Motor Trend Car of the Year: Tesla Model S
motortrend.com
motortrend.com
It's just the right product at the right time, which pretty much is the definition of a winner.
Making things is generally fertile ground for job satisfaction.
They didn't realize that as the USA were involved, the discussion was doomed to degenerate into a mediocre and moderately interesting patriotic blabber. These readers simply lake basic knowledge of the average American state of mind.
As someone who used to be one of them, I give you our sincere apologies and invite you to keep going on your war veterans and industrial pride.
This has nothing to do with Americans specifically beyond the fact that there may be more Americans on this forum than other individual countries, so there are more comments. There's no need to come on here and spew anti-American sentiments like you are so coyly doing right now. Americans aren't leaving hateful comments on stories about other countries startup scenes. This is a story about a successful American startup doing their business in America in a fashion that is not the same as typical established American companies in their industry. And somehow you're surprised that local hackers are pleased by this?
Is it really such a good idea to have a glowing screen dominating the interior at night? To say nothing of the opportunities for distracted drivers trying to navigate a button-free interface that can't be operated without taking your eyes off the road to look at the items you're pressing, or the opportunity for modal errors that abound in systems like this.
Echoes of the disastrous usability in the BMW i-Drive system are ringing in my ears. I hope Tesla has learned from the mistakes of others. I'd very much like to see an independent UX evaluation of the Tesla's driver controls.
The 300 also has a voice system like a lot of vehicles these days, so that you can hit a button on the front of the steering wheel and give voice commands.
Texting and driving is dangerous enough. The opportunities for a less-than-stellar driver to take their focus away from the road seem to abound.
It looks like it makes an amazing demo. I have to question the wisdom of giving the driver of a car access to this level of complexity while driving. Watch the video around 3:45 and look at how many steps the driver has to go through just to open or close the sunroof.
There are times when a simple dedicated button, while not as sexy to show off to the motoring press, can be a much more elegant solution than a series of overlapping menus and windows on a touchscreen.
In any case, this is lightyears ahead of what competitors have to offer.
Voice controls would be better. Press a button on the wheel and say "set temperature to 72 degrees".
At night, the display switches to a white on black interface with a dimmed screen brightness. Unless you are seriously distracted by any light in your car at night, this isn't going to get in your way. Really, the only way you can make it worse is by leaving a website up with animation on it or bright colors.
In addition, any important info (navigation, media playback, range indication) is available on the dash display. The default interface is relatively static, so it's not going to try and distract you from driving. The most motion is going to come from the dash, and that's right below your eye line, provided you're actually keeping your eyes on the road.
I saw this at the Beta event last year and even though I wasn't the driver, I ended up spending most of my time looking elsewhere besides the center display. The car and the driving experience is really front and center, not the touchscreen.
But these are general safety issues that Tesla has let the driver decide for themselves, rather than forcing a decision with an automatic disabling at certain speeds. You can also drive the car off a cliff, if you so choose. It's really up to you to have some common sense about things like this. But the default interface and night mode are designed to not be a distraction, so only you and your passengers can create a distraction (which can happen in any car).
The best solution IMO would be gesture based, vs. buttons, but since it's Android, one could conceivably write a better gesture-based UI on your own and distribute it to other owners.
(and, a better audio UI -- if you worked on the microphone vs. most production cars, you could probably feed google or siri with a clean enough feed to be accurate, especially in a constrained domain, even at 110mph)
That being said, it is a gigantic target for negative media coverage because of it, and as soon as someone is dumb enough to get in an accident because of it, people are going to be calling for Elon's head. (maybe not, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility)
Beautiful, cool, wonderful 21st century engineering.
So much about this car is so...cool.
I think this is a smart move by Tesla, because I found push-to-start in a toyota hybrid confusing.
Some things should be done intentionally, not automatically.
You can either not bring in the fob or tell the car to turn off via the touchscreen.
> What if the passenger has the key in their pocket and gets out at the airport?
Why would the passenger have the key and not the driver? The car wouldn't start without it in the driver's seat. That's even how it works for my Prius.
The airport scenario was one that I heard of actually happening (though I can't remember what model of car it was). I think the passenger owned the car.
Flush door handles and ice seems to be not well-thought out proposition at the very least.
