RE: Tesla announces P100D upgrades
Discussion
mybrainhurts said:
Don't get hysterical, dear...
Being an old fart, pram time was long ago but my town was filthy back then, stone building turned black and buses and vans chucking out much more crap than now.
I have to say, it had no effect on my health.
So, deep joy and calm down, old boy.
mybrainhurts said:
cidered77 said:
Read all pages over lunch - interesting blend of the typical Luddite like "don’t like them just a milkfloat",
I'd say more like a dodgem car...
cidered77 said:
On EV - I actually think it probably is the end state. Because whilst it’s not being talked about anything like as much as it should be, the price/performance ratio of solar energy is increasing exponentially at a similar (actually I think greater) rate that Moore's law. Exponential technology improvements that have commercial applications don't just slow down; one prediction I read stated that by just 2025 solar has improved to the rate we just don't need nuclear, coal, fuel, etc anymore for the whole world's energy needs!
Pardon me, but ----> 
I won't even ask where you read that. Now go back and research the problems some solar operators are having.cidered77 said:
plus solar on cars
Which grind to a halt when it clouds over for a few days.Anyways - read it initially an excellent book "Exponential Organisations" by Salim Ismail, who cited the source but not about to go to the book case to dig it out. Also quick google shows various predictions - albeit predictions - one from Ray Kurzweil is interesting. Plus there is Swanson's Law - the Moore's law for Solar out there on Wikipedia.
Now that bit of pistonheads where people spend hours willy waving on what they studied their PHD on is not for me. Have I checked peer reviewed studies in depth in a careful 3 week fact checking exercise? No. Do i believe there is an exponential improvement in solar - yes, i think it's demonstrable there is. Will it continue - I'm going with yes, on basis of repeated demonstrations of exponential trends continuing when there is money to be made. But, when I finish the mass of race car engineering books piling up on the bedside table I do want to read about it more - potential to change everything (politically, socially, technology) is colossal.
And of course solar on cars isn't the only power source, it'll be a top up. Means you get better range on a sunny day...
cidered77 said:
mybrainhurts said:
cidered77 said:
Read all pages over lunch - interesting blend of the typical Luddite like "don’t like them just a milkfloat",
I'd say more like a dodgem car...cidered77 said:
On EV - I actually think it probably is the end state. Because whilst it’s not being talked about anything like as much as it should be, the price/performance ratio of solar energy is increasing exponentially at a similar (actually I think greater) rate that Moore's law. Exponential technology improvements that have commercial applications don't just slow down; one prediction I read stated that by just 2025 solar has improved to the rate we just don't need nuclear, coal, fuel, etc anymore for the whole world's energy needs!
Pardon me, but ----> I won't even ask where you read that. Now go back and research the problems some solar operators are having.cidered77 said:
plus solar on cars
Which grind to a halt when it clouds over for a few days.Anyways - read it initially an excellent book "Exponential Organisations" by Salim Ismail, who cited the source but not about to go to the book case to dig it out. Also quick google shows various predictions - albeit predictions - one from Ray Kurzweil is interesting. Plus there is Swanson's Law - the Moore's law for Solar out there on Wikipedia.
Now that bit of pistonheads where people spend hours willy waving on what they studied their PHD on is not for me. Have I checked peer reviewed studies in depth in a careful 3 week fact checking exercise? No. Do i believe there is an exponential improvement in solar - yes, i think it's demonstrable there is. Will it continue - I'm going with yes, on basis of repeated demonstrations of exponential trends continuing when there is money to be made. But, when I finish the mass of race car engineering books piling up on the bedside table I do want to read about it more - potential to change everything (politically, socially, technology) is colossal.
And of course solar on cars isn't the only power source, it'll be a top up. Means you get better range on a sunny day...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/1...
mybrainhurts said:
there is a funny thing about exponential improvement... it sort of, improves a lot.....!!Else we'd all still be marvelling at Vic 20s and ZX Spectrums and not being driven down a country lane at 60mph by a computer controlled car...
Solar on cars is a joke.
