electric
Further shock: they want them to learn in one too
Here’s an interesting line of logic. Young people care about climate change. They want their family to do their part. Electric cars are an obvious move. Child persuades parents to drive electric. Ergo, the kids call the shots when buying a new car.
After this “revelation”, Peugeot conducted some research which showed that 25 per cent of adults say their children molest them if they switch to electric. Now it’s tempting to assume that this is why 75 percent of kids tell their parents to keep gas for life. Unfortunately doubtful. I am a parent of teenagers. The 75 percent do not speak at all.
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Peugeot’s bottom line is that it’s therefore worth developing a strategy that gently targets the younger generation. Expect to see more of these in due course – and from other brands as well. Last but not least, it’s useful because it helps debunk some myths.
Such as: Peugeot research also showed that 28 percent of adults believe it will be more difficult to learn to drive electric vehicles. To prove otherwise (and presumably agree with the other 72 percent of respondents), I took Luke, my 16-year-old (previous driving experience: go-kart birthday parties and this one time I got him at the longtime Ariel Nomad on the farm of a buddies released) to the Bedford Autodrome and dropped him off in a Peugeot e-208.
By the end of lap three he was doing 70 mph down the main straight learning about race lines. Here’s Luke: “It was really easy to ride. I was warned about how quickly it would go off the line, but it was really slick. It was just odd that when you brake with your left foot in go-karts, I was told that I had to brake with my right foot.”
So a novice driver finds electric easy. Hardly earth shattering. But important, because less worry about the engine and transmission means more bandwidth available to focus on the hard parts of driving – which every other damn road user does.
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So learning in electric vehicles makes sense – and the next statistic from Peugeot is that 40 per cent of parents want their children to learn in electric vehicles. Appropriate in view of the simplicity. However, I am here at the assumed 60 percent. More personal experience: My daughter, a year older than her brother, would much rather learn with electronics.
But I have insisted that she learn from a manual because the first car she buys will not be an electric car. That will be expensive. In the next 10-15 years we will be in a period of upheaval and financially electric cars will be out of reach for young drivers. She could drive a car, of course, but you never know when the ability to drive a manual might come in handy.
And imagine learning and passing an electric car and then having to switch to a dingy old petrol car. This is a high-risk strategy if there ever was one. Every time you come to a roundabout and realize your gas doesn’t have the torque and responsiveness of your instructor’s electric vehicle.
Peugeot’s drive to convince young drivers of the benefits of electric cars is commendable, but doesn’t make much sense – they’re already on board. As a car audience, you are aware of the environmental disadvantages of electric vehicles (heavy weight, tire wear, rare earth minerals, etc.), but the whole world is already convinced that these things are the answer to every problem. In another survey, Peugeot found that “67.8 percent of all children believe that electric and plug-in vehicles are good for the planet”. hmm Maybe education should focus on that.
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