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Online comparisons of electric vehicles vs. gas operated vehicles, Tesla vs. McLaren

Here you will see the advancement and emergence of electric cars. Why they are becoming increasingly popular to the media, but why they haven’t caught on to public interest. I examine the preferences of gas or electric vehicles in society today and further examine this through specific luxury sport cars. I look at the highly innovated Tesla motorsport, and how they compare to original gas powered vehicles, specifically the McLaren sprint vehicle, according to public opinion on marketing strategies. Each of these vehicles is highly sophisticated and each has their own advantages and disadvantages. They have not yet been fully administered and distributed to the public for many reasons price being the sole cause. These vehicles are luxury cars, as fast as formula one race cars, that can have a lasting effect on the public and environment. Many of us will never have to opportunity to posses one of these top of the line street legal race cars, but I am here to analyze and deconstruct the marketing strategies of each of these top brand vehicles. I chose to examine expensive high-end cars because though we are in an economic crisis most who are able to afford such vehicles are most likely unaffected economically. This is important because to be able to examine my research topic; finding the difference in public’s interest of vehicles, will be unaffected by bias. I will be examining the interest of high-end consumers and their responses separate from the problem of price. Responses will be solely personal based on public interest correlated with media. Why and why not people are interested or disinterested in each, how media and public interest affects their sales. I found my interest in the topic through a ride in a 2010 Tesla Roadster sport. Experiencing a rollercoaster ride in a pure electric car got me questioning why everyone doesn’t have one of these. This lead me to my research proposal which was, what causes people to be turned off to this technological advancement of the pure electric car? How are gas-powered vehicles better or not? Our environment is in desperate need of reconstruction, and we as a society are struggling to create different ways to save it. Electric vehicles are the focal point to this tussle and media are doing what they can to administer these products to the public, but why are they not catching on? I focused my attention on the high luxury brand vehicles because they are the most sophisticated with the highest end of technological gadgets implanted in them, and the consumers of these products are free from economic bias. I examined the official sites and reviews of both; comparing and contrasting each to the most minute level. These sites are the best fit to analyze because they are the official sites of each and are the focal point of each brands advertisement. Analyzing people comments and reactions to these sites is the perfect source to find the differences in marketing strategies, and how they affect the public. 

http://www.teslamotors.com

http://www.mclarenautomotive.com/uk/default.aspx

Annotated Bibliography

1) Bansal, Pratima and Roth, Kendall. “Why Companies Go Green: A Model of Ecological Responsiveness.” Academy of Management.

The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Aug., 2000), pp. 717-736.

Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1556363

This article analyzes a study on the motivations and other factors that lead to corporations and peoples responses to the ever so present ecological detriment. There was data collected from 53 firms in the United Kingdom and Japan and analytically reviewed. The three main motivations that they found were competitiveness, legitimation, and ecological responsibility. They also found that there were things that influenced these motivations and what led to them, they were: field cohesion, issue salience, and individual concern. The article seeks to understand cooperate decisions and what led to the responsiveness to each.

2) Brown, Mark B. The Civic Shaping of Technology: California's Electric Vehicle Program. JSTOR Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Winter, 2001), pp. 56-81.

Article Stable URL: http://0-www.jstor.org.sculib.scu.edu/stable/690120

This article by Brown studies closely the influence the government has on technological studies. It has a very liberal cast of the government and how the decisions they make influences the society and embeds meaning of policy design on vehicle technology within society. A key argument is California’s Air Resources Board decision in 1996 that revised the electric vehicle program. The government controls everything, which then is embedded into our society though the media.

3) Calef, David &Goble, Robert. The Allure of Technology: How France and California Promoted Electric and Hybrid Vehicles to Reduce Urban Air Pollution. JSTOR Policy Sciences, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Mar., 2007), pp. 1-34.

Article Stable URL: http://0-www.jstor.org.sculib.scu.edu/stable/25474317

All industrialized countries have a problem with air pollution. This article speaks of the political bills of California and France that they have been trying to implement since the 1990’s. They both have chosen to try and improve air quality by technological innovation, electric cars being one. California went as far as forcing the approach of “zero emission technologies.” Oil and car industries actively refused, but it has helped the formation hybrid and electric cars. Then goes as far as of how the developments have impacted our environment and humans.

