I test drove a Tesla
wilshipley.com
wilshipley.com
First off, as Wil pointed out, it doesn't like staying at 100mph+ for very long. That naturally makes it not a track friendly car. It will get passed up easily on the straightaways at some tracks (ex you can hit 140+ on the back straight at Road Atlanta). And the brakes will get roasted and it will run out of battery after just a few sessions. Not to mention that there's no fun in driving a car and not shifting gears and toying with the clutch, and of course being deafened by the loud sound of a free flowing V-8,10,12,whathaveyou
Okay, just my little rant. In summary the Tesla is not a car guy's car, it's a SV show-off car.
...The same as a Corvette ZR1 (and also the same price) in third gear.
http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9212...
2009 ZR1 . Max rpm 6500 . Tire Dia 26.4 . Tire Circumference 6.9115' . Rear End 3.42
Gear Ratios Max speed(mph)
1 2.29 65.2
2 1.61 92.7
3 1.21 123.4
4 1.00 149.3
5 0.81 184.3
6 0.67 222.8Also, I believe that monkeying with a manual clutch is a misfeature (witness twin clutch type sequential manuals) and that loud engines are also just a matter of opinion, or only so popular because of the fast cars they represent, not the other way around. I think if/when electric cars are the fastest thing around there will be a lot of car guys who want nothing to do with the current side-effect of performance.
(Also, big ups for track time. I haven't worked up the courage to get out there with mine yet.)
It's the first car they've ever built! Do you honestly think there will never be an electric track ready car? Surely this a pretty damn impressive first step.
As has been noted by others - the clutch is a misfeature - it's fun (I only drive manuals) - but I don't see it as being essential for the Tesla.
And as for the noise - agree but also disagree - a big engine sounds awesome - but honestly - the important thing about a car is how it drives - not how it sounds.. It's going to take a few years for that to happen - but it will.
Why not creating a company that leases Tesla cars? and the company would also have a racing circuit nearby. Now, that would be fun.
-W
Anyone care to put an estimation on a time frame? I'm thinking somewhere around 2010-2012.
I think someone putting some serious effort in trying to set up a series would help in a greater adoption of the electric car.
though the tesla roadster, while initially based on the lotus elise chassis and body, is about double the price of an elise. i'd be more surprised if he was actually able to find one for sale since i thought all 2008 models were spoken for. though i don't think his article actually said he was buying one, just that he took one out on an autocross course.
"The Tesla I drove was an engineering prototype but is said to be very close to the one I'll get next year."
So I guess he's getting a 2009 model or something.
http://developer.apple.com/business/macmarket/deliciouslibra...
Also, OMNI did a bunch of high hourly rate contracting throughout the 90s, even before they sold products.
Women are just horrible drivers from my experience. I've been hit 5 times and members of my family were hit 3 times. In ALL but one cases the other person was a woman. And that doesn't count the hundreds of times I had to scramble to get out of the way because some woman suddenly decided that she liked my lane better
1-side swipe w/o her using any turn signals. Usually not a problem since I'm used to this, but this one was dodging rear ending another car
2-sitting at a red light and the woman thought the light turned green, caused about 4 grand in damage(she must have had the pedal to the metal)
3-entering driveway and the woman thought my turn signal was flashing the other way, so she decided to pass on a shoulder and t-boned me as I was entering
4-t-bone in a parking lot because the woman decided to look back at her kids and hit gas instead of brakes
5-rear end at a red light because the woman thought I'd run the red light and didn't
6/7-2 major hits at a parking lot because the woman didn't slow down enough entering the space
the one time I got hit by a guy it was when we were both pushing the limit at the racetrack, and was due to him understeering.
Until I modified my car's exhaust I had to avoid careless women almost daily. Now that they can actually hear me thats been cut down to once a week. An aftermarket exhaust is the best investment you can make to avoid major repairs to your car.
1) About two months back I saw a girl on a bike get hit by a guy who "didn't see her" because, as he claims, he was watching me (I was about 10m back). He was on a minor street crossing a major street. We were on the major street, and she got hit side-on. She was fine, by the way, just scrapes on her legs and hands (a doctor happened to be nearby, and he checked her over).
