Exploring Downey’s Dream Cars: Robert Downey Jr. Fights EV Skepticism in New TV Series

Retired Marvel icon Robert Downey Jr. has ventured into a new realm with his latest show: Downey’s Dream Cars. This captivating series explores the convergence of his two passions—classic car collection and addressing climate change.

Drawing from his previous endeavours, such as the establishment of Footprint Coalition, a climate-focused venture firm in 2019, Downey sets the stage for an intriguing narrative. In a colourful depiction of his own environmental impact, he humorously refers to himself as a “one-man carbon footprint nightmare colossus.”

Episode one of Downey’s Dream Cars delves into the protagonist’s ambitious plan of collaborating with experts, including Rich Benoit from Electrified Garage, to retrofit his collection of classic cars with eco-friendly technologies, thus reducing emissions. 

However, the opening scene takes an unexpected turn as Downey boards a U.S. Army helicopter, seemingly contradicting the show’s core focus on climate change. Acknowledging this discrepancy, Downey playfully remarks, “Wait, isn’t this a car show?”

Indeed, it is a car show, and one that my esteemed colleague Kirsten Korosec, a contributor producer, had the privilege of working on. In my humble opinion, that’s the most exciting aspect. Intrigued, I attended a screening of the show at LA’s Petersen Automotive Museum last week. Dear reader, I am grateful for the experience because I discovered that Kirsten, who also appears as herself in the show, is a remarkable individual. Now, it brings me great joy to playfully embarrass her in this review. However, not everything from the evening left me elated; it brought forth an unsettling yet informative revelation—I found the evening’s co-host, Dax Shepard, remarkably attractive.

Moments of introspection often lead to clarity, and Downey’s Dream Cars is no exception. The inaugural episode meticulously conveys the power and resilience of electric vehicles, illustrating their capacity to surpass their combustion-engine counterparts. 

As someone who regularly covers electric vehicles, I often overlook the fact that many Americans remain unconvinced about EVs. This scepticism hampers the potential of low-emission vehicles to combat pollution. Therefore, I appreciate how Downey’s Dream Cars implicitly reminds us that there is still a need for persuasion, even if the execution may occasionally be a tad clumsy. (Spoiler alert for episodes one and two.)