Overall, it was incredibly inspiring seeing
so much support for electric vehicles, with long lines for EV test drives,
local newspapers advertising ahead of time, and passionate believers in the
movement ready to answer questions in the showroom. Tickets were $15, with $3-off
coupons for vets and seniors. Local Nissan dealerships were even giving away
free tickets for veterans, but you would have had to pick them up at the
dealership well before the auto show even began, as they were all gone by
opening day.
Test Drives Galore! 😊
Glad to say that there were plenty of cars
to drive, and “EV Day” today had no shortage of available units. No ticket
purchase was required to test drive, as the sign ups were in front of the
convention center. I test drove just about every vehicle available – the latest
Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf, Jaguar I-Pace, Audi e-tron, and Toyota Prius Prime. I
had no desire to try out the other PHEVs from BMW and Subaru, with shorter
electric ranges than the 2011 Chevy Volt. Notably absent, unfortunately, were two
prominent EV automakers: Tesla and Hyundai.
I’m Glad Tesla is Disrupting the
Dealership Model 😊
While I have yet to buy a Model 3, I do
know that Tesla is different from legacy automakers when it comes to selling
their vehicles. While I was expecting to have to give my contact information to
each automaker before taking their cars out for a spin, it still felt like a
dirty, impersonal process. Each salesperson (except one) had no personal
experience with EVs, and the lack of passion showed. They didn’t know the Level
2 or fast charging speeds, only repeating that it does “80% in 30 minutes.” Any
question beyond EPA range was out of their field. I admit I have no
professional sales experience myself, and I imagine doing endless rounds in a
random car with random people is a soul-crushing task. I commend them for that.
However, it was unfortunate that they were
only interested in giving their memorized sales pitch by spouting meaningless
(to me) numbers about lbs-feet and horsepower and how to switch between sport,
eco, and normal mode. They only seemed to be speaking “at” me and not “with” me
about each car. Only one asked what car I was currently driving, and none asked
about what I was looking for in my next car. One would think that this would be
valuable information to someone trying to “connect” with a potential customer,
and it would be useful to tailor their speech the individual by highlighting
features that are important to them. Listening to a laundry list of memorized
facts is unhelpful. My humble recommendation is to either allow the salespeople
to have a personal experience with the car first (especially for a big event
like this!), or to utilize some local
volunteers who care about engaging hungry customers.
By the end of each test drive, I had
internalized the boredom and despondency from the dealership reps and just
wanted to leave. The process quickly became exhausting. I’m glad I stayed a
little longer to try the Jaguar – their representative was the only one who
encouraged me to floor it, drive a little extra, and didn’t talk “at” me about
its features. I appreciated when they admitted their ignorance about a specific
question, but it didn’t bother me because their enthusiasm was contagious.
While the I-Pace will never be in my price range, it was the only car I enjoyed
driving and didn’t feel drained afterwards. All the available models were
decent cars, but the presence of an enthusiastic seller made the entire drive
infinitely more enjoyable.
Today reminded me of the car-buying process
my brother recently went through when purchasing a used Ford Focus Electric.
While he had done his research ahead of time, the salesperson still bragged
about being able to offer free oil changes. The financing portion was another
circus, having to negotiate and re-negotiate the price with the salesperson
acting as a mediator between him and the back office, running back-and-forward
with counter-offers. The sticker price was suddenly thousands of dollars higher
by the time it came time to sign anything, with all the un-removable,
meaningless add-ons. (“I have to pay for the tinting that’s already there? Why
am I required to subscribe to three years of vehicle location service in case
the car gets stolen?”) It was all a show, and he had to walk away from two
dealers before finding one that was willing to cut out most of the random
costs.
Tesla
seems to be spot-on with their no-nonsense, what-you-see-is-what-you-get,
online-only sales model. It’s unfortunate that it is expected to be scammed at
a dealership if you aren’t on your toes.
Tesla was Banned ☹
I was told that the reason for Tesla’s
absence at the show was the fact that local car dealerships sponsored the
event, and specifically banned any automaker that didn’t have a dealership in
the region, effectively
banning Tesla. I could understand Chevrolet, Jaguar, and Audi doing
everything in their power to prevent the Model 3 or Model S/X from stealing
their thunder. It’s disgusting, but this is just one more piece of evidence of how
much Tesla is changing the industry, and leading the EV movement with a 21st-century
mindset.
Hyundai Didn’t Accept Their Invitation ☹
Regarding Hyundai...I was greatly looking
forward to test driving their Ioniq and Kona EVs, which are top of my list for
non-Tesla EVs. Why is it then, they only provided a single Kona EV for display
in the showroom, but kept the doors locked? Visitors could sit in any other EV
on the floor, with exception of the Porsche Taycan (which was roped off, for
some reason). A worker at the event explained that even while Hyundai was
repeatedly asked to participate, they went out of their way to specifically ban
any of their EVs from being test driven. Why? The worker didn’t know. To me,
this is reminiscent of GM’s decision to build the EV1 in 1996, then do
everything in their power to make sure customers never found out about it. Who
Killed the Electric Car highlights how interested parties benefited
from this strategy. It is almost as if Hyundai doesn’t believe in their EV
products, and someone at the top of their food chain is waiting to kill their
EV program by pointing to lackluster sales.
Final Thoughts
The 2020 Bolt was infinitely better than I
expected, and I had no complaints sitting in both the driver’s seat and the
back. The e-tron was too bulky and difficult to navigate in a tight parking
lot, but I’m sure it would be fine on a road trip after getting used to it. The
Leaf Plus’ interior was noticeably lower quality than the Bolt’s lowest trim,
and felt the blandest of any car. The Jaguar was extremely punchy and thrilling
to drive – easily the most impressive vehicle of the bunch. And finally, the
Prius Prime: I commend you for your ability to go 640 miles on a tank, but you
are losing any green street cred you had ten years ago with your miniscule
battery. Hyundai: be better. Tesla…you be you.
