Get Amped Tour: Portland, OR, 7/20 - 7/22

[Lyon]

That's really exciting! I'm glad that I'll get to drive the performance version!

What part of the mall parking lot are they using to begin/end the drives?

Any news as to the route?

 

[SCW-Greg]

That's really exciting! I'm glad that I'll get to drive the performance version!

What part of the mall parking lot are they using to begin/end the drives?

Any news as to the route?

I didn't think to ask about the route before I had to leave, but I'll know tomorrow. They are using 217 for the highway portion of the drive though.

They're meeting on the East Side, directly on the opposite side of Nordstrom's westside entry. At the side entry by the Portland Seafood restaurant (formerly Newport Bay I believe), which has orange table umbrellas outside - that you can't miss. But Tesla also has they're big red sidewalk awning just North to them, so you'll see it clearly that too.

 

[Arnold Panz]

Will do Arnold. I'll be back there tomorrow and Sunday too. The fin was nice. I liked the balance of wing on it. Some fins are too subtle to make you question why they even bother, and others are too overwhelming. This one looks really good, and CF has a lot of depth to it too.

Awesome, thanks! Based on what I've seen in your pics (and some others), I'm leaning towards keeping the CF fin. If you can get pictures of the interior that would be great, and would love to get your thoughts on how the whole thing looks (red exterior, black perf interior). Thanks again.

 

[jhs_7645]

Does anybody have any route information for the Portland test drive yet?

 

[132]

Those of you who are lucky enough to get a test drive here are in for a nice surprise. As in more than 10 minutes. Ours took about 15. I sadly missed a couple red lights and had to check out the acceleration a couple more times. Oh darn! This car practically sits in the corners at speed. Phenomenal. What's even better is it's passing ability. Instant and effortless.

 

[AndyM]

Yep.

1. Leave from parking lot (east side of mall, directly in back of Tesla showroom). From mall roads, turn right onto Greenburg Rd (near Thirsty Lion restaurant).
2. Right onto 217 North
3. Exit onto Denny... left after exiting
4. Left onto Hall
5. Right onto Nimbus
6. Left onto Scholls Ferry
7. Right onto 217 South
8. Exit at Greenburg, left after exit
9. Left into Mall

No pictures of the route poster, I haven't seen it yet. But I did see 8.5"x11" versions carried by some store reps.

 

[AndyM]

Here are some things I learned this weekend (so far!)

• Tesla is opening a service center in Tualatin/Tigard area, date TBD.

The items below were all on the silver, non-perf #50 car (VIN in other threads):

• The windows on the door do "roll down" slightly when opening, and move back up into place on closing. This is to make a nice seal without a frame on the door itself. Common in similar autos with no window frame on the door.
• The doors have a nice "thunk" sound when closing.
• There is a lag between touching the door handle and when it extends to open. This takes a lot of getting used to.
• There's also a lag between pulling the handle and the door opening. This is noticeable, but not at all frustrating. Likely this is to allow for window movement.
• The air suspension only self-adjusts due to highway speed. It will not (as some would have hoped) adjust automatically for bumps it has encountered in the past: It is not location aware. Opportunity for TM to innovate??)
• When no one is in the driver's seat, and you reach in to flip on the headlights on the stalk, they don't come on.
• I tried out the adjustable steering wheel position; it may be no big news for luxury car folks, but the tilt and telescoping were powered, and felt solid and well-done.
• The cruise control has a light on it to indicate it is in use or set. (unknown if there's a dashboard indicator too... I'll have to try it on my drive tomorrow.)

I'll sort through some photos and add them later here.

 

[SCW-Greg]

Any news as to the route?

From AndyM...

1. Leave from parking lot (east side of mall, directly in back of Tesla showroom). From mall roads, turn right onto Greenburg Rd (near Thirsty Lion restaurant).
2. Right onto 217 North
3. Exit onto Denny... left after exiting
4. Left onto Hall
5. Right onto Nimbus
6. Left onto Scholls Ferry
7. Right onto 217 South
8. Exit at Greenburg, left after exit
9. Left into Mall

No pictures of the route poster, I haven't seen it yet. But I did see 8.5"x11" versions carried by some store reps.

 

[SCW-Greg]

Here are some things I learned this weekend (so far!)

• Tesla is opening a service center in Tualatin/Tigard area, date TBD.

Rep said it was just down 72nd, South end of 217.

 

[AndyM]

Pics from today

Sig Red #115 arrives from a run

A view of the loading zone

If you're trapped in the frunk, press here:

A close up of the door handle, with convenience lighting

About [this] Tesla... (#50)

I took a close-up of the window/lock controls on the door, since I hadn't seen too many posts of them.

