Quote:
Originally Posted by TEG
Tony, you still feel that way today, or have you caved now that both GM *and* Tesla are going with REEV?
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I still feel the same thing, that this is fundamentally dishonest marketing spin.
Both GM and Tesla appear desperate to call their plug-in hybrid cars anything but a hybrid. I can understand their motivation, from a marketing standpoint -- but in my book being motivated to lie doesn't make it okay to lie.
Here are some more specific criticisms. . .
1. Terms like "range extender" or "range-extended" are too vague. It could mean anything. If you didn't already know what they were talking about and heard these terms would imagine some kind of super battery. But you aren't getting a super battery, you're getting a gas engine.
2. Electricity is mentioned, but not gasoline -- even though a Chevy Volt owner could, potentially, never plug in his car and run it entirely on gasoline.
3. As I noted before, the term PHEV is a logical extension from HEV and has already been established by advocacy groups and the press.