Doesnt take much fag packet calculations to prove either.
Square meters an average car covers, wattage per sqm available, power use of said car.
Yes you cam make a very efficient solar car work in a desert but thats about your limit.
And solar in general - apparently the UK would need 1% of land covered, and cost a measly £717,206,434,000
http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/if_solar_co...
Thats better than I expected - but dont expect moors law to apply to solar, theres only so much energy per sqm available, at the moment they are 15-22% efficient so you might get 4 times that ultimately but not much more.
Doesnt take much fag packet calculations to prove either.
Square meters an average car covers, wattage per sqm available, power use of said car.
Yes you cam make a very efficient solar car work in a desert but thats about your limit.
And solar in general - apparently the UK would need 1% of land covered, and cost a measly £717,206,434,000
http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/if_solar_co...
Thats better than I expected - but dont expect moors law to apply to solar, theres only so much energy per sqm available, at the moment they are 15-22% efficient so you might get 4 times that ultimately but not much more.
RobDickinson said:
And solar in general - apparently the UK would need 1% of land covered, and cost a measly £717,206,434,000
http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/if_solar_co...
Thats better than I expected - but dont expect moors law to apply to solar, theres only so much energy per sqm available, at the moment they are 15-22% efficient so you might get 4 times that ultimately but not much more.
The more important aspect of Moore's Law for solar isn't the efficiency improvement - which as you point out is limited - but the price improvement.http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/if_solar_co...
Thats better than I expected - but dont expect moors law to apply to solar, theres only so much energy per sqm available, at the moment they are 15-22% efficient so you might get 4 times that ultimately but not much more.
If that £717bn has dropped to £71bn in ten years then it is going to make Hinkley Point look a little pricey!
cidered77 said:
I know this is the internet, and we're supposed to talk like that to each other. But - for me, I still approach internet discourse like I would if i met you in a pub. I.e. I wouldn't talk to in that passive aggressive patronising tone unless you deserved it. More simply: don't be a dick, chap.
Anyways - read it initially an excellent book "Exponential Organisations" by Salim Ismail, who cited the source but not about to go to the book case to dig it out. Also quick google shows various predictions - albeit predictions - one from Ray Kurzweil is interesting. Plus there is Swanson's Law - the Moore's law for Solar out there on Wikipedia.
Now that bit of pistonheads where people spend hours willy waving on what they studied their PHD on is not for me. Have I checked peer reviewed studies in depth in a careful 3 week fact checking exercise? No. Do i believe there is an exponential improvement in solar - yes, i think it's demonstrable there is. Will it continue - I'm going with yes, on basis of repeated demonstrations of exponential trends continuing when there is money to be made. But, when I finish the mass of race car engineering books piling up on the bedside table I do want to read about it more - potential to change everything (politically, socially, technology) is colossal.
And of course solar on cars isn't the only power source, it'll be a top up. Means you get better range on a sunny day...
A very fair post. I personally can't see solar actually on cars doing much for their range. Main reasons are that by being angled flat, the roof doesn't receive the best light, plus it has to be put under a much tougher layer than a normal power to withstand washing, car washes etc. If you add in, dirt, bird poo, shade from trees and buildings you are into a very small opportunity to generate. Panels are also pretty heavy and they have to be mounted on top of the car which gives CoG issues, plus the extra weight won't do wonders for the efficiency of the system.Anyways - read it initially an excellent book "Exponential Organisations" by Salim Ismail, who cited the source but not about to go to the book case to dig it out. Also quick google shows various predictions - albeit predictions - one from Ray Kurzweil is interesting. Plus there is Swanson's Law - the Moore's law for Solar out there on Wikipedia.
Now that bit of pistonheads where people spend hours willy waving on what they studied their PHD on is not for me. Have I checked peer reviewed studies in depth in a careful 3 week fact checking exercise? No. Do i believe there is an exponential improvement in solar - yes, i think it's demonstrable there is. Will it continue - I'm going with yes, on basis of repeated demonstrations of exponential trends continuing when there is money to be made. But, when I finish the mass of race car engineering books piling up on the bedside table I do want to read about it more - potential to change everything (politically, socially, technology) is colossal.