4) Eberhard, Martin, and Marc Tarpenning. "The 21st Century Electric Car." Tesla Motors Inc. (2007): Google Scholar. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://www.fcinfo.jp/whitepaper/687.pdf>.

This article examines everything about the Tesla roadster. This is constructed by Tesla Motors Inc. and is intended to inform the public about everything there is to no about the car. It starts by stating its energy efficiency, and how it compares to gasoline vehicles. It focuses on its efficiency compared to other vehicles and ends with its performance. The statistical data is overwhelming and the prove to you how efficient this “true multi-fuel car” actually is.

5) Fisher, Dana R. Bringing the Material Back in: Understanding the U.S. Position on Climate Change. JSTOR Sociological Forum, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Sep., 2006), pp. 467-494.

Article Stable URL: http://0-www.jstor.org.sculib.scu.edu/stable/4540952

This article focuses on how the natural resources of America have helped to translate a message to politics on climate change in our country. It also includes socially constructed resources that are now available to us, such as electric cars that can positively affect our nations climate and our decision-making to solving the problems. Society input is crucial to understanding national problems and how to fix them, and in order to solve our problems Fisher recommends studying the link of our readily available natural resources and social processes to create political decisions.

6) Ginsberg , Jill, and Paul Bloom. "Choosing the Right Green Marketing Strategies."MIT Sloan Management Review. (2004): Google Scholar, Web. 15 Mar. 2012.

http://korny.uni-corvinus.hu/angol/cem-zgy/st_makeuparticle_no2.pdf

This article analyzes consumer decisions to not be in favor of electric vehicles. It analyzes not only the green aspect of vehicles, but all aspects of “being green.” Why it appeals to some and the reasons behind why it doesn’t for others. The authors also deconstructs the competitive landscapes between the two markets, and then goes on to analyze the different marketing strategies of being green and not being green. 

7) Gordon Ewing and Emine Sarigöllü. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing
Vol. 19, No. 1, Privacy and Ethical Issues in Database/Interactive Marketing and Public Policy (Spring, 2000), pp. 106-118.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/30000491

This article aims at discovering public preference for clean-fuel vehicles and conventional ones using an experiment. Results sow conventional cars are still the preference. The authors then analyze why they are still the preference, and how these clean-fuel vehicles will need to be marketed in order for the public to over turn their preferences of vehicles.

8) Miller, Steve. “Green is Keen, but Biger Is Better.” Brandweek 49.3 (2008): Academic Search Complete. EBSCOhost, Web. 4 Mar, 2012.

This article talks and examines the 2008 North American International Auto Show that took place in Detroit, Michigan. It talks how we as a society and at this show have an abundance of large size sedans and SUVs, despite all the focus by the public and media on Smart Cars and hybrids because of the raise of gas prices and bad emersion vehicles. An overview is presented of new automobiles that were on display at the show.

http://0-web.ebscohost.com.sculib.scu.edu/ehost/detail?sid=b07c9bd6-d6ae-409c-9be0-bcf078cfff9c%40sessionmgr113&vid=7&hid=110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=28752720

9) Moore, Alison. “Going Green.” Nursing Standard 19.31 (2005): 24-26. Academic Search Complete. EBSCOhost, Web. 16 Mar. 2012

http://0-web.ebscohost.com.sculib.scu.edu/ehost/detail?sid=2a66aa2e-7cf1-422d-aa70-dd9b95d55ac5%40sessionmgr15&vid=1&hid=119&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=16810991

Now days all of the public is encouraged to go green in all aspects of life. The media report all different ways to be efficient and save energy, and this article shows how all citizens are being advised to be 'green' and recycle household and garden waste. It also shows how the NHS is lagging far behind. According to law all clinical waste has to be disposed of in a safe way, and a lot of 'domestic' waste could be recycled and save trusts. It shows some of the hospitals in the U.S have adopted this strategy.

