Tesla

[Weebitob]

It seems that this author agrees on how some have been a little heavy on EVs for something that is entirely familiar to any automobile engine operating at a higher RPM.

Originally Posted by Mark Rechtin

If you drive an EV on the autobahn full tilt, your mileage and range will drop precipitously. But so will it if you drive your Porsche 911 or Toyota Camry in a similar fashion. Yet for some reason, while traditional cars are given a pass for lead-footed driving, the reaction to an EV's reduced range under those conditions is, "Aha!" in a tone mixed with outrage and schadenfreude.

However, what some point out is that the main issue that the article arrises is that Tesla's official charge stations along the East Coast being too far apart. Even Elon Musk himself admitted they should be 140 miles apart rather then 200 considering weather and traffic conditions.

[benebob]

Originally Posted by dbarnblatt

Ugly comment Benebob... Not cool.

What I meant was take it to another thread...

Come on, I'm not trying to censor you or anybody... but your initial comments of "Jewish liberal media" veered so far off topic of the thread and exposed a pretty ugly side of this place and of you. It's a public place and I would never say such a thing, it's in bad taste and very offensive to me and I'm sure many others here.

You would have never said that to anyone in person, would you? So why say it here?

How so as there is well over 40 percent of the population that is firmly entrenched that the media is too far left and gives a biased Jewish spin to the real news. Here is a perfect example of how far from the truth that actually is but you and pleny of others can't see. If th liberal media doesn't support tree hugging "fake green cars" like the Tesla what is this world coming to., I'm glad your offended as I and 'i'm sure many in the country are offended that Telsa has gotten 465 million dollars of our money to never once turn a profit. Kind of reminds me of G.B. and Delorean. If they can't stand on their own two feet then they deserve to fail.

Oh and I'd gladly say what I wrote too yours or anybodys face as it is the truth and reality of the country you live in. Not a bit of "racism" (never knew that Jews now qualified as their own race rather than a religious group) or even the muslims for that matter which sadly you didn't seem to be offended by so what does that say about you. I'll discuss it this weekend at the ski resort with some of my Jewish friends about their race. I'm sure they'll be glad to have such a defender for them.

Back to the your topic, the article I posted just shows the very serious issues that battery powered cars face in the most populated area of the country and that building a massive infastruture is NOT the job of the gov't. How many gas stations did the gov't build in the teens and beyond? Let the most likely fossil fuel fired electric fail on its own accord just as G.W. realized that hydrogen isn't the answer in the near term after his billions of investments.

Would your friend have paid 2x the sricker for his tesla because that's pretty much what he did. He just used the giant welfare net to pay the other half.

[wdb]

Benebob did you read the NYTimes article itself?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/au...v-highway.html

The author set out to drive the car from one of the Tesla "Supercharger" stations to the next, and basically refused to accept the reality that he wasn't going to make it. He turned off the heat, passed up several opportunities to top up the car's charge, and he left the car unplugged overnight - which I now know is a serious no-no for electric cars in cold climates. Then after his long, cold, miserable drive, he sat down and started typing. You can guess how that went.

He could have written a piece on Tesla's advertised claims of an electric car supposedly capable of getting from DC to Boston vs. the real world experience of actually making the trip in said car; instead he doggedly continued to attempt what was obviously and repeatedly shown to him to be impractical, and committed a huge electric car no-no to boot.

Musk is definitely not the best poster boy for corporate image, and his response to critics is pretty much inexcusable. But he's bold enough to be first and brave enough to be wrong. I personally don't mind one bit that Elon Musk has about $1.25 of my money in his war chest to see if electric cars can make it in America. I'm ecstatic that there is still some evidence of us being able to truly innovate in this country. I don't know if electric cars will be the way we all get places in 20 years or a footnote of history, but that's not the point.

EDIT: At least my $1.25 is buying me some entertainment! Musk's more supposedly reasoned response to the NYTimes article:
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/most...iar-test-drive

And a dissection of that response:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/techn...-fakery/62149/

[benebob]

I did but your linky no worky. I saw yesterday that Musk was whining that the drive claimed to be going 54mph after realizing the range wasn't far enough but in fact the gps said he was doing 60mph. That is still well within the average range of speedometer errors and some of the "ultimate driving machines" are more off according to tests.

