VIDEO: Wet Liberal rants about Top Gear, electric cars and hydrogen
Wet Liberal rants - Click above to watch the video after the break
Most of the time, Robert Llewellyn is a seemingly well-adjusted comedic actor with a concern for environmental issues who currently hosts a web-based show called Carpool, where he drives about in a hybrid or electric car whilst talking with a very interesting person. Occasionally though, the pressures of life bear down on him and to remove certain issues from off his chest, he becomes the "Wet Liberal" (defined by Llewellyn a someone who "inhabits the flippy floppy central area" between the political left and right, where he reckons most people actually reside) and speaks his truth directly to the camera sans car and sans guest.
This latest episode begins with the disclosure that he has been given a car. Well, several cars apparently, but the most recent and pertinent one being an i MiEV which Mitsubishi has agreed to let him have for a year, ostensibly for the purposes of an upcoming project. (Dear Mitsubishi, We are anxiously awaiting an i MiEV for an extended stay in the AutoblogGreen Garage. Specifically, the garage of our southeastern branch office. In left-hand-drive please.) From there, the soliloquy turns to the latest electric-car edition of Top Gear which, naturally, leads to a discussion of hydrogen and why its promotion as the fuel of the future is an oil company ploy. While we can't speak to veracity of all his claims, we can recommend sitting back for nine and a half minutes of the Wet Liberal amusement that awaits you after the jump.
[Source: YouTube via Tesla Motors Club]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
EVdriver 11:39AM (11/27/2009)
Robert Llewellyn is brilliant as usual (and JC is still an idiot).
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jeffzekas 4:22PM (11/27/2009)
Robert Llewellyn is brilliant, because he uses humour and common sense, much like the 19th century writer and cynic, Mark Twain.
As for "rose coloured glasses" - wanting a better world is not a bad quality to aspire to - should we all be bitter, cynical, and resigned to the apocalypse? We can resign ourselves to filth and degradation, or as Bill Murray said, we take "baby steps" towards a better world... we need to move forward, or fall backwards into a deep hole!
And it's not "people" that are against EV's - it's OIL PEOPLE nee OIL EXECUTIVES and WEALTHY SAUDI SHEIKS who oppose the electrification of vehicles.
To put it simply: No petrol cars = no oil sales = no money for golden parachutes or for mansions in Switzerland or Bermuda! If we stop buying oil, then they (the plutocrats who control the world economy) stop buying "money, guns and lawyers" (to quote Warren Zevon). No oil sales = no wars over barren desert lands.
"Shell is the main sponsor of Top Gear (and their spin-off events) beside the BBC. It's public information...Quite frankly, I can never understand the animosity some people feel against EVs."
So, now you know the facts of life, courtesy of Llewellyn, Mark Twain and Rock n' Roll.
Or, as put succinctly by Al Pacino in the gangster film Scarface, "First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the girl."
And, basically, ALL oil people are gangsters.
jeffzekas 8:07PM (11/27/2009)
P.S. I am a big fan of Top Gear, and find the lads to be funny, smart and interesting - but - they shall never "bite the hands that feeds them" - meaning the petroleum industry.
Just as the carriage makers opposed the horseless carriage, so, too, do the oil companies oppose the (inevitable) electrification of vehicles.
Yes, Virginia, there is a "conspiracy" - So, we must decide between the good of the one (BP) versus the good of the many (the rest of us).
RJN 7:06AM (12/01/2009)
Lighten up people!!!
TopGear is a topical entertainment show, it isn't exactly trying to be scientific or objective. They have featured Tesla, Honda Clarity (calling it the future of automobile industry), and in my opinion they reviewed them fairly, the Tesla did break down and the hydrogen fuel cell car is still missing the required infrastructure and is bloody expensive to build. I like all new propulsion technology and fuels from bioethanol to, hell, nuclear if somebody figures out the technology, but I have to admit that if someone gave a raving review of the G-Wiz, I would stop reading/watching that media.
Bentley is offering an E85 engine, Ferrari is looking at turbos and E85, Bimmer is testing hybrids and Merc has one, so you could say that the auto industry is on the right track...
I think that when somebody comes up with a car that is fun, well built and ecologically sound TopGear with its 200-300 millions viewers will do an awful lot of good for it even if they poke fun at it. I hope the Chevy Volt/Opel Ampara isn't a piece of crap and that will be the first eco car really to pass the TG test with high marks!
Scorch 12:10PM (11/27/2009)
The i MiEV is still a toy. People need to stop looking at it through rose colored glasses and realize its basically an electric Smart, a novelty.
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Alan Searchwell 12:28PM (11/27/2009)
@Scorch, ten to one chance you are an American. Similar odds you haven't traveled much outside of North America.If you are not an American and/or have traveled widely how could you not have noticed the many cities and countries in the world where the iMiev would make a very good commuter car? Of the almost 7 billion people on the planet only 300 million or so live in the US so there are possibly over 6 billion people who don't share your views.
paulwesterberg 12:40PM (11/27/2009)
I live in the US and would buy an imiev to commute, if the leaf doesn't go on sale first.