And of course solar on cars isn't the only power source, it'll be a top up. Means you get better range on a sunny day...
I agree that solar has a major part to play in the general grid though. It is somewhat staggering how little of the LA rooftops are covered in panels considering the double impact they have on the power grid there. They struggle for power on sunny days due to the huge air conditioning demand, which is made worse by the very poorly insulated buildings. By shading the roof and providing power, this issue could be hugely mitigated. Storage of solar energy in new or recycled automotive batteries could provide a significant percentage of grid power in much of the world.
walm said:
The more important aspect of Moore's Law for solar isn't the efficiency improvement - which as you point out is limited - but the price improvement.
If that £717bn has dropped to £71bn in ten years then it is going to make Hinkley Point look a little pricey!
The problem is that panel cost is a small portion of the cost of large scale solar. We can't conceive of building a new rail line, so covering an area the size of a county in panels (that's 32 miles by 32 miles)... Of course no-one's suggesting switching to 100% solar, but the other big headache is storage. Our largest storage station can only provide 3% of peak demand, and then only for six hours.If that £717bn has dropped to £71bn in ten years then it is going to make Hinkley Point look a little pricey!
To me, the most interesting development is solar direct to hydrocarbons. That solves the whole storage and location thing, because you're back to the oil situation of not actually caring where the energy conversion takes place. Not only that, but we've got quite good at burning hydrocarbons. They're experimenting with panels now that produce hydrocarbons at a reasonable efficiency, so things could get quite interesting.
If large scale solar farms are going to form a significant part of our energy generation, it almost certainly wont be via photovoltaics.
smilo996 said:
You are right, Apple did something really innovative and came to dominate the phone market. They outsold all other companies put together and forced a complete sea change in how people looked at mobile phones and media download. They are still ahead and are the worlds biggest company. The offering was completely unique, unconventional, innovative and completely changed the mobile market inside of 2 years.
Musk put a ton of batteries in a conventional car which Americans like because it makes them feel better without actually having to think and bee responsible.
Tesla sell 30% of all EV cars in the US and figure almost nowhere in other markets. BMW and Toyota outsell them and Tesla has been at it since 2003.
The BMW i3, clearly launched in response to Tesla and not because of the the continued success of the Prius and the significant tax breaks available in the US are now second after 3 years.
Copenhagen, famously a green city chose to lease 400 i3's and connect them with an app for use by anyone in Denmark. Oddly they did not choose the game changing Tesla.
Toyota have sold 65% of all EV cars ever produced.
So Musk really isn't Apple, he is like a small android producer cashing in.
Apple took a lot of technology developed by others, put a shiny user interface on it and have been extracting massive profits from gullible fanbois for years :-) Musk put a ton of batteries in a conventional car which Americans like because it makes them feel better without actually having to think and bee responsible.
Tesla sell 30% of all EV cars in the US and figure almost nowhere in other markets. BMW and Toyota outsell them and Tesla has been at it since 2003.
The BMW i3, clearly launched in response to Tesla and not because of the the continued success of the Prius and the significant tax breaks available in the US are now second after 3 years.
Copenhagen, famously a green city chose to lease 400 i3's and connect them with an app for use by anyone in Denmark. Oddly they did not choose the game changing Tesla.
Toyota have sold 65% of all EV cars ever produced.
So Musk really isn't Apple, he is like a small android producer cashing in.
Seriously, a lot of what Apple did wasn't new or groundbreaking, it was they way they put the technologies together. Much like Tesla.
As of Copenhagen - seems perfectly sensible to me for them to get the smaller, cheaper car for the city fleet. If the Model 3 was available, it might have been a tougher decision.
Reading some of the vitriol on here towards Tesla, I feel like I should start this post in the way the AA meetings begin: I'm James, and I own a Tesla.
