Have I Sold Out to EVs? What Real Car Fans Need to Know

Accusations are sparking debate, so it’s time to set the record straight

Apparently, I’ve sold my soul to the Shaitan of the socket, the Devil of DC current, the archdemon of amperes! That’s what some people in the comments section of my YouTube channel have taken to ranting about.

Why? Because I’ve committed blasphemy, done the unthinkable, driven the undrivable… yes… I’ve reviewed electric cars. Shock, horror… and more SHOCK! Like, put me in the electric chair level SHOCK!

The very act of hitting the starter button on an EV somehow makes me a traitor to the petrolhead brotherhood and a fully paid-up card-carrying member of the EV cult – it’s as if I’ve had a transfusion replacing the 99 Octane in my blood with electrons.

Actually, there are electrons in my blood. Yours too. It’s kinda how we function.

Anyway, back to my abject treachery! If the trolls be believed, I’m a soulless shill for Big Lithium. So while you’re being frog-marched to an EV dealer, and forced to sign up for an exorbitant lease on a car destined to stand chargeless in your driveway because you don’t know how to work it, I’m currently typing this while “sitting on a beach earning 20%” (Hans Gruber, Die Hard, 1989; legendary).

I’ve got hand-maidens serving me chilled virgin mojitos from a fridge powered by a vehicle-to-load (V2L) supply from a Yangwang U8.

Okay, not quite. But as they say, if I really was loaded, or had my charge card fully charged by EV Inc, I might not say, but there’d be signs. Primarily a garage full of ICE icons!

It’s time we had a proper chat about all this because things have got a bit silly; so handbrake on and off the pedals. Oh, and brace yourself.

Usually, I avoid responding to the odd negative troll. Anyway, it comes with the territory. You grow a thick skin after decades in content creation (I’ve even covered this in my new book on the subject – GET IT!) especially in Automotive, where passions run high, and opinions are worn like symbols of faith around necks.

Occasionally, a theme starts to form. A chorus builds. And this particular chorus is loud, misinformed, and seems determined to write its own pseudo-narrative about the BrownCarGuy. So now, set straight, must records be.

You’ve probably seen some of it yourself if you follow my YouTube channel or social media:

“You sold your soul by reviewing those silly electric toys. Shame.”
“He only makes money if people watch his EV reviews.”
“The clue is he’s a ‘journalist’ — so always having to curry favour with the automotive industry.”

No stalling – first gear, first point, rev it right and get this straight – no shilling, no soul-selling going on here. Soul sensationally intact, wallet spectacularly vacant. I have not traded in my car-guy credentials for a charging cable. There are no millions being laundered into dodgy off-shore BCG bank accounts by Far Eastern EV masters.

In fact, I’m just doing what I’ve always done — reviewing cars, ALL CARS! That includes petrol cars, hybrid cars, diesel cars, classic cars, modern cars, and yes, electric vehicles. Because they all exist. Because people drive them. Because they are part of the conversation.

We don’t live in 1985 anymore. If we did, I’d be writing about carburettors and manual chokes. In 2005 we may have been banging on about Bluetooth, and marvelling at how diesel talks the torque. And today, in 2025, we’re talking range, charging speed, battery tech and regenerative braking.

And you know, this is not “selling out” it’s just doing my job. It’s just doing journalism.

Time to massacre myth number two. BCG is not an EV fanboy and most definitely not an ordained EVanglist. I have always been, remain and will continue to be a “Car Guy” – it’s in the brand guys, read it on my hat!

Funny story. The true EVangelists, conversely firmly believe I’m on a retainer by Big Oil – that I’m a V8 Fanboy. You know I do LOVE a V8 – Ohhhh God, how I love a good V8 – hello HEMI and cry Coyote cry!

But you can’t win! And sadly… very, very sadly… I don’t have a free petrol card either. Whether I fill a tank or top up a charge, the cost is coming out of my own well of nothingness, honestly.

Back to EVs though and yes I’ve praised them. And I’ve criticised them. I’ve gone over the pros and cons. I’ve argued the case of natural transition rather than EV compulsion over combustion.

