear” never fell below 20 percent…

We see a shot of Mr. Clarkson, appearing confused, looking down to the gas pedal. The tire squeals and music dissipate as the car slows to a stop on the test track…

He concludes: “What we have here then is an astonishing technical achievement: the first electric car that you might actually want to buy. It’s just a shame that in the real world, it doesn’t seem to work.” Fade to black… http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/was-top-gears-test-of-tesla-roadster-misleading/

http://www.youtube.com/v/yVZXT7LytjE&hl=en&fs=1

I just died a little inside.

55 miles? ~23% of EPA range? That just seems hard to believe. I don't think I could get an 11mpg tank in the Prius if I tried.

....yeah...there's really something fishy. I'm sure tesla wouldnt say their car had a particular capability it didn't and then hand it over to be tested. Oil companies may be paying top gear a LOT of money..:eyebrow:

Hi Marc:

___They were racing a Prius-II against a BMW M3 on a track somewhere and pulled a stupidly low 16 mpg IIRC.

___What does that tell us? They are capable of stupidly low FE numbers by driving like idiots.

___Maybe they should drive like this in real traffic amongst a mile long convoy of truckers so we would not have to hear about the BS after they are pulled from the wreckage with half their brains missing?

___Jeremy has a very unique and funny presentation however...

___Good Luck

___Wayne

___Maybe they should drive like this in real traffic amongst a mile long convoy of truckers so we would not have to hear about the BS after they are pulled from the wreckage with half their brains missing?


Wait, they still have full usage? After that review I've not been interested remotely in what they have to say when it comes to driving range or fuel economy. If you want to test fuel economy, you don't bring the car to a race track.

That is just wrong. :ccry:

Time out! I just re-watched the segment and there is a lot more to this.

After the footage of Jeremy racing it around the track, they did do the bit where he appears to run out of juice and it gets pushed into the bay. He says "We worked out that on our track it would run out after just 55 miles." Take that as you will.

Then this happened:
-The motor on the spare car overheated while he was tearing around the track.
-The original car (that may or may not have run out of energy) broke while it was being charged, so it couldn't be used.

If one just read this article without having seen the episode, who would know the second half of the story? Seems a bit ironic for an article crying foul about bias to introduce some of its own. Call my a cynic but this reeks of bluster on the part of Tesla or their advocates to distract us from the **actual** mechanical faults.

A bit eccentric, hey?

Hi Tim:

___Was the charge depleted like Jeremy indicated and cna you link the vid? THe Times said it would be on this spring some time?

___Here is the Prius vs. M3 episode: http://www.topgear.com/us/videos/more/thirsty-prius#

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I get episodes through finalgear.com, which links to torrents via mininova. Unfortunately that isn't nearly as easy as the youtube videos but anyone should be able to find it. Season 12, Episode 7.

As for the charge depletion, it is impossible to tell. It may have been an act or maybe not. Either way I don't understand what the big deal is given that, had they kept driving, they ultimately would have run out of electricity resulting in a push to the garage. (Just like a gasoline car!) Whether they actually ran out or pretended to run out with 20% remaining seems of little importance.

It sounds like much of the issue is doubt over the veracity of the 55mi figure on the basis that one would have a hard time reducing FE of a normal car by 75%. The problem is that the efficiency of electric vehicles doesn't follow the same rules. Losses through an arbitrary resistor (the entire drivetrain, essentially) follow the square of the current. Overheating and extremely short battery life are to be expected in an environment where the car is being driven at the highest speeds possible. It's no secret how they were treating the car, as most shots are either from the drag race or from ether Clarkson or The Stig running full-tilt around the test track.

A whole lot of outrage over nothing IMO.

Note: the 1st post in this thread has a YouTube of the episode.

If horses were put thru the paces the way some cars are, it would be animal cruelity.

The findings of Top Gear might have the credibility of a now defunct site I will parody...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/teslasucks.jpg

Hi Tim:

___You are right. After watching the vid that Chuck added, it was a well balanced review with the (2) Tesla's breaking (not braking).

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Jeremy is not exactly EV-friendly

http://www.youtube.com/v/MHvcAkSBm8w&hl=en&fs=1

Track MPG is always FAR worse than real-life MPG. 23% or 55miles is completely plausible - after all, you're either accelerating at max, or breaking at max, with nothing in between. If anything, I'm surprised it's not less. Everyone on this site should already be perfectly aware that if you drive flat out as if you were in a race, your fuel consumption will be diabolical.

The main point Top Gear made was that refueling the Tesla versus the honda was that refueling hydrogen is far faster. I really don't agree with that, since it hardly matters how long it takes as long as you can do it overnight (in fact, keeping it connected overnight allows you to use cheap night-time electricity, which comes from base-load generation rather than peak-load).

But their other point about the relative cost of the honda versus the Tesla is good - if people can't afford the car, it hardly matters if it is cheaper to run.

I was a bit disappointed with the TG episode, not because of the 55mile thing which is consistent with track racing, but because they didn't go into more detail about the vehicles. So what if it takes a while to recharge on a 13amp/240v circuit? Virtually every UK house already has a couple of 30amp/240v circuits already (for heating, and for the cooker). It wouldn't be hard or expensive to tap one of those two when charging.

I don't have the figures in front of me, but when Auto Week tested the Tesla last year, they couldn't get anywhere near Tesla's advertised range in real world driving. And it is common knowledge that early Tesla's broke their transmissions on a fairly regular basis.

Sounds as if Top Gear simply reported the truth that some of you don't want to hear.

Sounds as if Top Gear simply reported the truth that some of you don't want to hear.Or maybe some of us were a bit quick in considering the source - they are gearheads. This video is just one of many examples of their preference of speed over economy

http://www.youtube.com/v/MHvcAkSBm8w&hl=en&fs=1

Could the Tesla still have issues? Yes

This sports car is breaking new ground as few EVs and hybrids cruise or brake at such relatively high speeds...obviously more work needs to be done, but the benefit for the general public may be better regenitive brakes and quick charging.

I doubt it's that typical most gearheads push a sports car as long and hard as Top Gear...it was a closed course. It's not likely much of this kind of driving would happen on public roads - CHiPs would deal with them. Don't you think the public is smart enough to realize the Tesla and it's cutting-edge technology is going to both exceed and fall-short of a gas sportscar?

Again, some of us are considering the source. It's like when some comment from Hugo Chavez is reported, it's probably not going to be flattering to Americans. ;)

Tesla Outraged After BBC Reviewer Fakes Battery Collapse (http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/12/tesla-outraged-after-bbc-reviewer-fakes-battery-collapse)

___What does that tell us? They are capable of stupidly low FE numbers by driving like idiots.

___Maybe they should drive like this in real traffic amongst a mile long convoy of truckers so we would not have to hear about the BS after they are pulled from the wreckage with half their brains missing?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Wayne, I don't think they're driving like idiots as they are driving on a track. I think they're showing a fair representation of how a car like this will perform in track conditions. To me, it's entertainment and also amplifies the short comings of EV cars.

I agree that they should also do a review of how it performs in every day driving, but then it wouldn't be Top Gear. It would be a more mundane show like many of the other cookie cutter car shows out there.

I think taking Top Gear for anything more than entertainment is a mistake