60 Minutes Dubbed Engines Noise Over Tesla Model S 544
cartechboy (2660665) writes "Did you watch the Tesla 60 Minutes segment the other night? If you did, you might have ended up on the floor rolling around laughing like I did. Since when does the Tesla Model S electric car make audible engine noises? Or downshift? Turns out, 60 Minutes dubbed engine noises and a downshift over the Model S running footage. The show claims it was an editing error. Call it what you want, it was absolutely hilarious. A little note to TV producers assigned to cover Tesla Motors in the future: Electric cars don't upshift or downshift."
At least they didn't fraudulently blow it up!
Top Gear was worse. (Score:5, Informative)
At least they didn't fraudulently claim the battery went flat during a test run.
Re:Lies (Score:4, Informative)
"Huh, you can't hear the car in this car clip. That's going to be awkward... I'll just add some stock noises in so it sounds normal."
-Some lowly editor
It's easy enough to be an honest mistake by an uninformed individual. Most non-Slashdotters don't know or care about the idiosyncrasies of electric cars.
Not only for Tesla or videos (Score:5, Informative)
It's not only for Tesla, and not just on videos either. :)
Engines are getting more efficient and quieter every year, and cars are better insulated as well. Customers are disappointed when they spend big bucks on a car only to find out it doesn't sound like a big old sport car.
The solution? Manufacturers actually add speakers next to the engine, exhaust and inside the car.
You sometimes get V8 sound out of a V6 car
http://www.caranddriver.com/fe... [caranddriver.com]
Re:Top Gear was worse. (Score:3, Informative)
Or fraudulently claim certain documents had been authenticated.
Re:Top Gear was worse. (Score:5, Informative)
At least they didn't fraudulently claim the battery went flat during a test run.
Can you link to the clip/transcript of the scene where this alleged fraudulent claim occurred? Because I remember watching that episode, and aside from (what I perceived as) the playful "if the battery dies, you'll be doing this" pushing scene toward the end, I don't recall them saying or doing anything that would qualify as fraudulent. The fact that Tesla's lawsuit against the show was settled in a way that still allows the BBC to rebroadcast the episode seems to indicate a lack of fraudulent claims.
Also, in fairness, there's no denying that a "fuse issue" caused the brakes to fail during the Stig's test run - Even Tesla admits that one.
Re:The noise problem is not just a TV one. (Score:5, Informative)
That's actually something that's happening. [wikipedia.org] Apparently it's quite an interesting design challenge: you don't have to make it sound exactly like an automobile, so there's room to produce a "better" sound. One that provides more directional cues, maybe, or carries more consistent information on vehicle speed, or which is subtly distinguishable for each car so that you can better understand a busy street.
Re:Top Gear was worse. (Score:5, Informative)
Did you see the episode? It was, another, excuse to bash on all things American*. The presented t as if it ran out of charge. They really tried to hide the fact that they were not driving the car under normal road conditions.
Clarkson also has a long history of attacking electric cars, and when he is presented with argument, he responds with non sequitors.
I like how the article you linked only links to itself and not to any actual reference to the court case.
*sometime justifiable, but all too often I've seen them do things to American car they don't do to non American cars.
Re:Lies (Score:4, Informative)
Well, even with shotgun mics, there is a bit of noise cancellation due to the design. This is why when you see mics on booms, they're typically pointed *down* at the ground as they have a cardoid pick-up pattern. The ground typically doesn't have a lot of sound coming from it, but the truck behind what you're recording does. Now, with ENG style recording, the microphones are typically pointed directly at the reporter, which also has the unfortunate effect of picking up everything behind the subject, too. In real world under ideal circumstances, there's a mixer who can blend/adjust the output of the lav/handheld mic and the camera mic to produce the "best" sound, but for small productions this isn't always possible.
Re:Top Gear was worse. (Score:4, Informative)
1. Teslas don't need oil changes. You know what's better than a great dealer experience for required maintenance? Not needing maintenance in the first place!
2. Tesla doesn't have a dealer network, but they do have a service center network: http://www.teslamotors.com/ser... [teslamotors.com]
3. You want a loaner? You'll get a loaner. From http://www.teslamotors.com/ser... [teslamotors.com]:
Tesla Valet Service
Tesla is putting in place a valet service, so that your car is seamlessly picked up and replaced with a loaner and then returned as soon as we are done. There is no additional charge for this.
Tesla Rangers Come to You
Tesla Rangers are service technicians who make house calls. For an additional fee, they can come to your home or office to perform most maintenance and warranty repairs.
4. "air conditioned seats, rear DVD, 360 degree camera surround support, automatic parking, adaptive cruise control, automatic crash braking". Ok, Teslas don't have any of that.