Another positive Consumer Reports article

[radinator]

Another Consumer Reports person had the car for the weekend, and had an overall good experience:

My weekend in the Tesla Model S - Yahoo! Autos

Only issues were the heat buildup in the 3rd row area and the toll transponder not being recognized.

 

[TI Sailor]

I believe the author also mistook the HPWC as a Tesla supercharger.

 

[Larry Chanin]

The author claims she connected to a Supercharger in the "Tesla showroom at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ". That doesn't sound correct.

Larry

 

[Tommy]

Judging by the misinformed negative comments below the article, it's going to be an uphill battle.

 

[gvillager]

Judging by the misinformed negative comments below the article, it's going to be an uphill battle.

I'm constantly amazed by the shortsightedness of the naysayers. Are we blind to the fact that we have fought wars, lives have been lost, and every year we spend billions of dollars to protect our oil interests overseas? Once we factor this in it's clear that the REAL cost of a gallon of gas is far greater than the national average of $3.60 that we currently pay at the pump. An investment in electric vehicles and renewable energy is an investment in our national security. In a few years when gas is $5-6/gallon we'll be glad we made these investments.

 

[lolachampcar]

gvillager,
You're just brushing the surface of the death of common sense.........

 

[Linux64]

I'm constantly amazed by the shortsightedness of the naysayers. Are we blind to the fact that we have fought wars, lives have been lost, and every year we spend billions of dollars to protect our oil interests overseas? Once we factor this in it's clear that the REAL cost of a gallon of gas is far greater than the national average of $3.60 that we currently pay at the pump. An investment in electric vehicles and renewable energy is an investment in our national security. In a few years when gas is $5-6/gallon we'll be glad we made these investments.

You are correct that $3.60/gallon doesn't factor in all the costs, however, due to fracking I don't think we'll see inflation adjusted to current dollars $5-6/gallon gasoline anytime soon.

 

[PhilBa]

There are lots of reasons why gasoline will always be near the price it currently is, adjusted for inflation. Though, there will be significant fluctuations. Not only NG and fracking but improving fleet economy will keep the price "reasonable" (demand and production in relative balance).

Naysayers will always exist for any technology advance, minor or major. It's human nature. What usually happens is that over time more people actually move to the new tech and the arguments just go away. A favorite book of mine is "Crossing the Chasm" which models out the process. We are currently in the early adopter phase.

 

[kendallpb]

Yup, Paramus has a HPWC, not a Supercharger. Odd that it got so warm they couldn't touch it bare-handed--sounds like a problem Tesla should fix! I have no problems with my Supercharger, I mean, my HPWC.

For tolls, it's silly, but we wound up holding it out the sunroof. Yeah, not great in the rain....

 

[aviators99]

I have no problems with my Supercharger, I mean, my HPWC.

Are you charging at 80A or 60A? I can't touch mine when it charges at 80A, but it's fine at 60A.

 

[kendallpb]

Are you charging at 80A or 60A? I can't touch mine when it charges at 80A, but it's fine at 60A.

Ah, I was wondering about that--meant to say something. I'm using 60A as recommended until the "fix" comes out. I wonder if the CR person ignored the warning and charged at 80. I wouldn't use 80 until the fix came out, personally. Especially reading what you just wrong...I wouldn't want to tempt fate (pictures of house burning down)....

 

[Mayhemm]

You are correct that $3.60/gallon doesn't factor in all the costs, however, due to fracking I don't think we'll see inflation adjusted to current dollars $5-6/gallon gasoline anytime soon.

Unless lawmakers actually take a good look at what it does to the environment and make it illegal (a la lead paint and asbestos insulation). But, considering the issues that are politically "controversial" these days, I'm not getting my hopes up.

gvillager,
You're just brushing the surface of the death of common sense.........

Indeed. If we were to address every fallacy that is parroted on comment boards, we'd be here all week. :redface:

 

[aviators99]

Ah, I was wondering about that--meant to say something. I'm using 60A as recommended until the "fix" comes out. I wonder if the CR person ignored the warning and charged at 80. I wouldn't use 80 until the fix came out, personally. Especially reading what you just wrong...I wouldn't want to tempt fate (pictures of house burning down)....

