Get Amped Tour: Denver, CO, 7/20 - 7/21

[teslasguy]

The deep blue went extremely well with the tan leather seats.

I agree. The Blue looks really sharp with the Tan interior.
And you're lookin' mighty fine as well ;-)

More Blue pics!! Just can't get enough. It really does look sharp in the sun!

And even though it kills me to do it, I'm probably going to go with the 19" wheels on my Performance version.
Sure wish Tesla would give us a little credit for not taking the 21" wheels.
They just aren't practical here in the Northeast winters.

 

[Velo1]

I agree. The Blue looks really sharp with the Tan interior.
And you're lookin' mighty fine as well ;-)

More Blue pics!! Just can't get enough. It really does look sharp in the sun!

Ok, these are the other few that I took.

 

[Velo1]

BTW - I have a short (10-15 seconds) video of the door handle opening and closing that I took with my iphone, but I don't know how to post the video on this forum. If you know and what to help post it, email me at [email protected] and I will email you the video (2MB) to post for others to see.

 

[Robert.Boston]

That blue-tan-pano combo looks likely to be the car I'll order. I keep cheering for the green, but (a) I have yet to see a pic of the blue that I didn't like, and many that made me drool, whereas (b) I have yet to see a pic of the green that made me love it. Botheration, this is where there is no substitute for being there in person. (My summer home is the farthest drive from Fremont of any North American reservation shown on the map, and about 7 hours' drive from the closest Amped Up event. Sigh.)

 

[MikeK]

Hi Velo1! First of all, you look gorgeous in the sun!

Second, thanks for the pictures! You inspired me to visit my local Mercedes-Benz dealership today. They have a color called Lunar Blue that I think is probably somewhat close to the Tesla blue -- very dark, very rich metallic blue. Looks really luscious. They also had several used cars (2008) in a similar dark blue, and in white. So, it was a nice opportunity to see how the colors hold up with age.

My current thinking:

1. White was always my plan, and I still like the car in white.
2. White absolutely hides dirt and small imperfections. It is easier to maintain.
3. On the other hand, white tends to accentuate any small imperfections in panel fit, and the trunk gap stands out pretty powerfully on a white car.
4. The blue tends to hide panel fit issues
5. The metal flake in the blue hides a little bit of dust, compared to a straight black
6. But, the blue gets hot in the sun! Holy cow. The dealer had two E350s parked right next to each other, with the sun hitting them at the same angle. One in white, one in Lunar Blue. The blue car was literally too hot to touch. I could not hold my hand against it. The white car was slightly warm.
7. The paint around the door handles on the 2008 used blue car looked terrible. Wow. It didn't look too fabulous on the white either, to be honest. Localized paint armor just at that spot would have made those cars far more appealing. The Tesla shouldn't have such an issue, thanks to the handle design. A little paint armor on the body colored piece that slides out with the handle is probably not a bad idea, though.
8. The 2008 blue car looked quite good, considering. The air dam had been scraped against something white, which stood out like crazy, but I don't count that as a fault of the paint. The driver should have scraped something painted a darker color! There were some fine scratches in the paint that I suspect a good detailer could eliminate. But, washed and with a coat of wax on it, it looked nice. It was every bit as screaming hot as the 2012 in the sun, though.
9. The 2008 white car had extensive swirl marks in the finish. From most angles, it was invisible. If you got the sun at the right (wrong?) angle, you could see them. On a darker color, I think it would have been intolerable.
10. I've noticed in some TMC member photos and some of my own photos that Tesla's clear tail lights look.... a bit odd with certain colors. I think they look a bit peculiar on the Dolphin Grey, and they look a bit dark on the white cars. I sincerely wish that Tesla had used red lenses like Audi and Mercedes use, and like their original prototype used. Interestingly, the clear lenses look great, IMO, on the blue car, the black car, and both reds.
11. IMO, the chrome accents on the Model S (around the windows, across the rear, and under the doors) look better with either a very dark color (including black), or a color that is not on the grey/white spectrum (including Sunset Red). I think they tend to blend in a bit too much on the silver and grey cars especially, but also a bit on the white. On those colors, the chrome strip below the door reads as part of the doors, which makes them look odd, whereas on the other colors, it's clearly an accent.

In short, I think the blue Model S is a very fine choice if you are willing to put in the extra maintenance of a darker car. I am really torn between it and white. I posted in another thread that I had ruled the blue out after my visit to the local Audi dealer, where their dark metallic blue looked pretty bad with a little dirt and water spotting on it, but I am drawn to it nonetheless.