I could also see the Model X being pretty suitable for a northern climate. I'd love to have one here in Maine to test out.
My grandmother has a 1986 Toyota Corolla, identical to a model that my Australian friend still drives around in great working condition. But my grandmother's car has 20000 miles on it and already has rust holes through the chassis on both sides. Toyota did learn this lesson eventually, but their early cars rust to death in just a few years.
and the Yahoo car of the year (http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/tesla-model-2013-yaho...)
We are now in a time of pioneers in a new world. There will be a lot of failures but also successes. I have a good feeling with Tesla's way.
Here is why:
1. The design is exceptional
2. Their power train is simple. They didn't make the decision to use an extender like Volt which requires three hydraulic clutches
3. They extend the range through super chargers
4. They are aiming at the right target group
5. The time is right
6. Mr. Musk is a visionaryA Volt-like extender requires ZERO clutches. It requires nothing more than a gas engine driving a generator which charges a battery which powers an electric motor.
The reason why the Volt has three clutches is straightforward: unlike Tesla, GM is trying to squeeze all the efficiency it can out of the car by taking advantage of the fact that the car actually has three motors in it. The Volt runs in four different modes:
0. The battery-powered traction motor drives the car (the default).
1. The gas engine drives a generator which, with battery support, powers the traction motor to drive the car.
2. The generator disengages from the (turned off) gas engine and performs double-duty as a second battery-driven motor.
3. The gas engine attaches directly to the drivetrain and helps the traction motor drive the car.
Each of these is maximally efficient in different situations. For example, if the battery is nearly depleted and the traction motor is spinning fast (over 70MPH), a gas engine directly assisting the wheels is more efficient than generating electricity for the traction motor.
Here's the dirty secret of the Model S which no one seems to have touched on: despite Tesla's aerodynamic puffery, it's a fairly inefficient electric vehicle. The EPA rates it at just 89MPGe with its lightest battery, compared to (for example) 98MPGe for the Volt, 99 for the Leaf, and 100 for the C-Max Energi. The Model S doesn't really need to maximize efficiency because its battery is big enough to handle range anxiety. But people who really cared about oil independence (as it sounded like you did) would pick the Volt over the Model S.
Isn't the leaf a much smaller car?
Not to mention the fact that any electric car will be more energy efficient than one using an internal combustion engine.
My claim still stands. The Volt doesn't need three clutches, but it has three because GM is concerned about efficiency, and Tesla not as much.
> Not to mention the fact that any electric car will be more energy efficient than one using an internal combustion engine.
The Volt has an ICE.
Another measure is per-passenger MPG(e) A bus now looks a whole lot better, and a full Model S with jump-seats is more efficient than a full leaf in terms of per-passenger MPGe.
Another measure of efficiency is how efficient it turns the energy stored (gas, electricity, etc.) into kinetic energy. In this measure the weight of vehicle is irrelevant. The bus probably does pretty well as large diesel engines are typically more efficient than small gas engines, but pretty much all electrics will beat out all ICEs since the best ICE vehicles are a shade under 50% efficient, which is trivially beatable in an electric.
All very true, but still very weaselly IMHO. Since the Leaf hauls five passengers, what you're really saying is that the Model S is acceptably efficient only if you're always carrying six passengers. I'm willing to bet that, assuming your Model S even has the child jump-seats in the back, this is probably well less than 10% of the use cases for the kinds of people buying this car.
And of course it's true that an ICE is less efficient than an electric motor. That's not what was claimed. What was claimed was that "any electric car will be more energy efficient than one using an internal combustion engine", that is, dismissing the Volt and C-Max.
I'm not saying that Tesla shouldn't have done what they did: they were very smart in developing a competitor to the BMW 7-series. The long range is smart, and the lack of an ICE backup is smart, and the high-end market is smart. It was the right decision to make. But it is nonetheless still fair to say that the Model S isn't a particularly efficient car in comparison to its electric and plug-in hybrid competition.
On a side note, I can't fit my family of 5 in a Leaf since kids have to be in a car-seat until age 8, and fitting 3 car-seats in the backseat of a Leaf is a no-go.
