Changing electric car's image one celeb at a time

[Right Lane Cruiser]

I wanted an American manufacturer and the only one with anything ready to go and viable was Ford.

Jay Leno - NATIONALPOST - October 09, 2009

Jay is doing an awful lot for the image of EVs! Now, if we can only convince (most of) the public that it doesn't need 500mi of range just to commute... --Ed.

The British car show Top Gear is one of my favourite shows. I had a lot of fun appearing on it this summer. Like every guest, I had to compete as the Star in the Reasonably Priced Car. That means trying to lap a track round an old airfield as fast as you can.

For my new show, modestly called The Jay Leno Show, we have what is a bit of an homage to Top Gear. It is called the Green Car Challenge. It's a little different, though. We are asking guests to set a time around a track in the NBC parking lot in an electric Ford Focus and see who is the fastest green celebrity. Celebrities can save the world and race at the same time.

I even have a proper Englishman to help me show the celebrities how to go fast in an electric car. He is Justin Bell, a former Le Mans winner and TV host in his own right.

Justin is handsome and he knows how to communicate. Teaching Hollywood celebrities should be easy compared with rich idiots who think they know how to drive. Everybody wants to do well, so they will listen to him. We'll have people like Tom Cruise, who has racing experience, and... [Read More]

[St. Mushroom]

Electric or hybrid cars are a form of hot rodding for a lot of young people. I meet guys who are hypermiling their Priuses and getting 100 miles per gallon or adding extra batteries, increasing tire pressure, doing whatever they can. Miles per gallon is the new horsepower.

Nice!

[ALS]

Now, if we can only convince (most of) the public that it doesn't need 500mi of range just to commute...

I'm one of those people and it was Prius's range is what convinced me to buy it.

I got so spoiled with my 550-600 miles Volvo 960's range that I wouldn't look at vehicle that didn't have at least a 500 mile range.

My old 740 wagons 15.8 gallon tank started out getting 325-340 miles on the highway. With mods I got that up to 400-425 miles. Then came the 960 and I was really spoiled.

500 plus miles around town in the Prius really has me hyped. With at least a 600 to 650 mile range on the highway that's just icing on the cake.