I rolled the dice. And lost.
This kind of thing happens when you plan a launch event; sometimes the best play works against you. But maybe I should have known better.
The challenge was great: I was tasked with the media launch for a new hybrid and battery electric vehicle.
In February.
In Canada.
The thing to know about vehicles generally - and electric or electrically assisted ones in particular - is as the temperature drops, their operating efficiency also falls; meaning they consume more energy to do the same work. Add winter tires into the mix and things don’t get any better.
Critically, driving range in battery electric cars is also compromised in colder temperatures.
For hybrid and electric cars, efficiency is one of the prime buying reasons for customers shopping this segment and these types of vehicles were all the rage at the time. As a result, media would be laser-focused on testing the efficiency claims of the examples they were going to drive.
We were also positioning the vehicle as more fun-to-drive than an efficiency-rules-all penalty box, so some closed-course, spirited driving components was also in order.
Efficiency tests and spirited driving experiences are equally hard to do in the cold and with snow on the roads.
You can likely see my dilemma AND where this is going...
Anyway, to Google!
I went looking for larger Canadian cities with the highest average temperatures AND least amount of precipitation (snow or otherwise) in February. Among the top was Kelowna, BC with temperatures around the freezing mark.
The team found some venue options, put together a drive route, and prepared a gaggle of vehicles. We began pitching media to attend our press conference and be the first to test drive the new cars. All the while, we monitored the weather trends in the region.
Looking at the data, I started getting nervous. We ordered some winter tires for all the vehicles because it was better to have them and not need them, then need them and not have them. For safety.
In the days leading up to the event, a storm was tracking. And a cold front.
Great…
The morning the media arrived for our first-drive program, it was well below -15 degrees Celsius and snow was COATING everything. It was deep enough that you could lose a boot if you took a wrong step.
So, we scrambled. Winter tires go on the cars ASAP. The drive route is adjusted. Plowing contractors were put on speed dial.
Then, we just made do.
In the end, the media coverage we gathered was substantial and the impressions of the car were good. But the tone was muted. We had an outstanding product that automotive opinion leaders couldn’t completely experience.
The lesson I learned that day? Don’t gamble with Mother Nature.
Also, don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
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