10) Parekh, Rupal. “Green-Car Marketers Revving up in Race for Eco-Friendly Drivers.” Advertising Age 81.31 (2010): 10-11. Academic Search Complete. EBSCOhost, Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

http://0-web.ebscohost.com.sculib.scu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=119&sid=56bb7ef0-0eef-4ca0-ad23-3706c253a9b0%40sessionmgr10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=53443738

This article focuses more on the marketing of electric cars to the public. It shows some marketing strategies, “Megacity electric vehicle” by major car companies. It analyzes how advertising agencies, media, and the public plan for these new innovated electric products.

Data, Methods, Ethics

Ethics:

I constructed face to face and telephone interviews throughout the weekend of March 9-11 2012, to deconstruct the research data I am analyzing. My research question seeks to find the difference in preferences between gas and electric cars, and how media and marketing influence those decisions. What I now understand is that society is a main contributor to the construction of media and how it is portrayed to the public. The marketing of vehicles depends strictly on what is being demanded by the public. The marketing of electric vehicles have emerged in great numbers due to the rise of gas prices, and societies desire to have more fuel efficient vehicles. Other major companies that don’t have any electric/hybrid vehicles now have adapted and altered their products to compete with other companies and adjusted to the public need. I found it much more reasonable to go straight to the source, the consumers, to find their opinions on which vehicle is more preferable. Focusing my research on high-end luxury sports cars the Tesla and McLaren to compare the public’s preference for each, and how they believe the media is marketing these products and if they have a significant influence on the sales of the products. On the weekend of March 9 I interviewed a total of 10 people individually audio taping their answers to my 10 questions regarding my research, and recording their preference of vehicles and how the media/marketing skills influences their decision if at all. Each interview took less then 10 minutes but the transcribing process took much longer, about 30-45 minutes for each interview. Before the interview I took all ethical concerns into consideration. First stating who I was and why I wanted to interview them, if they agreed to the interview I then proceeded to get them to sign an informed consent form which provides them with anonymity, inform them that I was audio taping, who would have access to the tapes and the disposition of tapes.

Data/Methods:

Interview Questions:

1)      Do you own a car?

2)      What type of car do you drive regularly?

3)      Does it have any fuel-efficient qualities? Ex. Pure electric or hybrid.

4)      What kinds of electric/hybrid cars are you familiar with?

5)      If you could would you trade in your vehicle or the one you drive regularly for an electric or hybrid vehicle? Why or why not?

6)      What are some pros and cons of each gas and electric vehicles? Which do you prefer?

7)      Have you heard of Tesla motors or McLaren Vehicles?

8)      After looking at these pictures, what car would you prefer to drive? Why?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J66_JOrYbvM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gHKTrT16_o

      9) After watching each of their respected advertisements does your preference change?

10) Which type of vehicle gas or electric is marketed better overall in your opinion? If electric why do you think more people prefer and are drawn to gas powered vehicles over electric ones?

Analysis

Part I: INTERVIEWS

Before interview:

In my findings I found that out of the people I interviewed 80% preferred the Tesla over the 20% that preferred the McLaren originally before any other questions, pictures or videos. I found that this was because the San Francisco based Tesla company was a much more well known company then the UK based McLaren. My experiential interview where I physically interviewed participants was primarily constructed in the Santa Clara University library (US), with the exception of two interviews done over the phone to an uncle who owns a Tesla and a colleague who also is capable to own one of these high-class machines. Since my interview consisted of pictures and videos and how they affected their decision making process my interview was not constricted to just a verbal communication. I picked 10 people at random, some I approached as they first walked into the library, some I approached as they were sitting down at a computer making it more convenient to watch videos and look at pictures since already posted at a computer, and some through telephone communication while they were sitting in front of a computer. I did not confine my research to those at a computer screen though, I had my laptop in my hand making it easy for interviewees to watch these videos and answer my questions. Getting the results for my interview was much harder then I had ever anticipated because I was not able to get one person to agree to my interview the first hour I was there. Being a little gloomy I started off my research with a phone call to a relative then with a familiar face. Things eventually got rolling and I reached the number of participants I was hoping for. The majority of my interviews were constructed individually, but I was able to kill two birds with one stone more then once. Meaning, I was able to interview two people at once, twice.