Velo1, regarding the choice you and your wife will make between the blue and the black, I'll offer my own opinion, which you can take for whatever you think it's worth: Get the blue. If the black were a pearl black like Mercedes offers, I think that'd be fine, but next to the conventional black on the Tesla, the blue is a far more elegant look. As well, out of the sun, the car effectively looks black anyway, so you get the best of both worlds.

I've attached two photos I took at Palo Alto, showing the blue car and the black car from the same angle in the same light. I'm sorry it's only from one angle, but I hope they give you a good comparison. (Click to enlarge)

 

[MikeK]

Here's Velo1's door handle video!

 

[Velo1]

Here's Velo1's door handle video!

Thanks for posting this MikeK.

 

[jkirkebo]

I agree. The Blue looks really sharp with the Tan interior.
And you're lookin' mighty fine as well ;-)

And even though it kills me to do it, I'm probably going to go with the 19" wheels on my Performance version.
Sure wish Tesla would give us a little credit for not taking the 21" wheels.
They just aren't practical here in the Northeast winters.

I had originally planned to get the pearl white, but after seeing pics of the blue with the 21" carbon perf. wheels, I changed my mind. I'm no fan of any shades of brown though, so interior will be grey. Grey should also look good with the blue I think ?

I agree on 21" wheels in winter, but here in Norway everybody has separate winter wheels anyway. So 21" perf. wheels in summer, 19" with studded tires (Nokia Hakkapeliitta 7) in winter it is.

 

[teslasguy]

Hi Velo1! First of all, you look gorgeous in the sun!

Second, thanks for the pictures! You inspired me to visit my local Mercedes-Benz dealership today. They have a color called Lunar Blue that I think is probably somewhat close to the Tesla blue -- very dark, very rich metallic blue. Looks really luscious. They also had several used cars (2008) in a similar dark blue, and in white. So, it was a nice opportunity to see how the colors hold up with age.

My current thinking:

1. White was always my plan, and I still like the car in white.
2. White absolutely hides dirt and small imperfections. It is easier to maintain.
3. On the other hand, white tends to accentuate any small imperfections in panel fit, and the trunk gap stands out pretty powerfully on a white car.
4. The blue tends to hide panel fit issues
5. The metal flake in the blue hides a little bit of dust, compared to a straight black
6. But, the blue gets hot in the sun! Holy cow. The dealer had two E350s parked right next to each other, with the sun hitting them at the same angle. One in white, one in Lunar Blue. The blue car was literally too hot to touch. I could not hold my hand against it. The white car was slightly warm.
7. The paint around the door handles on the 2008 used blue car looked terrible. Wow. It didn't look too fabulous on the white either, to be honest. Localized paint armor just at that spot would have made those cars far more appealing. The Tesla shouldn't have such an issue, thanks to the handle design. A little paint armor on the body colored piece that slides out with the handle is probably not a bad idea, though.
8. The 2008 blue car looked quite good, considering. The air dam had been scraped against something white, which stood out like crazy, but I don't count that as a fault of the paint. The driver should have scraped something painted a darker color! There were some fine scratches in the paint that I suspect a good detailer could eliminate. But, washed and with a coat of wax on it, it looked nice. It was every bit as screaming hot as the 2012 in the sun, though.
9. The 2008 white car had extensive swirl marks in the finish. From most angles, it was invisible. If you got the sun at the right (wrong?) angle, you could see them. On a darker color, I think it would have been intolerable.
10. I've noticed in some TMC member photos and some of my own photos that Tesla's clear tail lights look.... a bit odd with certain colors. I think they look a bit peculiar on the Dolphin Grey, and they look a bit dark on the white cars. I sincerely wish that Tesla had used red lenses like Audi and Mercedes use, and like their original prototype used. Interestingly, the clear lenses look great, IMO, on the blue car, the black car, and both reds.
11. IMO, the chrome accents on the Model S (around the windows, across the rear, and under the doors) look better with either a very dark color (including black), or a color that is not on the grey/white spectrum (including Sunset Red). I think they tend to blend in a bit too much on the silver and grey cars especially, but also a bit on the white. On those colors, the chrome strip below the door reads as part of the doors, which makes them look odd, whereas on the other colors, it's clearly an accent.

In short, I think the blue Model S is a very fine choice if you are willing to put in the extra maintenance of a darker car. I am really torn between it and white. I posted in another thread that I had ruled the blue out after my visit to the local Audi dealer, where their dark metallic blue looked pretty bad with a little dirt and water spotting on it, but I am drawn to it nonetheless.

