The Inadvertent Subversive – Cutting Through the EV Noise
By Edward A. Sanchez — July 25, 2023
The Watt Car blog and podcast are not typical. If you’re one of the followers, readers, or subscribers of said outlets, you probably know this already. If we were more sensationalistic or click-baity, we’d probably be a lot more successful. I only speak for myself in this column, and not my co-conspirator, Phil Royle. Personally, I easily tire of the “You’re not going to believe this”, “Tesla going down in flames,” or “This technology will disrupt the industry” headlines and titles.
I (we) prefer to take a reasoned look at the news, announcements and developments in the EV world with a circumspect approach, carefully examine the claims, available proven, objective science, and look at third-party testing and research, when available. This may not be click-fuel to get us into the top 10 of EV blogs and podcasts, and that’s fine with us.
For those of you that enjoy our analysis and content, I hope that you can appreciate we do what we do out of interest, curiosity, and passion, not to “go viral” or get clicks. If we do, great…but it won’t be by design.
We prefer to give you a reasoned view of news and developments in the EV world, add context, and explain them in an understandable and approachable way, that hopefully helps inform and enlighten your view and knowledge of the EV world. That’s not to say we’re the oracles and keepers of all EV knowledge and wisdom, which is why we periodically invite noted personalities in the EV world on our podcast to give their expert opinion and perspective on the EV technological and competitive landscape.
Likewise, we’re honest about the current technological limitations of EVs in certain contexts. Considering the current national charging infrastructure and battery technology, we would not recommend EV light trucks for long-distance towing. As much as it pains me to say this, you’d probably be better off at the moment with a diesel Super Duty, Ram 2500, or Silverado HD if you plan on going 600+ miles in a day with minimal downtime.
Likewise, if you’re an urban or apartment dweller without ready access to 240V charging, a hybrid or PHEV would be a more practical choice. I have personally talked friends and family out of going the full BEV route because of their personal use cases. Passionate advocates of either ICE or EVs do themselves no favors when they try to deny or obfuscate the shortcomings of the technologies. They just give fodder to their ideological adversaries to claim they’re “lying” or “distorting the truth.”
At the end of the day, the market for reasoned, reasonable content and context on the EV world may be limited. But we’d rather be honest with you than deliberately distort or misrepresent the facts for personal gain. If that makes The Watt Car subversive or anti-establishment, so be it.
(Photo courtesy Ford)
