Great article about a TMC regular and his Model S

[Todd Burch]

Getting my Model S featured in the local newspaper

Got a call from a reporter at my local newspaper this morning. They want to do a story on the Model S for the paper! The reporter is bringing a photographer with her for an interview/photo shoot tomorrow morning. Oh jeez, gotta wash the car tonight I guess!

I'll post the article when it comes out.

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I've now had TWO newspapers call me. Word is apparently getting around .

 

[Plug Me In]

Nice! Make sure you put a plug in (pun intended) for your preference for spending your money at businesses with EV charging.

 

[JohnQ]

Got a call from a reporter at my local newspaper this morning. They want to do a story on the Model S for the paper! The reporter is bringing a photographer with her for an interview/photo shoot tomorrow morning. Oh jeez, gotta wash the car tonight I guess!

I'll post the article when it comes out.

- - - Updated - - -

I've now had TWO newspapers call me. Word is apparently getting around .

What, no Tesla media handlers on hand?

 

[kendallpb]

What, no Tesla media handlers on hand?

I doubt Tesla has media people in Smithfield, VA ;-) but Todd could put them in touch.

Todd: You might want to e-mail someone at Tesla with a heads up, in case they want to put their media folks in touch with the papers as well.

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P.S. I find this amusing--have fun, Todd!

 

[Plug Me In]

On a slightly related note, my local rag, the Lynchburg (Va) News and Advance had an article on the jump in US auto production last year. The article was all about the big automakers but was capped with a big pic of a Model S coming off the production line!

 

[Todd Burch]

I ended up washing the car at midnight last night, in 28 degF weather!!

Interview/photo shoot this morning with newspaper #1 went really well. Both photog and reporter were very impressed. I had an extreme scare right beforehand. I noticed I had no 3G connectivity (I usually have 1 bar in my garage, but this time I had none). I pulled the car out of the garage--still no 3G. I was thinking about pulling the fuse to reset the 3G as others have mentioned), but only had a few minutes before the reporter was due to arrive so decided to skip that and resigned myself to the fact that there would be no cellular connectivity during the interview (YIKES!)

FORTUNATELY, after about 5-10 minutes of sitting outside, the 3G connection came back, and just in time!

So, tip: If you're seeing no cell connection (perhaps you've been in a rural area for awhile), and when you get back into a coverage region and still don't see a signal, wait about 5-10 minutes before panicking.

I think Tesla needs to increase the query connection rate for the 3G. Once the car wakes up it should check more frequently for a connection.

Note: I did initially try a screen reboot after I saw no signal--but don't think it had any impact on the end result, and certainly didn't seem to have been necessary.

 

[tdelta1000]

Great story. Hope all goes well with the remaining visits.

 

[Krugerrand]

Nice! Make sure you put a plug in (pun intended) for your preference for spending your money at businesses with EV charging.

Great comment!

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The article was all about the big automakers but was capped with a big pic of a Model S coming off the production line!

Hilarious!

 

[dsm363]

Todd: Thanks for doing the article. If you have any tips or advice on how to do something like this, please share. My parents are thinking about doing the same thing with their local, small town newspaper.

 

[Todd Burch]

Todd: Thanks for doing the article. If you have any tips or advice on how to do something like this, please share. My parents are thinking about doing the same thing with their local, small town newspaper.

My advice would basically be to be knowledgeable about the car and the company. If you're enthusiastic about it, that's all you need. It will really come across to the interviewer. The reporter said she could tell I was crazy excited about the car.

I don't, however, recommend washing your car in freezing conditions at midnight . After the rinse I had to bring her in the garage to keep the remaining water from freezing--which interferes with the drying process, I'm told .

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Also, thinking about your motivations for getting the car (environmental, performance, geopolitical, financial, etc.) and also reasons why this car was the right pick for you would be helpful.

What do you like/What do you not like. Be honest, but optimistic with the knowledge that we're on the cutting edge of technology.

Got lots of looks on the way to work today. Must be the new car.

For those waddling on the 19s vs. 21s: The 19s look better in person, believe me!

 

[dsm363]

I don't, however, recommend washing your car in freezing conditions at midnight . After the rinse I had to bring her in the garage to keep the remaining water from freezing--which interferes with the drying process, I'm told .

I hear you. Washed the car with the temp at 10 degrees at one of those handheld wand carwash places. My hand was frozen after about ten minutes. Not fun. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Todd Burch]

Another tip: I requested that the reporter run the important numbers by me for a fact check before publishing--just want to make sure accurate facts get out there. They typically can't send the entire story, but can ask you to verify the critical facts.

Just finished an email back to the reporter with a few minor corrections/clarifications.

 

[rcc]

+1 on the 19" tires. They look great in person.

 

[Todd Burch]

+1 on the 19" tires. They look great in person.

I should clarify my statement: Personally, I still think the 21s look better than the 19s--what I'm saying is that the 19s look much better in person than they do in photos. I tried to go for the 21s but couldn't justify it in my mind. OK, back on topic. Wait. What's the topic of this thread?

 

[dsm363]

Are you ok if I change thread title to something like
Getting my Model S featured in the local newspaper

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

I should clarify my statement: Personally, I still think the 21s look better than the 19s--what I'm saying is that the 19s look much better in person than they do in photos. I tried to go for the 21s but couldn't justify it in my mind. OK, back on topic. Wait. What's the topic of this thread?

You?
:biggrin:
or, Models S
or, Model S and You!

Freezing temperature car washes? (ouch...38 was enough for me. wanted to wax it but the car kept fogging up!)

 

[UMD86]

I ended up washing the car at midnight last night, in 28 degF weather!!

Interview/photo shoot this morning with newspaper #1 went really well. Both photog and reporter were very impressed. I had an extreme scare right beforehand. I noticed I had no 3G connectivity (I usually have 1 bar in my garage, but this time I had none). I pulled the car out of the garage--still no 3G. I was thinking about pulling the fuse to reset the 3G as others have mentioned), but only had a few minutes before the reporter was due to arrive so decided to skip that and resigned myself to the fact that there would be no cellular connectivity during the interview (YIKES!)

FORTUNATELY, after about 5-10 minutes of sitting outside, the 3G connection came back, and just in time!

So, tip: If you're seeing no cell connection (perhaps you've been in a rural area for awhile), and when you get back into a coverage region and still don't see a signal, wait about 5-10 minutes before panicking.

I think Tesla needs to increase the query connection rate for the 3G. Once the car wakes up it should check more frequently for a connection.

Note: I did initially try a screen reboot after I saw no signal--but don't think it had any impact on the end result, and certainly didn't seem to have been necessary.

Do you have a WIFI network in your house? If yes - was wondering why it didn't pick up your network?

 

[SuperCoug]

Do you have a WIFI network in your house? If yes - was wondering why it didn't pick up your network?

Wifi is not currently supported by the firmware but should be available soon.

 

[Todd Burch]

Are you ok if I change thread title to something like
Getting my Model S featured in the local newspaper

Sure Dave. Sorry, should've been more descriptive. My life is hectic .

 

[GDH]

I read this about 2 hours ago.....where's the cool jeans?

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