Jack Yan: the Persuader Blog: Unconventional marketing (needed) for an unconventional car

Wired has done a great piece on the Tesla Roadster, the electric-powered sports’ car out of Northern California, backed by dot commers. I believe it’s a winner because it can deliver lightness, speed and range. But I reckon Tesla needs people like us blogging away and helping with its marketing, because 616,000 references on Google sound very few. It’s far fewer than Snakes on a Plane, yet it is way more important.
And why not blog? An unconventional car demands unconventional marketing and WOM. We are ﬁghting big-spending multinational oil companies, like in that ﬁrst Sweeney! movie.
Tesla will never spend as much money as Toyota, so its coverage in the mainstream motoring press may be minimal. And I wouldn’t want to see its demise when it holds the promise of a more energy-efﬁcient future.
Pessimism? Well, how many of us have heard of the Venturi Fetish? This is a French-made all-electric sports’ car, which might not have the Tesla’s 250-mile range (the Fetish tops out at 220), but it is pioneering and sexy. It came out at the Paris show in 2004, and I have heard little of it—despite being an occasional reader of L’Automobile and getting its annuals (it must be mentioned down the back). Plus, I was a huge MVS Venturi fan.
I hope Tesla won’t get buried because of journalistic ignorance, and that we can help spread the word about this huge step forward in automobile history. It needs to be in far more than Wired magazine. And with not one, but two, cool sports’ cars on the market now, something is beginning to shift.

Posted by Jack Yan, 06:44 permalink

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Electric cars need to become more affordable before they'll have wide acceptance. That is the main problem the hybrid cars are having in the U.S. at the present time. People don't feel their worth the extra money. You also have a major problem when it comes time to change the batteries. Lastly, I wonder just how much pollution we're reducing when all we're doing is transferring the pollution. The electric companies will end up polluting more in order for us to recharge the cars vice us polluting by burning oil-based products.

# posted by

Ditto: 8/01/2006 10:56:00 AM

True, Ron, and I believe the Tesla, with its claimed performance, is a useful and realistic alternative to the Porsche 911s of this world. While I adore the 911, I would be interested to see just how the Tesla performs. My concern is that it looks like a Lotus Elise and is, in fact, built by Lotus. So, why not just get a Lotus Elise? You would need a strong conscience to get a Tesla, and I am almost convinced (if I had a spare $80,000).
The pollution-transfer point is valid but regardless, we do need an alternative to fossil fuels. Down here we had natural gas cars for some time, and they fell out of favour due to taxation in 1996. It is a decision I bet many people regret now.

# posted by

Jack Yan: 8/02/2006 02:20:00 AM

Agreed - but surely the point is that unconventional marketing is needed for all cars, indeed all products and services these days.

# posted by

john dodds: 8/03/2006 05:01:00 PM

Actually, John, excellent point: differentiation is the name of the game.

# posted by

Jack Yan: 8/05/2006 01:23:00 AM