Having got that out of the way, perhaps I can give add my tuppence to the thread. I used to be a huge petrolhead. I wouldn't say that I'm a particularly talented driver when it comes to reaching a car's potential, but I've completed track days in a number of cars and so I know a little about driving fast in a controlled environment. That being said, the cars that I've owned in the past were bought largely down to the sound they made, rather than the way they handled - hence the Griffith rather than an Elise. I first went to test drive a Tesla following a post on PH about the release of the Ludicrous mode. I thought it would be fun to kick the tyres but that 15 minute drive turned my ideas on motoring upside down. The very next day I was walking along Bayswater Road towards Marble Arch when a C class C63 came hooning down there. This car, or rather this engine, had recently been right at the top of my must have list just for the way that it sounds, yet on this day, I thought to myself, 'that's a shame', and I remember feeling a touch of sadness at the same time because I realised that noisy cars are just that, noisy cars. Let me be perfectly clear about it, this is the future of motoring. Whether you like it or not, electric powered cars will become the norm.
My wife took a lot of convincing but we took delivery mid June and have completed just over 7,000 miles since. In that time, there have been several days where I've covered over 300 miles, and one day where we drove from Oxfordshire to Edinburgh. I regularly drive a 200 mile round trip from home to visit clients. So, I can speak from experience when I say that the concerns about range and charging time are simply nonsense. I have a charging point at home, and I have fitted at the office I work from 100 miles away, although I'm only there typically once a week. I have the option of leaving home every morning with a full charge, but I would say that in the 7,000 miles I've driven, I've used less than £100.00 of electricity from home; 80% of my charging is via the Supercharger network.
Although the acceleration is obviously a huge draw of a Tesla, for me it's not the all out pace that impresses, it's the sublime ease with which it delivers that pace. And it's always on. Always. You never have to worry about being in the wrong gear for a sneaky overtake. You never have to worry about turbos spooling up, or getting the revs right to get the maximum torque, because you have 100% of the torque available 100% of the time. I know that DSG boxes can change gear in the blink of an eye now, but they can't change gear as quickly as a car that has no gears. Despite the potential performance it has, I find I spend most of my time now sitting at between 65 and 75mph on the motorway. Not because I'm have range anxiety, but because it's just so effortless cruising at those speeds in such a smooth car; it keeps you away from the those that think that their lives will be so much better if they can just get to their destination 4 minutes faster and it makes motorway driving a far more pleasurable experience, particularly if you use Auto Pilot.
As for Auto Pilot, those that say that they would never trust a computer to drive a car are living in cloud cuckoo land. There are very fews cars on the road now that aren't driven by a computer to a lesser or greater extent. Do you really think that when you press down on the right hand pedal, a cable connected to the linkage on the inlet side of the engine opens the throttle to allow more mixture in? No! Your foot moves a potentiometer which tells the ECU how much pedal input you have made and fuels the engine accordingly. Variable steering anyone? Do you actually think that there's a direct link between the steering wheel and the linkages that alter the direction in which the wheels point?? All Tesla have done is added a little more autonomy to the systems that many cars already have. I raise issue with the name though and I think Co Pilot would be better because ultimately, the driver is still in control of the car, the car is just helping with variable cruise control and some steering. But my goodness does it work? On the motorways, I'd hazard a guess that at least 60% of the time my Tesla is steering itself. Traffic jams on motorways? 100% of the time the car is driving. At just takes the effort out of driving.
I'm not a massive geek when it comes to technology, but I can see the obvious advantages of a car that improves with age through over the air updates. I expected the huge screen to be a distraction and it was a big concern of mine about owning one, but you get so used to it so quickly. I've just come back from Germany where we hired a CLS 350d which one would assume to be a good car. Compared to the Tesla, I might have well been driving my Defender. The "infotainment" system could well be one of the best on the market, but it's not a patch on the touchscreen that one gets in a Tesla. A bit like an iPhone or a Mac, even though it's so different to anything you've used before, you adapt to it immediately because it's so well thought out.
When I picked up the Tesla back in the UK, it was like I'd climbed into a car from the future. Not just because of the touch screen and user interface, but the way it drives. The CLS was no slouch, and if I'm honest, there was probably less road noise from the Merc than the Tesla at the same speed, but it felt so agricultural.