I'd love a "Blue Star Performance" for $50k -- I don't need a car as big as the Model S/X, but want 300 mile range, supercharger, and 4-5 sec 0-60. I'd be ok with a roadster except I hate convertibles and would like something a little bigger, like BMW 3er size.
That said, the German government tried to create many incentives for creating "greener" cars. However, the manufacturers IMO seemed to pour money into lobbying against it, rather then putting their engineers to work.
Depending on how much Tesla eats into their market share, it could be a tough road ahead for the German car industry (and, to some extent, for the whole German economy). Especially considering how long it takes them to come up with an answer to the Prius...
But I'm quite puzzled that even Porsche hasn't produced more than some shiny prototypes. An electric sports car, where range isn't that much of an issue, just seems like a no-brainer after the Tesla Roadster.
Ugh, I wish Model S vs. Model X weren't such a hard choice. An AWD Model S would be perfect (I'll give up the Frunk, it's too small to hold anything I care about).
I've only riden in it, but it's a blast. The full torque at any speed is crazy powerful. The amenities are way above any other luxury car on the market. It's in another class, really. Check teslamotorsclub.com for some other reviews.
I know the answer to some of these but just wondering if there were others that I'm missing.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt
Clarkson is just an old dinosaur who is slinging mud at the most innovative car maker in the world. It's entertainment first, and accuracy a distant second.
Edit: confirmed.
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/10990-Special-...
All this to match the performance and luxury of the Acura TL I could get for $40k.
Is it really the best car in the world if it's impractical or out of reach for most people?
EDIT: Yes, I know all car manufacturers use a deceptively low base price and then nail you on "options" like air conditioning. Frankly I've often wished there was a law, or at least a gentleman's agreement in the auto industry, mandating that something can be an "option" for a maximum ten years before it's considered part of the basic accoutrements in a modern car and gets rolled in to all units shipped. Also, Tesla prides themselves outwardly on not being like the rest of the auto industry, but inherits its worst practice and magnifies it tenfold - base price $49 but for something usable you're pushing $70.
(That said, I don't see much point in buying anything but the Performance model -- assuming you keep it for 5-10 years, drive a lot, it seems like it's worth the extra $30k)
I quite like the Acura TSX - small, luxurious, $30k. I'd happily pay $40 for Tesla's equivalent.
The sweet spot today is probably a 2y old gasoline Lexus or Acura(, or maybe an Audi or BMW if you really care about certain performance aspects -- or a diesel mb or vw if you drive exceedingly long distances), for opex, financing cost, and experience.
I think this will change before 2020, though.
I compare it to industry shifting products like the iPhone, LCD flatscreens, laser printers, and Xerox machines.
"Car of the Year" doesn't mean, "Car everybody needs to go buy".
Taking a quote from Motor Trend's website:
the vehicle that best represents exceptional value, superiority in its class and most significant development
Take a look at historical "Car of the Year":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_Trend_Car_of_the_Year#Car...
Notice, for example, the Nissan GT-R ($100,000) for 2009, and the Honda Civic ($15,000) for 2006
Do you get $70k worth of car when you spend $70k on a Model S? Absolutely. You get something that can hold a candle to if not surpass the $70k BMW M5 in every way. But the curve isn't linear - the $49k barebones Model S is nowhere near as useful as the BMW 528 you'd get for the same money.
Additionally, it's a holistic approach. Nobody said it was a blowout victory in every single aspect.
The award even went to the Mustang II in 1974.
It reflects zeitgeist as often than quality.
Hold up. No one needs the High Power Wall Charger and Twin Chargers. I actually reconfigured my reservation to remove these. They are a symptom of range anxiety. Most people will be able to get by with a simple NEMA 14-50 outlet. That charges the 85kWh battery overnight.
I almost never drive more than 300 miles in a day. I rarely even break 100 miles. For the rare times I do, I can go to a Supercharger and fill up for an hour and be back on the road. But again, the majority of the time I'll be charging at home on a standard outlet. In fact, I'm going to try a standard 120v wall outlet for a while and see if that works for me. If not, I can get a NEMA 14-50 installed pretty easily by any old electrician.
Just isn't really practical. Satnavs have been optional for that long, yet my mum doesn't want one, why should she now be forced to cover the cost of it because it's included in the base price? Etc.