A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird:
Tesla’s tempest in a teacup
Probably the biggest story out of the automotive world this week has been the claim that Tesla covered up dangerous suspension faults, requiring a customer to sign a good faith agreement before it helped pay for repairs to a Model S. Stung by the accusation, Tesla struck back, suggesting blogger Edward Niedermeyer had a vendetta against the company, and was even profiting from the bad press. Niedermeyer refuted the claims. And so on.
Digging a little deeper, there are several truths here. The first is that the Model S in question probably didn’t suffer from any severe defect. The customer lived some way down a rutted dirt road, one so rough that it took more than one tow truck to drag the machine out. If you beat up your S-Class in the same way, maybe it wouldn’t last either.
The second truth is that Tesla is once again learning lessons that the established manufacturers already know. Namely, that you need to be very careful with the language you use, as customers may try to use it against you.
Even more important is the lesson that I wish Tesla would learn, and that’s to put a filter on Elon. Engaging in personal attacks against a blogger looks petty, and has blown this entire thing out of proportion. Better to have simply stepped back, said, “We’re having our lawyers ensure the wording on our good faith document protects our customers too,” and let the whole thing smooth over. Instead, there’s now a war of words gaining attention.
It’d be easier, Tesla, if you’d just recognize the enormous amount of fan support you’ve garnered over the years, and rise above the detractors by responding in a calm, efficient, polite manner. Maybe you should hire some more Canadians or something.
Norway to ban gasoline cars?
Will they? Won’t they? Another case of headlines getting ahead of themselves happened last week as a leading party in Norway claimed that sale of new gasoline-powered cars could be banned by 2025. Norway already puts heavy tax incentives on electric vehicles, and lets them drive in bus lanes and so forth. With gas-powered cars taxed to the hilt, it’s easier to go electric.
Which is weird, because Norway is a huge oil exporter. Then again, they’ve been pretty good at putting that oil money towards alternative energy research, managing their forestry in a renewable way, and other green incentives.
It’s something that’s relatively easy to do with a small population in a small country. Even so, the headline turned out to be just a political party voicing their hopes, rather than a concrete plan for change.
Dunlop sets new Isle of Man TT record
How much longer can the Isle of Man TT go on? It’s like the old days of racing there, with motorcycles hurtling around the course at literally breakneck speeds. Four riders died this year, a fatality rate that would immediately shutter any other kind of motorsport event. At the TT, they just ride on.
Michael Dunlop, nephew of the great Joey Dunlop, set a new record this year, lapping the course in less than 17 minutes at an average speed of 215 kilometres per hour. Threading narrow, stone-walled streets comes naturally to the Northern Ireland native, and his fearlessness is part of a family dynasty of racers.
My family’s from Norn Iron, and all I can say bout these racers is catch yerself on. Buck eejits, the lot of ‘em. Mental.
Subaru also posted a ridiculous lap time with a specially built STI driven by David Higgins. At an average speed of 207 km/h, the car is nearly catching the bike, but at least Higgins has a roll-cage around him if something goes wrong.
Le Mans runs this weekend
If you haven’t been paying attention, the 24 Hours of Le Mans runs this weekend, perhaps the best-known endurance race in the world. Actually, there’s no perhaps about it: this is the big one for many manufacturers.
Defending champ Porsche has a tough go against rivals Toyota and Audi in the top flight LMP1 series. Ford has returned with four (!) Ford GT racers to take on the 911s and Aston-Martin Vantages. There are great battles to be seen at every level.
Even if you can’t watch the whole thing, tune into Radio Le Mans (radiolemans.co) to be able to follow along as fortunes rise and fall. It’ll be a sleepless night for teams and fans alike.
Watch this space for all the best and worst of automotive news, or submit your own auto oddities to [email protected].