2) I almost got sideswiped by a guy turning right off a minor highway. Had to pull on the brakes and swerve left into the lane to avoid him. Thankfully there were no cars there.
3) As I was stopping at a stoplight, a pickup truck pulled up behind me. The guy inside apparently didn't like how far from the curb I was. He stuck his head out the window, swearing about how he's going to run me over. I yell back, tell him to mind his own business, then make a quick right turn to avoid him.
I could go on. In fact, of all the times I've gotten a look at the driver, it was a woman driver very few times. To use a word I saw here recently, my anecdata contradicts your anecdata.
Never had this happen with a truck full of females.
In fact, it happened this afternoon, since I wrote my last post. Strange, eh?
If women actually did cause more accidents; hence they are worse drivers, they wouldn't be paying less for insurance than us males now would they?
...Yet another reason to charge insurance by the mile and/or minute.
.
http://christianparty.net/womendrivers.htm
Women Drivers: Hidden Health Risk To Men
Women drive only 30% of miles driven but are in 37% of the fatal accidents ...
NHTSA data suggests that ... if only women drove:
There would be 23,879 more traffic fatalities each year.
There would be 7,674 more women killed each year.
+ I think the whole insurance industry is lagging, it'll probably be another decade before they adjust women's rates.
I mean right now the whole thing is unfair as hell when it comes to insurance. When I was in college, a girl I knew had 8 at fault accidents. She totaled 3 cars and the rest were fender benders. Her insurance paid out close to $150,000. And her insurance was STILL lower for full coverage for a new 330ci than what I paid for liability on my old Civic. And I had a clean record, no at fault accidents or points on my license. Not exactly fair.
Gear shifting slows down a vehicle, regardless of how fast it is, since you're disconnecting the engine from the powertrain. It also is another thing you have to bother with while driving.
I think that's what makes driving fun.. you have greater control of your cars actions and are in touch with it. I could never see myself driving something where I never have to touch the shifter once its in a forward gear.
As for the speed issue, you're right, it is slowing it down. (granted new paddle systems make that 60 milliseconds like the F430 Scuderia) But the Tesla only has 1 gear, which doesn't like going much past 100mph.
It is a 2-speed car. Tesla is planning on performing a recall to upgrade the transmissions of all of the delivered 1-speed cars to 2-speed.
They increased the power of the engine while waiting to fix the gearbox, and found the car now accelerates fine with only one gear.
-W
Do I understand correctly that the 1.5 drivetrain tends to get hot at high speeds and is automatically throttled to prevent overheating (thermal throttled, like some CPU's) and that that is the reason that though the car can indeed reach 120 or more MPH, it cannot sustain it for very long?
Nobody here is Michael Schumacher, but a manual car with a good sound will damn sure make you feel like him.
It still surprises me how few manuals you see in the US, It's as if people aren't interested in driving + getting the most out of the car. If you don't enjoy driving, why not get a driver. If you enjoy driving, you want a manual.
Nothing worse than speeding up an on-ramp, and the car refusing to budge out of 2nd.
They don't get drivers for the same reason they don't have chefs and other personal assistants.
OTOH, I live out in the country and about 5 miles of my commute is on winding gravel roads. Turn off Traction Control and I have a blast without ever exceeding the speed limit!
There is a motorcycle model with clutchless shifting?
Regardless, I still wouldn't buy a manual. I drive my brother's old turbo Z and my dad's manual pickup sometimes. I've driven a friend's manual Porsche Cayman S on the tracks too. Clutches just aren't fun.
An added bonus is the speed of SMG transmissions today. My 335i's "steptronic" transmission has a clutch-lock for that real direct connection to the engine feel, plus it shifts in 100ms; which I don't think any human could actually do. The perfect throttle blipping makes it extremely smooth. Further, the fun of using paddle shifters is a huge thrill as a FIA F1 fan! :D
See links in the comments for pictures.
...Nuclear, largely, if the charging is done at night.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/states...