Alan 12:53PM (11/27/2009)
I don't think people have rose colored glasses, they can see what it is, they can watch it on many videos around the internet. It should make a great second car, which is a huge market. When I bought my current car I was single so I needed a 'regular' car (not that there were EVs available 10 years ago). Now my other half and I are a two car family my car very very rarely travels more than 40 miles a day. A iMiev would be perfect if they can get the cost down to the level where it's very unlikely to be a money loser.
Carney 2:32PM (11/27/2009)
@Alan Searchwell, neither being an American, nor being from a land unaccustomed to clown car sized poverty-mobiles, are bad things.
EVsuperhero 3:53PM (11/27/2009)
This car "imev" is much more functional with four seats. Scorch, you need to for get about the rose colored glasses and open up your eyes.
Why is a car that I have put 12,000 miles on in a year and saved over $1,200 dollars in gas not a viable car for millions of drivers.
http://www.evalbum.com/1892
EVsuperhero 4:30PM (11/27/2009)
Carney... I was like you and I guess I still am as I have not sold my vette or 4wd,4dr PU.
I am old enough now to not buy into the tripe about how a car is an extension of my private parts and my superiority wich has been drummed into American society by the auto companies for profit. Your thinking with your dip stick Carney! Waap! Stop thinkin with your dip stick.
I enjoy driving the car below but still have not sold my V-8's there are three of them but the batteries go dead except for the work van. They do not get started with the EV around. Screw it if someone thinks your poor because you drive a small car. My car below cost as much as I paid for my Vette new and is more worth the money to me.
The car and oil companies love guys like you Carney and they got much money from me for the same reasons. I purchased my Vette in 2001 and I did not even know there was a EV1. If I did I probably would have laughed at it. Now I realize how it is all brought on by advertisements. Bombarding me my whole life. The car companies say you have arrived when you can afford a new Caddy. The oil companies tell you that it is good to burn oil and that there are no viable substitutes. As long as I let these big corporations lead me around by the nose their are no substitutes. I have done it the big corporations way my whole life and I admit it has taken too long to get angry at the way things are but the 4/gal of gas pushed me over to the EV side of things and there is no going back. This time when the oil companies hold out there hand and say pay us this much for a gallon of gas and then double it in the same year I will not comply. Small car, poverty mobile or not there is a new way to go down the road on four wheels with all the modern amenities and it does not require oil and is not produce by the big or small three auto manufacturers.
http://www.evalbum.com/1892
Carney 1:16PM (12/02/2009)
@EVSuperhero, it's not a sinister conspiracy of advertisers that has people wanting roomy, fast, powerful, safe/robust, and impressive/attractive cars. It's human nature.
Self-conscious greens or anti-terror types willing to impose austerity on themselves will ALWAYS be in the minority, and will never be joined in by the rest unless there is prolonged harsh deprivation, which to their shame some fanatical greens want but should not be supported.
That's why alcohol fuel is so great - you can drive an All-American fuel-guzzling vroom mobile and still deprive the crazies of funding, and go a long way toward cleaning up the air and water.
And since you're an EV fan, you should be praying for the success of the Tesla Model S - it's the first EV that seems to "get it" and has a chance of mass market acceptance from normal people.
danwelter 12:17PM (11/27/2009)
Brilliant.
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Nick From Montreal 1:03PM (11/27/2009)
$59Billion profit? I don't like conspiracies, but it's hard to argue against this. If I were BP, I too would be fighting to keep that sweet money rolling in.
Brilliant skit -- whatever TV show he does next, I'll be listening. I hope they will give a decent budget to compete with Top Gear's production value.
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Matt234 5:20PM (11/27/2009)
Related to your comment: Interesting blog entry this morning by Jeff Masters (very highly regarded meteorologist). The topic is "manufactured doubt" which is what was needed for the tobacco industry to "buy" another few decades of profits. I agree the oil industry would be completely moronic, possibly incompetent, and even (ironically) breaking the law if they didn't do it. Their loyalty must be to the shareholder, not to some "do the right thing" motto. It's not a conspiracy, it's just economics.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1389
summazooma 7:19AM (11/30/2009)
Matt
Brilliant link, there, man... Thanks for posting it; Helps to explain so much in the kind of historical context that should cause enough pause for rational thought to resonate with at least some. It helps to explain so much (not even just related to environmental issues, frankly) of what we've witnessed in the past.
Hearty THANKS!
Yanquetino 1:51PM (11/27/2009)
I really enjoy Robert Llewellyn's posts, and wish I could have been in the rear seat during his CarPool segments with Chelsea Sexton, Paul Scott, and Mitsu rep Catherine Perrin. Fun times! Can't wait to see the upcoming series on his iMiEV loaner.
At the end of this monologue, he crosses that thin line into (gasp!) conspiracy theory --and I completely agree with him! Posts like the one by Scorch above only prove the point.
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evftw 1:56PM (11/27/2009)
Sounds like he's connected his groin attachment to the food processor again....
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Dave 2:14PM (11/27/2009)
Make sure you watch the end of that video.
He claims that BP (among others) are paying journalists. (with no specifics nor proof)
Meanwhile, he gets a free car from Mitsubishi.
At the very least, he should be branded the idiot, liar, and hypocrite he is. And quite possibly, BP should sue him for libel.
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Dave 2:25PM (11/27/2009)
PS -
Why does he think that a G-Whiz driving around London competes against an Audi A8?
If anything, that G-Whiz competes against public transportation.