Probably the best feature over the car is its practicality. This might come as a surprise to some given the perceived issues with range, but in terms of space, I've never known a car like it. I'm convinced that there's more storage then my A6 Avant and there's definitely more rear leg room. In addition, there's a flat floor in the rear so no-one has to sit with the legs astride the transmission tunnel. We took the children to Scotland and had a buggy for a 6 month old, a Bumbo seat, a rocker, a travel cot, and all the paraphernalia that goes with having small children, not to mention our own luggage, and it all fitted in the boot under the parcel shelf. I didn't even need to make use of the additional space in the front boot, and there was nothing on the floor behind the front seats.
Some have said that Tesla haven't done anything different. That, in my opinion, is wrong. They have produced a fully electric car which is incredibly practical. The i3, fully electric range - 80 or 100 miles if you drive it steadily. If you add the donkey engine, you might get another 60 miles out of it. I can comfortably get 250 miles out a charge. Less if I drive faster, more if I drive more conservatively, but there isn't a car out there like it.
The i8 might be quicker around a track, but have you seen one? I feel that the i8 is a bit Kim Kardashian where there's nothing underneath so it has to look, let's be polite and use the word, different. The Tesla by comparison is subtle. It doesn't shout "LOOK AT ME, AREN'T I DIFFERENT", instead it's elegant, classy. We all know that Americans can be brash at times, but you could never aim that insult at the Model S.
I don't know Elon Musk, but I do know that he's produced an incredible car. Will his business model work, I don't know, but I certainly hope so because I want to see what's next.
I understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea, and there are those that think that as it's electric it could never have the soul of a car with an engine, but I would wager that those that say that it's not a proper car haven't actually driven one, and therefore, are not in a position to comment. So, before you criticise them further, I would ask you to take one for a test drive, as I did, and see where it takes you.
Having got that out of the way, perhaps I can give add my tuppence to the thread. I used to be a huge petrolhead. I wouldn't say that I'm a particularly talented driver when it comes to reaching a car's potential, but I've completed track days in a number of cars and so I know a little about driving fast in a controlled environment. That being said, the cars that I've owned in the past were bought largely down to the sound they made, rather than the way they handled - hence the Griffith rather than an Elise. I first went to test drive a Tesla following a post on PH about the release of the Ludicrous mode. I thought it would be fun to kick the tyres but that 15 minute drive turned my ideas on motoring upside down. The very next day I was walking along Bayswater Road towards Marble Arch when a C class C63 came hooning down there. This car, or rather this engine, had recently been right at the top of my must have list just for the way that it sounds, yet on this day, I thought to myself, 'that's a shame', and I remember feeling a touch of sadness at the same time because I realised that noisy cars are just that, noisy cars. Let me be perfectly clear about it, this is the future of motoring. Whether you like it or not, electric powered cars will become the norm.
My wife took a lot of convincing but we took delivery mid June and have completed just over 7,000 miles since. In that time, there have been several days where I've covered over 300 miles, and one day where we drove from Oxfordshire to Edinburgh. I regularly drive a 200 mile round trip from home to visit clients. So, I can speak from experience when I say that the concerns about range and charging time are simply nonsense. I have a charging point at home, and I have fitted at the office I work from 100 miles away, although I'm only there typically once a week. I have the option of leaving home every morning with a full charge, but I would say that in the 7,000 miles I've driven, I've used less than £100.00 of electricity from home; 80% of my charging is via the Supercharger network.
Although the acceleration is obviously a huge draw of a Tesla, for me it's not the all out pace that impresses, it's the sublime ease with which it delivers that pace. And it's always on. Always. You never have to worry about being in the wrong gear for a sneaky overtake. You never have to worry about turbos spooling up, or getting the revs right to get the maximum torque, because you have 100% of the torque available 100% of the time. I know that DSG boxes can change gear in the blink of an eye now, but they can't change gear as quickly as a car that has no gears. Despite the potential performance it has, I find I spend most of my time now sitting at between 65 and 75mph on the motorway. Not because I'm have range anxiety, but because it's just so effortless cruising at those speeds in such a smooth car; it keeps you away from the those that think that their lives will be so much better if they can just get to their destination 4 minutes faster and it makes motorway driving a far more pleasurable experience, particularly if you use Auto Pilot.
