Coast to Coast EV record

[Dan5]

Mens Health looks to set coast-to-coast electric-vehicle record in Ford Focus Electric

They are using a Focus EV with a 76 mile range and a long charge time and it looks like they are going to be averaging less than 20 mph (if you include the miles traveled (1 hr) & charge time (2-3 hrs))- WTF?

I think Ford and Top Gear are trying to single-handedly kill EVs

Anyone with a Tesla or any other EV with a longer range want to beat that record?

 

[dpeilow]

I think Ford and Top Gear are trying to single-handedly kill EVs

Wouldn't that be two-handedly?

 

[vfx]

Anyone with a Tesla or any other EV with a longer range want to beat that record?

There have been electric vehicle cross country treks since the EV1 (and probably before) If they are going for a record we should confront them with the stats before hand.

 

[Discoducky]

Mens Health looks to set coast-to-coast electric-vehicle record in Ford Focus Electric

They are using a Focus EV with a 76 mile range and a long charge time and it looks like they are going to be averaging less than 20 mph (if you include the miles traveled (1 hr) & charge time (2-3 hrs))- WTF?

I think Ford and Top Gear are trying to single-handedly kill EVs

Anyone with a Tesla or any other EV with a longer range want to beat that record?

Please, someone in a Roadster please take a few days off of work and make the trip three times as fast

This is ridiculous. And will be even more ridiculous with Super Chargers and 85kWh Model S's.

 

[Tommy]

Please, someone in a Roadster please take a few days off of work and make the trip three times as fast

This is ridiculous. And will be even more ridiculous with Super Chargers and 85kWh Model S's.

Using a Roadster is reminiscent of the Tortoise and Hare Race fable.

 

[TEG]

There have been electric vehicle cross country treks since the EV1 (and probably before) If they are going for a record we should confront them with the stats before hand.

EVOdyssey Coast-to-Coast Electric Vehicle Road Trip

 

[doug]

RenewAmericaRoadtrip(tm))

 

[richkae]

If Tesla would pick one east-west highway - lets say the I10 from Jacksonville Florida to San Diego California and put in ten superchargers - it would be a 2400 mile trip that could be done easily in 3 or 4 days - each with a good nights sleep. Just like an ICE.
That might be a good use for 10 of the first few supercharger locations.

 

[vfx]

EV1 charge across america

http://www.ev1.pair.com/charge_across_america/charge_html/chargehome.html

Travel along as Kris Trexler drove his GM EV1 electric car on a 3,275 mile cross country trip without burning one drop of gasoline! The trip began in Los Angeles, California on May 12, 1998 and ended June 2 in Troy, Michigan (just outside Detroit).

.

 

[DuncanWatson]

The sad thing is that they will take more time than the RAAM (Race Across AMerica) cyclists do. The solo mens record is 8 days, the womans is 9 days and the 4 man teams have done it in 5 days. The handcyclists have even beat the projected mens health time at 8 days. Now cyclists do win all sorts of records vs cars but you don't expect them to win the coast to coast records. It makes sense when they win "run these three errands in a city and get back to this point" races.

 

[Yggdrasill]

If Tesla would pick one east-west highway - lets say the I10 from Jacksonville Florida to San Diego California and put in ten superchargers - it would be a 2400 mile trip that could be done easily in 3 or 4 days - each with a good nights sleep. Just like an ICE.
That might be a good use for 10 of the first few supercharger locations.

14 superchargers should do it. You should try to charge to around 70% when the battery reaches 10%, which means you'd need to charge every 160 miles for 34 minutes (at 90 kW). (Your range is only 260 miles at 65 mph.) As google maps says the trip would take 36 hours, starting with a full battery means the trip could be made in 44 hours without any non-charging stops. That's 8 hours slower than an ICE, but of course, it's not exactly very normal usage. Most ICE car drivers would stop for food, toilet breaks and sleep.

 

[Dan5]

A normal ICE car would take around 40 hours, if they stopped for breaks, to eat, but did not spend a night in a hotel. Driving 40 hrs is kind of rough though.

I know someone who did a coast to coast trip, from San Diego to New Jersey and it took them a little over 2 days (they stopped at a hotel), and they were burnt out the next day.

This coast to coast record that Ford/Top Gear are setting does nothing for the EV community except make the cars look bad. I can see someone saying "Your car is slower than a bike" after this little Ford/Top Gear fiasco because they are setting the bar low and using a car that was not designed or intended for that purpose.

To me that's like saying "I'm going to go off-roading/camping in my Ferrari and set a record for going up Mountain XYZ in an exotic car" and then when it doesn't work as Hummer would, publicly pointing out the flaws (hill was too steep, had to make 2 trips to get all my camping gear, etc, etc). It's not intended fir that purpose.

 

[dpeilow]

Come on guys, this is your "BBC FUD Fest" moment. Someone plot a route that takes in campgrounds with 14-50s...

 

[dsm363]

I think finding out where they are going to take off and showing up at the same time would be classic. Then passing them within the first mile and never looking back would prove the point.

 

[daniel]

Great ideas, all. But count me out. I LOVE my Roadster, but a couple of hours driving it and I'm bushed. It's fun, it's clean, it's thrilling. But for me, it's not a road trip car.

However, if someone were to take dpeilow's suggestion, plotting and driving a campground/RV-Park route coast to coast, and needed donations to make it happen, I'd donate.

 

[ElSupreme]

Come on guys, this is your "BBC FUD Fest" moment. Someone plot a route that takes in campgrounds with 14-50s...

I can't find it but I think Robert.Boston did a trip from the factory to Boston. Probably 500 miles longer than a I-10 run but probably doable in a roadster faster than a Focus colud manage a I-10 run.

That or Top Gear could do this ... http://binged.it/Hp6n9a ... that should only take 24 hours.

 

[Dan5]

However, if someone were to take dpeilow's suggestion, plotting and driving a campground/RV-Park route coast to coast, and needed donations to make it happen, I'd donate.

I'll donate too, if anything just to put Top Gear in their place

 

[dpeilow]

Was it HC Sharp who built the portable HPC? That would be useful.

 

[Robert.Boston]

I can't find it but I think Robert.Boston did a trip from the factory to Boston. Probably 500 miles longer than a I-10 run but probably doable in a roadster faster than a Focus colud manage a I-10 run.

Yes, though my route certainly wasn't optimized for speed but rather to pay visits to friends and professional colleagues at electric utilities. Even still, my trip was only 11 days.

As a general matter, getting from NYC to the Mississippi is easy -- lots of chargers. Crossing the Plains and then the Rockies/Desert-SW is challenging. Even without superchargers, however, and with carefully planning, I can't imagine that this would take even 5 days with 2 drivers in the car.

 

[vfx]

http://www.genexe.com/automobile/tesla-road-trip-to-detroit-auto-show/


Also on display is Roadster No. 750 - the only dirty car on the show floor, splattered in mud, salt and grime. Tesla employees drove this car straight into Cobo Hall after the 3,600-mile Roadster Road Trip from Los Angeles, demonstrating that the Roadster is a fun yet rugged all-season super car. This historic journey took us through nine states, three times zones and two snowstorms - without a drop of gasoline. We gave rides to fans, taught people about our technology and recruited students at college towns. We charged the car at conventional electrical outlets in hotel parking lots, RV parks, and a few homes of friends and owners. We chronicled the journey on our website , with photos and first-person blogs from our drivers.

http://green.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2010-road-trip-roadster/#photo-2610523/
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/01/1...model-s-in-gorgeous-red-and-a-dirty-roadster/

(can't find Tesla's blog page about it)