Interviewing two at once:

What I found is quit interesting. While interviewing two persons at once, it seemed that the presence of the other influenced each other’s decisions. Both times the teams of two agreed on just about every question. They were able to compare and contrast each other’s decisions, coming up with a unified concurrence.

Choosing Interviewees:

My criteria for choosing people to interview was actually quit simple, all I needed was for you to be interested. I was choosing students and faculty at random trying to mix up my samples as much as possible so my outcomes are not biased in any way. In total I interviewed 2 female students, 2 female faculty, 2 male students, and 2 male faculty, one relative, and one old colleague. Recruitment of interviewees was easy since I choose people at random in my socially confined area of campus, but getting them to agree to the survey was much more difficult. My strategy to approach samples quickly changed from, “hey, are willing to answer a few questions for my business class” to “hello, I know you have been studying for finals for way to long, so how about you take a break and answer a few questions on the most lavish cars in the world.” The strategy of a “break” from work lured in much more participants.

Figure 1: 

Number of preferences under fixed situations

Figure 2:

Results:

The results I found were very contradicting. More people preferred the pure electric vehicles before knowing anything about either of the two cars.

After picture administered: A soon as only the pictures of each classy car was revealed, preferences instantly flip-flopped, and now 70% of the participants preferred the better looking car (gas) over the pure electric Tesla despite all the advantages of owning a pure electric car. The main responses I received after seeing the images in favor of the McLaren was, “the McLaren looks cooler,” “it looks more professional and more technological even though its not,” “it better resembles the fantasies Americans have for luxury sports cars.” The positive and negative responses I received about the Tesla were, “it look nice just not extravagant” “it is not as diverse as the McLaren,” “it looks like a little red rocket, I love it.” Overall I found that the looks of the McLaren better resembles Americans preference of luxury sports cars.

After video Administered: People became particularly fond of the McLaren after seeing a picture, but how would they react after seeing each of their commercials? My results now showed an increase by 10% and now 80% of participants preferred the McLaren after watching the videos for reasons such as, “Tesla relies to heavily upon its words about what other people did that didn’t work, and not enough about what they did to make their car work.” The main response I got was that the McLaren clip gave way more attention to their cars performance and looks. Letting the car do the talking for them rather then doing the talking. While the Tesla commercial was so caught up trying to prove its worth and how their system is so much better then others, rather than letting the car do it’s talking for them. These results do make sense though as the Tesla commercial is trying to promote its worth through the innovation of pure electricity, and without words telling you this, then no one would actually know of this innovation. The McLaren commercial has the ability to just let the car do the speaking for them because they are not trying to prove any point rather then, look at this beautiful fast car we just built. Some might feel as if the electric brand would have the advantage while promoting because of the importance and outbreak of electric vehicles, but in this case of advertising high-end luxury sport cars the first impression or looks of the car has a huge impact on the decisions of public America.      

Differences within Data: One difference I found in my data is the differences between fans or bystanders and buyers. I found that enthusiast’s opinions on vehicles are much different then consumers, in the aspect of importance of every part of the vehicle. As consumers deeply construct everything about it speed, MPG, durability etc. the fan only cares about what he/she looks like while riding down the street. With the case of these luxury sports cars, in our economy the population of consumers is greatly outnumbered by the population of people who will never be able to own one of these cars and only able to admire from afar. This raises a great gap in my research because preferences of products change when they have significance to you or not. This is why I interviewed two people who are capable of affording these cars, and four adults who have owned many cars in their life, giving every vehicle they own or wish to own more sentimental value. I found that the look of the cars was the least of their worries. Each was in favor of different cars by the end of the interview. However, before the interview all preferred electric vehicles because “they are so much more efficient.” The pictures changed nothing, and not till seeing the advertisements did preferences change. This was based on the fact that these are “Sunday cars” said who I will call Joe. Joe meant, though electric vehicles are ever so important to society it is not enough to persuade him to purchase an electric vehicle that he would only be driving on Sundays as a vacation car, or car you only take out of the garage on Sunday strolls down to the beach because it is so valuable, “it is not a car you drive everyday, so I don’t see the value of purchasing an electric Sunday car when the miles will already be limited on any luxury sports car I purchase.” The other who changed their preference to the McLaren simply because “it is more badass, and faster…come on it’s a street legal race car.” I found that our societies image of a “dream car” has nothing to do with electricity. The reason is unknown but I hypothesize that maybe we grew up in a different era where we constructed the image of our dream car when electric vehicles weren’t present, or maybe because more expensive cars are seen as superior. The McLaren is almost twice as much as the Tesla. My results show that the non-electric McLaren is seen as more desirable by the pubic overall, which corresponds with my original findings.