As for Auto Pilot, those that say that they would never trust a computer to drive a car are living in cloud cuckoo land. There are very fews cars on the road now that aren't driven by a computer to a lesser or greater extent. Do you really think that when you press down on the right hand pedal, a cable connected to the linkage on the inlet side of the engine opens the throttle to allow more mixture in? No! Your foot moves a potentiometer which tells the ECU how much pedal input you have made and fuels the engine accordingly. Variable steering anyone? Do you actually think that there's a direct link between the steering wheel and the linkages that alter the direction in which the wheels point?? All Tesla have done is added a little more autonomy to the systems that many cars already have. I raise issue with the name though and I think Co Pilot would be better because ultimately, the driver is still in control of the car, the car is just helping with variable cruise control and some steering. But my goodness does it work? On the motorways, I'd hazard a guess that at least 60% of the time my Tesla is steering itself. Traffic jams on motorways? 100% of the time the car is driving. At just takes the effort out of driving.
I'm not a massive geek when it comes to technology, but I can see the obvious advantages of a car that improves with age through over the air updates. I expected the huge screen to be a distraction and it was a big concern of mine about owning one, but you get so used to it so quickly. I've just come back from Germany where we hired a CLS 350d which one would assume to be a good car. Compared to the Tesla, I might have well been driving my Defender. The "infotainment" system could well be one of the best on the market, but it's not a patch on the touchscreen that one gets in a Tesla. A bit like an iPhone or a Mac, even though it's so different to anything you've used before, you adapt to it immediately because it's so well thought out.
When I picked up the Tesla back in the UK, it was like I'd climbed into a car from the future. Not just because of the touch screen and user interface, but the way it drives. The CLS was no slouch, and if I'm honest, there was probably less road noise from the Merc than the Tesla at the same speed, but it felt so agricultural.
Probably the best feature over the car is its practicality. This might come as a surprise to some given the perceived issues with range, but in terms of space, I've never known a car like it. I'm convinced that there's more storage then my A6 Avant and there's definitely more rear leg room. In addition, there's a flat floor in the rear so no-one has to sit with the legs astride the transmission tunnel. We took the children to Scotland and had a buggy for a 6 month old, a Bumbo seat, a rocker, a travel cot, and all the paraphernalia that goes with having small children, not to mention our own luggage, and it all fitted in the boot under the parcel shelf. I didn't even need to make use of the additional space in the front boot, and there was nothing on the floor behind the front seats.
Some have said that Tesla haven't done anything different. That, in my opinion, is wrong. They have produced a fully electric car which is incredibly practical. The i3, fully electric range - 80 or 100 miles if you drive it steadily. If you add the donkey engine, you might get another 60 miles out of it. I can comfortably get 250 miles out a charge. Less if I drive faster, more if I drive more conservatively, but there isn't a car out there like it.
The i8 might be quicker around a track, but have you seen one? I feel that the i8 is a bit Kim Kardashian where there's nothing underneath so it has to look, let's be polite and use the word, different. The Tesla by comparison is subtle. It doesn't shout "LOOK AT ME, AREN'T I DIFFERENT", instead it's elegant, classy. We all know that Americans can be brash at times, but you could never aim that insult at the Model S.
I don't know Elon Musk, but I do know that he's produced an incredible car. Will his business model work, I don't know, but I certainly hope so because I want to see what's next.
I understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea, and there are those that think that as it's electric it could never have the soul of a car with an engine, but I would wager that those that say that it's not a proper car haven't actually driven one, and therefore, are not in a position to comment. So, before you criticise them further, I would ask you to take one for a test drive, as I did, and see where it takes you.