Likewise, the 12-way power seat controls (driver side)

The skateboard at the Portland store is more complete than I've seen at other stores

Going back for the Get Amped drive tomorrow. I can't wait!

 

[drbradfo]

SW Washington Square Rd to SW Washington Square Rd - Google Maps

As described by Greg.

 

[drbradfo]

I would have preferred this route. Unknown road to Unknown road - Google Maps

Allen has railroad crossings and 92 to Garden Home is a nice 90 deg left turn (without a stop), but Nimbus has the nice curves and less traffic.

 

[jhs_7645]

Google maps tells me that's a 20 minute route! WOOT!

 

[brianman]

About [this] Tesla... (#50)
View attachment 8015

Nice bug catch! The P85 hasn't been seen since F00001.

 

[SCW-Greg]

Google maps tells me that's a 20 minute route! WOOT!

Google is notorious for over estimating drive time. It's actually right around 15 minutes... which is still great!

Although Friday around now it might actually show that. I believe they wrap up the drives at 3pm though.

 

[MikeK]

Thanks for sharing your photos!

It's hard to tell for sure from these pictures, but it does look like the trunk fit is pretty good on the red car. It still has the "optical illusion" issue with the parting line on the compound curve of the C pillar, but the gaps around the back look even and the panels look flush.

The only other spot I see that might need improving is the chrome trim. Where it comes back to a point next to the trunk, it is still slightly misaligned with the adjacent body panel, which means that it protrudes slightly into the trunk gap, accentuating the uneven look of the trunk gap. Also, just above and behind the rear door handle, where the chrome piece that's actually on the door comes to meet the chrome piece that wraps around the top of the windows, the gap between the two chrome pieces is a bit smaller than the actual door gap. (The chrome from above the windows comes around, but seems to go just a bit too far so that it protrudes slightly into the door's gap). I noticed both of these issues at Palo Alto as well.

But, this red car does appear to represent a step forward in fit, so that's great!

One thing that surprised me a bit: in one of the cars I saw before (I think with the Signature white interior), the seatbelt buckles in the back seat were matched to the leather color. In your photo, they are black. I wonder if that's a change. May well be a change for the better -- I could imagine the buckles looking a bit dingy over time from wear of frequent buckle insertion.

 

[MikeK]

The more and more I see the rear end, I think that rear chrome piece that runs from tail lamp to tail lamp would look pretty darn good in a dark grey/blackish color.

That's an interesting comment. I think that depends on the paint color, at least for me. On some of the colors, the chrome accents seem to sort of disappear (for example, the Dolphin Grey), while on others, they really pop (Pacific Blue). I like the extra contrast on the colors where the chrome "pops". Are you thinking the same way (seeking more contrast), or do you prefer less?

 

[brianman]

One thing that surprised me a bit: in one of the cars I saw before (I think with the Signature white interior), the seatbelt buckles in the back seat were matched to the leather color. In your photo, they are black. I wonder if that's a change. May well be a change for the better -- I could imagine the buckles looking a bit dingy over time from wear of frequent buckle insertion.

In Design Studio, only the white interior has matching seatbelts and headliner. The rest do not. I suspect they just grabbed that wrong belts when putting together this vehicle.

That said, if you're getting the white interior and non-matching seat belts is a concern I'd contact your Tesla rep. If I had gone with the white, I would be doing that -- the matching look (ceiling and belts) was in the PRO column for white in my list.

 

[smoothoperator]

That's an interesting comment. I think that depends on the paint color, at least for me. On some of the colors, the chrome accents seem to sort of disappear (for example, the Dolphin Grey), while on others, they really pop (Pacific Blue). I like the extra contrast on the colors where the chrome "pops". Are you thinking the same way (seeking more contrast), or do you prefer less?

I am not a huge fan of chrome or bright silver type finishes. I prefer an understated matte color for decorative trim pieces. I will probably take off the Model S chrome insignia when I get my Model S...I hope it does not have P85 etc on it.

Taking into consideration that the rear lenses look relatively translucent in the day time, there is something about translucent lenses and chrome that (in my eyes) looks gaudy. Thank God for the gray wheels!

 

[jerry33]

That's an interesting comment. I think that depends on the paint color, at least for me. On some of the colors, the chrome accents seem to sort of disappear (for example, the Dolphin Grey), while on others, they really pop (Pacific Blue). I like the extra contrast on the colors where the chrome "pops". Are you thinking the same way (seeking more contrast), or do you prefer less?

I'm with SmoothOperator on this one. Chrome looks tacky, just like wearing too much makeup.