Part II: YOUTUBE VIDEOS

COMPARISON:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1C44JQU7Pc tesla

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7WGC1iXS_U  mclaren

What I really seek to understand is how media and marketing can affect the preference of users. So I analyzed the most viewed YouTube videos of each and analyzed the responses. What specifically sparked my interest was the pure electric 2010 Tesla roadster that I experienced first hand going from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds, and lasting 250 miles on one charge. This being a fuel-efficient luxury car, that is considered sexy by the ladies, fulfills the adrenaline junkies fix by maxing at a speed of nearly 150 miles per hour, what is better? Which leads me to my comparison. For those who are able to afford the hefty price of the Tesla roadster motor sport then the McLaren MP4 wouldn’t be too far off of their radar either. This formula one dragster was created by highly skilled British team working in the United Kingdom creating one of the most highly admired street legal cars on the road. For my research question I searched to understand the differences in preferences between the two according to the public fans, professional racers, car companies etc, and most importantly consumers. 

Analysis of Tesla video: Analyzing the first 100 archival posts on each of the links I found that for the Tesla, surprisingly the data reported showed an even distribution of preference for the vehicle, though the “likes” out numbered the “dislikes” by nearly 10 to 1, the comments were about even. I found that everyone fond of the Tesla was pleased with the new technologies that have allowed for this luxury ELECTRIC vehicle. They were supportive of the inventor Nikola Tesla and were ecstatic on what this innovation can bring to our society. On the other side though, the people who scrutinized this vehicle almost all were already in support of a different high-end luxury cars, and this vehicle “didn’t measure up to the standards.” They also gave no credit to Nikola Tesla saying, “He only invented the electricity part,” and had no input on any manufacturing of the vehicle. Almost all not in favor nit picked saying “no emersions my a$$, what about all the coal and other emersions given off to produce the battery,” and the most popular inquiry is that it is “over priced” or “not worth that much,” referring to the near 150,000 that it costs. 

Analysis of the McLaren: For the McLaren archival reviews, there are significantly more positive reviews then negative. The “likes” out numbered the “dislikes: by nearly 30 to 1. Most everyone gives a sign of respect for the vehicle and the innovators behind it. Again the people who scrutinize the McLaren already have a predetermined preference of a different luxury car that they just compare this formula one dragster to, “I’d rather have a Porsche,” “I’d rather have a Ferrari.” Even though there are not many greater cars than this one, being named the number one luxury sports car by the Wall Street Journal, there will always be scrutiny over anything and everything no matter what. I find much more positive reviews with this gas immersed street legal racecar saying, “MP4-12C=beautiful,” “love the car love the track doesn’t make a better combination.” I found the causes for this is because it is a much more globally known car, it is one of the highest performing cars in the world, and is in the top five for speed alone. It competes with top brand vehicles in all aspects, speed, performance, technology, and pure beauty. People appreciate this car more even though it is a gas vehicle. Our society has been centered around gas cars since the emergence of motor vehicles by Henry Ford in 1908. We have not yet grown to appreciate the significance of pure electric vehicles and their importance to our society, economy and atmosphere. The Tesla is one of the most innovated and highly advanced technological gadget ever produced, that our society still hasn’t rapped its head around.

