Buzz Smith: Snake Oil EVangelism

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- May 16, 2024

On social media, one Buzz Smith appeared, bragging about the new EV truck he had ordered. He was getting criticism, and I chimed in. The cowboy-looking fellow has his picture and “Getting ready for the electric pickups!” But here is his normal Facebook picture:

I responded how EVs had never been competitive with this link.

He responded: “Yeah, electric technology hasn’t changed a bit in the last 120 years, GeeZ!” To which I replied that the situation was the same now as then: relative energy density and the weight of batteries. I also shared that the average price of an EV was $55,000 versus $35,000 for a conventional vehicle with this link.

He then replied: “The difference is the public now knows what Exxon knew in 1977, that their product was going to change the climate….”

But before I knew it, I was BLOCKED from his feed.

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Who is Buzz Smith? Here is his profile:

Buzz Smith is the founder of The EVangelist. Oddly, he started his career in oil & gas. He left that industry, after ten years, during one of the many oil “busts.” In 2012, his life was changed by a car accident. His car was totaled. Gasoline was expensive, so he leased a Chevy Volt. He loved it so much, he started a blog called, “My Electric Vehicle Journey.” Less than two months later, his wife Bonnie leased a Chevy Volt too. (they re-Volted!)A year later, his Chevrolet dealership hired him as a salesperson, focusing on plug-in vehicles. For the next 6 years, Buzz was the #1 plug-in vehicle salesperson, for the entire state of Texas, with 35% of his sales being plug-in vehicles.

But funny thing: Buzz brags about “No oil to change” and “No spark plugs” and “no Transmission fluid” and “regenerative brakes” but does not evangelize about the 21 problems of EVs. He is a goofball who is selling snake oil to a public that is too wise to follow his mysticism.

Bad vibes and buzz ….