Velo1, regarding the choice you and your wife will make between the blue and the black, I'll offer my own opinion, which you can take for whatever you think it's worth: Get the blue. If the black were a pearl black like Mercedes offers, I think that'd be fine, but next to the conventional black on the Tesla, the blue is a far more elegant look. As well, out of the sun, the car effectively looks black anyway, so you get the best of both worlds.

I've attached two photos I took at Palo Alto, showing the blue car and the black car from the same angle in the same light. I'm sorry it's only from one angle, but I hope they give you a good comparison. (Click to enlarge)

View attachment 8130

View attachment 8131

MikeK, I'm a bit confused here. In your first pic the car on the left looks blue and the one on the right looks black.
They both have the same license plate number.
In the second pic both look black, and the license plate number on the car on left is different from cars in the first pic.
Can you please clarify which cars are really which color?

 

[AndyM]

MikeK, I'm a bit confused here. In your first pic the car on the left looks blue and the one on the right looks black.
They both have the same license plate number.
In the second pic both look black, and the license plate number on the car on left is different from cars in the first pic.
Can you please clarify which cars are really which color?

The tiny numbers on the right of the plate are different.

The car with the CA plate, DLR 68106 25A is blue, in Image IMG_0017.jpg, on the left. The other car, on the right in shadow, has CA plate DLR 68106 8A... could be either color.
the car with the CA plate DLC 63277 94A is black, in Image IMG_0019.jpg, on the left. The other car, on the right in shadow, plate obscured, could be either color, I can't tell.

 

[MikeK]

Andy is correct. The car on the right in both photos is black. The car on the left is blue in one, black in the other.

 

[Velo1]

I have made my decision and am going with the blue paint instead of black. Thanks for all the feedback guys. Now I need to decide on grey or tan leather. Both will look great, IMO. One concern with grey is the headliner will be that very light tan or off white, whatever Tesla calls it. I'd need to see a car with grey leather just to confirm grey will look fine with the headliner.

 

[MikeK]

Great! I do think the blue is a knockout.

Somebody posted some photos of the grey interior somewhere on TMC -- I think in one of the Get Amped threads -- and I thought it looked nice. If I end up going with the blue, I will get the tan interior. I just think that's a nice combination. A little warmth in the interior colors to balance the cool blue.

 

[Robert.Boston]

Remember that the gray interior isn't available immediately. This may not matter to you, @Velo1, depending on your reservation number. Personally, I'm going for blue & tan (at least this week!):

• To avoid any risk of delay (P1635)
• The warmer tone to contrast with the icy blue
• Better match to the headliner, and
• Better match to the lacewood (which has some brown tones)

 

[wycolo]

Someone (may) have asked for feedback from Denver Test Drive participants. As one, I'll offer my takeaway.

5pm Sat timeslot: for all I know these wonderful Tesla folk had been at it all day long. They were great!!

The Tech-area was very sparsely trafficked, so perfect for our needs. The course left the Campus onto an I-225 entry ramp- a sweeper that could handle NASCAR speeds easily. The Coach indeed mentioned this as a good place to homp on it, but I was too little too late. Slowing down into the exit I did manage a rapid LRLR at 55mph (involuntary gasps from Road Nanny) which the S-Model executed perfectly. Tight & responsive!! Now, if we could've run the course twice . . . oh, well.

At the stoplights & turns I focussed on slow>stop>slow power flow, since this has become a issue wrt the Roadster. I could not detect any discontinuities at all. It was as if I was in my '01 Chevy Malibu. Certainly not like my '10 Roadster 2.0, but, hey, thats a hot rod. Tesla has indeed perfected these stop & go traffic perplexities for the genteel family sedan. Ditto smoothness over rough patches.

Regen set @'standard', but subdued effect compared to Roadster. Maybe the S regens the same KWHs but we just don't feel it as much as in the (lighter) Roadster. Certainly you will be applying the Brake pedal routinely in the S, whereas in the Roadster you can pretty much avoid using the Brake pedal altogether.

Conclusion: When the Model S arrives, keep the Roadster!! They be way different brothers of the same mother.
--

 

[Brian H]

Judging from comments on-screen and in reports by others, it's dubious that the brakes will be used "routinely". I think that the MS just requires getting off the goose pedal sooner, and giving the regen a touch more time to work. So it's a mental adjustment.

P.S.
RU suggesting the Roadster and MS had different fathers? Do tell!
:tongue:

 

[brianman]

Conclusion: When the Model S arrives, keep the Roadster!! They be way different brothers of the same mother.

I would argue they have the same father (Elon) and different mothers (Lotus factory vs. Fremont).