Conclusion Preference of vehicles

Why are Electric cars better than standard fuel intake cars or vise versa? This is the question that I seeked to understand, and how marketing and media publication has affected the sales of each. According to Steve Miller in his “Green is Keen but bigger is still better” shows a great representation of preferable vehicles in our society. Though much of our medias attention is towards hybrids and fuel-efficient cars, “hybrid vehicles only make up 4-5% of all cars on the road” (Miller). Our reputation in America is the bigger the better and every pure electric vehicle hasn’t exceeded the threshold of an average size sports car. Many are small and there lightweight bodies are what make them so fuel-efficient. Though much of media and industry attention is geared toward fuel-efficient hybrid cars, small mini cars is not what attracts our eye, "While there is a greater focus in the industry on producing fuel-sipping cars, Americans traditionally lean toward vehicles that provide more room and more power when gas prices are low-to-moderate like they are now," said AutoTrader.com CEO Chip Perry.  "The dominance of shopper interest in larger cars, big trucks and SUVs has continued for much of the second half of 2010" (Perry). An image is possessed when owning a large vehicle in our society. A “full size” vehicle that was also socially constructed because the public had trouble distinguishing what was “full size” and “mid size” after the U.S introduced the 1960 “Detroit Big Three” of basic Chevy, Ford, and Plymouth cars stating they were larger then luxury Cadillac and Lincoln cars, when they actually were not. Now the standard full size vehicles has to meet specific federal regulations of to meet the criteria of a “full size” vehicle, but this is easily eluded with new names for all shapes and sizes of cars, SUV’s, trucks, vans etc. We have socially constructed the image that these large full size vehicles, implies wealth, power and superiority. Any person who knows someone that owns a large vehicle, also considered “gas guzzlers” will complain about gas prices, but also brag about how they own the road. This preference has really put a hole in Americans pockets with the rise of gas prices, even though major companies are conscious of MPG making larger vehicles fuel-efficient six cylinder hybrids. This trend has continued over the past years, and even with an increase in sales of small and hybrid cars the demand for large-scale vehicles has only increased.  This chart represents the average sale of large full size vehicles in the last year, compared to a year prior.  

Figure: 3

Gas or electric;

I found in America our preference for cars has much to do with the physical features of the car rather then interior of it. The society we have grown up in has been centered on gas-powered vehicles and that is what we know because it has been the one and only vehicle type of our era. Though many want to save money and avoid the raising costs of gas prices, many still cant get away from gas-powered vehicles, and I found that when analyzing luxury sports cars the preferences of Americans doesn’t change; we always prefer standard components of products rather then going green. For reasons such as, “Green products have also been hurt by the perception that such products are of lower quality or don't really deliver on their environmental promises. In a 2002 Roper survey, 41% of consumers said they did not buy green products because they worried about the diminished quality of ecofriendly versions” (Ginsberg and Bloom). There are infant aspects about why we are headed to a green society and the purchases of electric vehicles, from a business standpoint, “regulatory compliance, competitive advantage, stalk holder pressure, ethical concerns, critical events, and top management initiative” (Bansal and Roth). For the baby-boomers, “concern about living longer, and healthier lives” (Ginsberg and Bloom). However, American drivers just can’t break their comfort zone. We don’t know what to expect with a product we have never used before. With the research I have done I am comfortable saying that it is just a matter of time. As these vehicles are administered, slowly but surely and the more people that are smart enough to make the switch to hybrid and electric vehicles, will soon be enough people to influence the public, and in turn have a massive change in vehicle preference. I feel that our digital technology and media will be able to sway peoples decisions in the long run, as we see the positive influences of “being green” and see the positive lives of the people that have already made the switch. All in all analyzing the media and their influence on vehicle preference will ultimately have a positive and lasting affect on our lives as citizens. As it continues to introduce new ideas and continue lasting ones, the society will catch on because the media, and marketing strategies will never die in our era, and only get more sophisticated. 

Multi Media, Links, Relevant info:

1)      http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/electric-car-timeline.html

2)      http://cet.berkeley.edu/dl/CET_Technical%20Brief_EconomicModel2030_f.pdf

3)      http://www.dolcera.com/wiki/index.php?title=A_market_study_on_Hybrid_vehicles_and_the_concept_of_V2G  (graphs)