Only reason I posted the hoopla from the NYT is becaue some here think the smokestack car is the greatest thing since slisce bread. If that is the case why has no one EVER turned a profit making EV since the 1900s and why aren't these believers lining up with the money to buy one or evey invest in the stock of these companies? Musk needs some boxed whine with his gov't sub. cheese.

[Conn SVX]

Just saying , that car would suite 75% of people that drive. In Conn there are plenty of charging stations. My daughter and her husband drive 60 miles each way to work. We pay 7.4 cents a Kwh . That car would pay for itself in a few years. And it would be a better ride than the Toyota Carolla they use now.

[Landshark]

i think this might apply here ......

[dcarrb]

Sooner or later, fossil fuels are going to become prohibitively expensive. Makes sense to go ahead and work the kinks out of whatever's next.

Took a trip with a friend in a Prius and I told her I'd fill-up the car at day's end if she'd drive. Spent <$14.00 for a run that would have cost me every bit of $40.00 in one of my cars. Yeah, I know, replacing the battery pack is expensive, but geez, let me get my calculator out. And in spite of the complexity relative to a conventional vehicle, Consumer Reports rates the reliability of these things as excellent.

Read this morning that 92% of Chevy Volt buyers surveyed would buy one again. That's amazing.

The vast majority of my driving is <15 miles per trip; country road, small town stuff. And incredibly, there are even a couple of EV chargers around here. I'd love to have an EV for commuting, charged in part by a photovoltaic array on the garage roof. I don't think I'm alone in that mindset. and I don't think it will be too long before the numbers will really work.

dcb

[subeman90]

Originally Posted by Landshark

i think this might apply here ......

there is so much truth to this picture. I swear I have heard everything on this.

[processengr]

A little humor...No NEW car will pay for itself on gas savings alone. A new bicycle will though...why not get rid of the gas guzzler for a bike for each of the family?

Seriously, without any cost savings or cost analysis what so ever of the business model or environmental impact...anyone who appreciates cars will find the Tesla roadster or the model "S" very interesting. If you like cars, you should check one out.

I do own some Tesla stock. Not much though...If I could afford to buy the Model "S" I would!

[dcarrb]

Yeah, I don't know how many times over the years I've remarked, "I can buy a lot of gas (and parts) with the new car payment I'm not making," but still, for someone who goes from piloting some Very Thirsty Vehicle to a hybrid or sub-compact or EV, the fuel savings could certainly take a big enough bite out of the payment to make it an economically plausible move.

dcb

[Conn SVX]

Just saw this on the road FISKER KARMA . From the reports , it is almost a kit car. In fit and finish
http://autos.yahoo.com/fisker/karma/2012/
Only 38 miles on pure battery. After that a generator comes own a keeps the battery charged. ( like a diesel train )
Good looking in person. Very fast. Once it runs out of battery it gets 66 MPG. For the first 100 miles then drops to mid 20's
All this for $100,000. Now if that body was on the Tesla...

[benebob]

Originally Posted by Conn SVX

Just saw this on the road FISKER KARMA . From the reports , it is almost a kit car. In fit and finish
http://autos.yahoo.com/fisker/karma/2012/
Only 38 miles on pure battery. After that a generator comes own a keeps the battery charged. ( like a diesel train )
Good looking in person. Very fast. Once it runs out of battery it gets 66 MPG. For the first 100 miles then drops to mid 20's
All this for $100,000. Now if that body was on the Tesla...

Only one I saw was last summer. It was sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.

[Weebitob]

Originally Posted by Conn SVX

Just saw this on the road FISKER KARMA . From the reports , it is almost a kit car. In fit and finish
http://autos.yahoo.com/fisker/karma/2012/
Only 38 miles on pure battery. After that a generator comes own a keeps the battery charged. ( like a diesel train )
Good looking in person. Very fast. Once it runs out of battery it gets 66 MPG. For the first 100 miles then drops to mid 20's
All this for $100,000. Now if that body was on the Tesla...

I would imagine that within a year or so expect the price to drop even lower then that. With all the bad publicity surrounding it from its alleged combustibility while charging and the lawsuit they dropped on the ones destroyed during Sandy in transit expect this to be the US VW Phaeton of EV cars. As it will be quite (probably not as much as older Phaetons) cheap but incredibly hard to find parts for.

[processengr]

Tesla received a positive review from the Non-profit Consumer Reports magazine..http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...ctric/2146175/

[Turbone]

Spotted this going up I-5 in Wa a few weeks ago.
Apparently they are popular up here.