Could be that the CR person's car was pre-4.4 for whatever reason and no warning was given. Or perhaps a service adviser did the hooking up.

 

[deonb]

Judging by the misinformed negative comments below the article, it's going to be an uphill battle.

You just got to love some people's logic though:

"Why can't Tesla install a back up battery with a crossover switch ? When battery #1 is low switch to battery #2."

 

[adric22]

Judging by the misinformed negative comments below the article, it's going to be an uphill battle.

I'm pretty much convinced that the naysayers are almost non-existent. I believe they account for less than 1% of the population. They just happen to be very vocal. That and I am also convinced that certain organizations have paid internet shills to attack the comments section of news stories. I believe these organizations fall under two categories. One of them is Big Oil. But the other, I suspect are paid by anti-Obama groups. And so they attack any story that could even remotely be linked to Obama. And as we know, somehow Obama's name is attached to EVs, even though I don't know how.

However, it is also important to look at another perspective. Take Apple for example. They are unquestionably a successful, mainstream company. Yet if you see an article about an Apple product you'll see the same sort of nonsense in the comments. It will just be filled with anti-Apple comments. And thus, the point is that the number of naysayers does not necessarily reflect the success or failure of a product or the overall public opinion.

 

[aviators99]

You just got to love some people's logic though:

"Why can't Tesla install a back up battery with a crossover switch ? When battery #1 is low switch to battery #2."

That is so awesome. I would reply, "Actually, it already has that! And they work automatically! And there are nearly 8,000 of them!"

 

[teslasguy]

Ah, I was wondering about that--meant to say something. I'm using 60A as recommended until the "fix" comes out. I wonder if the CR person ignored the warning and charged at 80. I wouldn't use 80 until the fix came out, personally. Especially reading what you just wrong...I wouldn't want to tempt fate (pictures of house burning down)....

I was told by a service tech last night that all the cars are currently restricted from charging at 80amps due to a problem in the HPWC circuitry.
They have a problem with the HPWCs blowing fuses from the start up surge at 80amps. they are working on a fix.

 

[strider]

There are lots of reasons why gasoline will always be near the price it currently is, adjusted for inflation. Though, there will be significant fluctuations. Not only NG and fracking but improving fleet economy will keep the price "reasonable" (demand and production in relative balance).

I disagree. Once the global economy moves into an actual recovery, the numbers of people in the developing world that will begin to consume oil at higher rates will rapidly dwarf existing and forecast reserves. The only thing keeping prices down today is that the economic recovery everyone is talking about isn't an actual recovery.

 

[Dave EV]

While the author was positive, they highlighted two real issues with the car:

1. The EVSE handle got too hot to hold. That should never happen and the cause needs to be found before things get hot enough to cause real damange.
2. The jump seats are too hot for kids to ride in in the summer. Design fail here.

 

[PhilBa]

I disagree. Once the global economy moves into an actual recovery, the numbers of people in the developing world that will begin to consume oil at higher rates will rapidly dwarf existing and forecast reserves. The only thing keeping prices down today is that the economic recovery everyone is talking about isn't an actual recovery.

Then you should put all your money into companies that will prosper with a sharply rising price. However, I recommend you NOT do that because as the cost of gasoline increases ahead of inflation a number of things will happen: increased exploration/drilling, abandoned wells will become economically viable (ie, increased production), increased fuel efficiency (particularly hybrids), increased use of alternative fuels (NG, electricity) and other things will all serve to depress the price via supply & demand mechanisms. In addition, the glut of NG is causing a lot of conversion from other petroleum based fuels (heating oil) which serves to depress the cost of crude oil. Thirteen years ago, I agreed with your point of view. I believed that peak production had passed and that oil would be scarcer each year. I believed that we would see $10 a gallon by 2010. It didn't come to pass and not because of an economic downturn but mainly due to increased conservation (aka efficiency) and increased production (more drilling and fracking).