I’ve talked about the rare minerals, the injustices to trade, the all-but-in-name slavery, and the realities of being stuck on a slow charge, 12 miles from home at 12am midnight in a dodgy part of town where hooded figures are eyeing up your 20-inch rims and figuring you’ve got a bob or two.

But equally, I’ve acknowledged their usefulness to drivers in downtown urban environs with access to charging and in need of breathing clean air; I’ve discussed their permeation into sales charts, I’ve acknowledged the importance of advancement, innovation and seeking new solutions to old problems – how to get about, where you want, when you want.

I’ve accepted that they are an inevitable part of our future mobility requirements and while they might not be the whole answer, they certainly form part of it. And I’ve driven them, reviewed them, in fact, I’ve been doing so for nearly a decade with cars like the BMW i3 and the Chevrolet Bolt EV. Some are meh, others are okay actually, and a few… oh if only I had a home charger!

And when I review them, I do so with the consumer who might command one, firmly in mind. I review them as I review any car. Not talking about the environmental harm a V12 inflicts, or the pointlessness of a supercar in the real world, the bruising bulk of a brutish SUV on ramshackle roads, nor of course the carbon footprint of constructing an earth-crushing EV – because when I’m reviewing a car, I just review the car. Fit for purpose, fit for you, fit for a trip to work, school or play? Leave the baggage in the boot.

The idea that reviewing an electric car automatically makes you part of some shady EV PR conspiracy is utterly laughable. If I really was “currying favour” with the industry, don’t you think I’d be producing a lot more safe, vanilla, sanitised content? And eating more curry!

Watch my videos. No, really watch them. You’ll find I regularly challenge the status quo and industry mood swings. I speak my mind. Oh, I’ve been blacklisted by manufacturers for being too honest in the past. So if there’s a secret club for sellouts, I definitely don’t know its hideout.

Now, let’s talk about that “journalist vs ordinary guy” trope that keeps popping up. Look, I completely get the appeal of raw, off-the-cuff rants from passionate car people. Occasionally you get it from me, you’re getting both barrels right now.

But you know, the internet is full of that. And that’s great. That’s what the democratisation of media is all about (my book again)!

However, we don’t all have to be rent-a-rant ravers. Let’s not pretend shouting into a phone camera is the same as properly researching, analysing, and testing a vehicle.

Remember also that being a journalist means sometimes saying things that people don’t necessarily want to hear. It means reviewing something not just from your personal perspective, but from the point of view of who it’s actually for. It means nuance. Context. Fairness.

That’s not bias. That’s integrity.

Sometimes I praise a car I would personally never consider owning. Other times I might warn you off a motor my heart yearns for. I’m not reviewing cars just for me. I’m assessing them for real world potential owners.

So I’ll continue to give it to you straight, perhaps with a bit of wit, sometimes a bit of bite, but always with a lot of love for cars – all cars. Whether they go vroom, whoosh, or “Hello, is this thing on?”, I’m interested. I’m a car guy. That’s it. End of.

I literally wrote the book on the War on Cars. I owned and loved a 1989 BMW E30 325i SE. I’ve reviewed muscle cars, vintage exotica, tatty old bangers, cutting-edge hypercars and Chinese crossovers. If it’s got wheels, I want to know how it drives. That’s the joy. That’s the point.

I will always look back, but will never hesitate to look forward either. The future is interesting and may not give us what we want. But it’s coming at you faster than a radar trap on the M1.

Get used to it. EVs aren’t going anywhere. They will form a significant part of the carscape. That doesn’t mean they’re perfect. It doesn’t mean I think they’ll save the world. But it means they’re worth talking about. Honestly. Properly. With perspective.

Yes, let’s talk about infrastructure, sustainability, range anxiety, the economics of used EVs, the environmental cost of production and mineral extraction. But let’s not just reduce everything to “EVs bad, old cars good.” That’s not helpful. That’s not how progress works. That’s not how car culture should work.

We can disagree. That’s fine. But let’s not divide into echo chambers. Let’s debate. Let’s discuss. And above all – let’s keep loving cars.

Because if we let our differences turn into trenches, we’ll lose what made this community great in the first place: the shared thrill of driving, the curiosity, the passion, and yes, even the arguments – but the fun, respectful kind, not the “you sold your soul!” nonsense.

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