A great post by No1 there, which uncannily mirrors my own experience with Tesla. Back in Feb ''15 I took a BMW i3 for a test drive and was fairly impressed. I then took a Tesla for a spin and was totally blown away. It instantly felt like all the other cars I'd driven were classic cars and that this was the future of cars.
Fast forward until now and my 90D has covered 20,000 faultless miles, every one a pleasure. It's the car I choose over my XKR and M3 'vert for 95% of journeys because it's just so smooth, relaxed, powerful and easy. The fact that it's faster than the other cars is just a bonus. Yes, I sometimes take the XKR out of choice and it's great to feel all that mechanical power and listen to the exhaust, but it now also feels just a little bit...pointless amd silly by comparison. The Tesla does everything (and more), but silently, smoothly and with 5 adults and luggage.
There's no question in my mind where the future lies. That doesn't mean the ice era of cars is dead, but our reasons for buying them will change. Your typical workhorse diesel MPV that is joyless and soulless will be literally worthless within a few years, as there will just be no reason to own one. Those ice cars that were designed for the pleasure of driving will always be sought after, but in the way that classic cars are now. They'll just be used more like classic cars as well, for the nostalgia, looks and driving pleasure (or at east they will be me). Fast forward 10 years and all the fastest, most practical, economical and cleanest cars around will be electrically powered- the other manufacturers just have to work out how to put in place the charging network.
Look at the car that started this thread- the P100DL. 2.5 seconds for a car of that size, space and comfort, which can also do up to 300 miles om a charge for nothing with frees supercharging? That's what I call ludicrous. Imagine the same power in a new Roadster model that is half the weight. What's not to like about that?!
Fast forward until now and my 90D has covered 20,000 faultless miles, every one a pleasure. It's the car I choose over my XKR and M3 'vert for 95% of journeys because it's just so smooth, relaxed, powerful and easy. The fact that it's faster than the other cars is just a bonus. Yes, I sometimes take the XKR out of choice and it's great to feel all that mechanical power and listen to the exhaust, but it now also feels just a little bit...pointless amd silly by comparison. The Tesla does everything (and more), but silently, smoothly and with 5 adults and luggage.
There's no question in my mind where the future lies. That doesn't mean the ice era of cars is dead, but our reasons for buying them will change. Your typical workhorse diesel MPV that is joyless and soulless will be literally worthless within a few years, as there will just be no reason to own one. Those ice cars that were designed for the pleasure of driving will always be sought after, but in the way that classic cars are now. They'll just be used more like classic cars as well, for the nostalgia, looks and driving pleasure (or at east they will be me). Fast forward 10 years and all the fastest, most practical, economical and cleanest cars around will be electrically powered- the other manufacturers just have to work out how to put in place the charging network.
Look at the car that started this thread- the P100DL. 2.5 seconds for a car of that size, space and comfort, which can also do up to 300 miles om a charge for nothing with frees supercharging? That's what I call ludicrous. Imagine the same power in a new Roadster model that is half the weight. What's not to like about that?!
We have just ordered a Model X 60D as our main family car. It's not fast compared to the P100D but given it's job is to carry the family brood 0-60 time wasn't the priority. It's by far the most expensive car we've ever bought the most and by some margin (over three fold), but like so many others have stated, once you get use to an EV the future of motoring is blatantly obvious, and it than become very hard to spend even a single £ on outdated tech.
I still want a DC2 Intergra R as a weekend toy at some point, much like people still go horse riding. Combustion cars will always be there for some weekend fun, but for the purpose of getting from A to B EVs are the future, in the case of Tesla they are already here.
I still want a DC2 Intergra R as a weekend toy at some point, much like people still go horse riding. Combustion cars will always be there for some weekend fun, but for the purpose of getting from A to B EVs are the future, in the case of Tesla they are already here.
Edited by gangzoom on Friday 2nd September 07:29
No 1 said:
Do you actually think that there's a direct link between the steering wheel and the linkages that alter the direction in which the wheels point?
Generally a good post but for everyone not driving a tractor with a top speed limited to less than 20 mph, then the answer to that question for every car driver in the UK, including you, is "yes". Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff