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Having Second Thoughts
- Thread starter smorgasbord
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Norbert
TSLA will win
Last time I was in Germany I was surprised about the number of large Audis and similar cars. I was wondering about who said the economy wasn't going well...
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
I can't take it to the shops as it is to large to park (come to think of it it is almost too large for my garage), I can't take it on the big holiday trip because of the limited range, to name but two reasons.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
That's a joke I don't understand.
Who said the German economy wasn't going well at the moment? It is on the downturn though.
And by the way, most of these large Audis, Mercs and Beemers are company cars, not privately owned. Fleet sales (expecially of the popular station wagons) make up a very large part of the sales of the higher end models.
And if you compare the Model S to an E-class, 5-series or A6 you will see that it is quite a bit larger.
While it's not on par with a S class interior, it is 10.5" shorter than the new S class but still wider (the S class is 73.7" wide which I think does not include the mirrors).
The Model S is less than 2" wider and 5" longer than the E-class. Would that really be a make or break difference in the city? I can see the difference between an E-class and a Smart car in the city being a big help but I don't do a lot of that kind of city parking.
The Model S is less than 2" wider and 5" longer than the E-class. Would that really be a make or break difference in the city? I can see the difference between an E-class and a Smart car in the city being a big help but I don't do a lot of that kind of city parking.
Just wait for the aftermarket to make a 3-4' stretch limo version. It will be awesome. This treatment makes even the Leaf look awesome.
Nissan Leaf
GSP
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A few Elonisms:
"best car in all the dimensions that matter" (safety, power, economy, reliability, driveability).
"that's why we've really beefed up our interior design engineering team" details, details, ....
"We'll break even at around 8,000 sales"
"We don't need additional financing. Any added funds raised would be to speed up future products" etc.
"Production next year will be at least 20,000. I'm expecting up to 50% more than that"
The above are paraphrases from memory, mostly from the Q2 Q&A.
I blame Elon's personal tastes for the dark exterior colours and austere, minimalist interior. It's almost impossible to properly imagine others not sharing your core values, and Elon just doesn't grok how others view some things.
"best car in all the dimensions that matter" (safety, power, economy, reliability, driveability).
"that's why we've really beefed up our interior design engineering team" details, details, ....
"We'll break even at around 8,000 sales"
"We don't need additional financing. Any added funds raised would be to speed up future products" etc.
"Production next year will be at least 20,000. I'm expecting up to 50% more than that"
The above are paraphrases from memory, mostly from the Q2 Q&A.
I blame Elon's personal tastes for the dark exterior colours and austere, minimalist interior. It's almost impossible to properly imagine others not sharing your core values, and Elon just doesn't grok how others view some things.
I think you will find that electric drive makes driving in traffic jams much more pleasant than a manual or automatic ICE. After driving a Volt for a year and a half, I find perfectly good ICE cars just not good enough. I think it is due to several factors:
1) no vibrations from the ICE at idle. Perfectly still an quiet at a stop, with the electric A/C providing cool air if needed, or the heated seats providing comfort in the winter. Range goes UP in slow speed traffic, even if start-stop and AC or heated seats on. The Volt's electric AC is perfectly smooth and silent (except for the fan), unlike the electric AC in the Priuses that I have driven.
2) regen on the accelerator means that you don't need to bother with all the trouble of moving your foot to use the brakes. I never realized this was a "problem" until I did not have to do it anymore.
3) electric motors provide instant response and fine grained control of torque and speed, much better than any ICE and this assists parking lot and traffic jam maneuvers.
However the Model S is a classic "Yank Tank" and it's size is likely to be awkward for European cities. You may want to wait for the Mercedes E-cell (B-class with Tesla drivetrain) or Tesla's "Gen3 BlueStar."
GSP
I'm a Model S reservation holder, and have been for more than two years (yikes). I currently drive a BMW 5 series. I'm very much looking forward to my Tesla but the size of the car seriously worries me also. I can barely get my current car into my garage (and yes, in the middle of Berlin I'm lucky to even HAVE a garage, and ditto in SF where I used to live), and I have a small child that I ferry around whose door I can barely open once we're inside. I really do NOT have 4 extra inches to spare, width-wise, if I'm to be able to actually open the door and get my kid in/out. There's no way I can first stop and get my 3 year old out and leave her out on the street while I park. I don't care much about cup holders and so on, I do not find the BMW interior to be the be-all and end-all of luxury, but the simple size of the Tesla is going to massively difficult. If I street park then I won't be able to charge the car, not to mention the scratches and so on.
I really wish it was possible to get a decent four door sedan that's both comfortable and fun to drive and isn't a big hulking beast.
I know there's the future smaller/cheaper Tesla sedan down the line, but I don't want something cheaper (and slower and of lesser quality).
I really wish it was possible to get a decent four door sedan that's both comfortable and fun to drive and isn't a big hulking beast.
I know there's the future smaller/cheaper Tesla sedan down the line, but I don't want something cheaper (and slower and of lesser quality).
I've never heard anywhere that slower and of lesser quality is part of the Bluestar plan. With fewer materials used because the car will be smaller it will be less costly to make and therefore less expensive.
dennis
Model S Plaid
P.S.: Long trips: I guess that's when the gasoline engine comes on...
In fact I wouldn't be able to make the trip to Tahoe from Silicon Valley in the Model S without stopping somewhere to charge. It's 250 miles one way with 7000 feet of climb, all at freeway speeds. Doesn't make the Model S bad, just not appropriate for this type of trip. Nor for the 300 mile round trip I did on a Sunday to go to my daughter's volleyball tournament. No place to charge at the high school in the Central Valley.
There are, in fact, people who will prefer PHEV to BEV. That is still good for Tesla, as it puts more electric-powered cars on the road, and maybe their next car will be a Tesla. It was for my family. :biggrin:
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My understanding is that the Bluestar is a cheaper, more mass market car than the Model S. Something like the 3 series instead of the 5 series, or the C class versus the E class, if we're talking about BMW & Mercedes. I'm only guessing on the slower part, but hey, a $30K car versus a $50K car out of the same company is going to be a lesser car. Just because a car is physically smaller doesn't make all the parts cheaper.
And don't get me wrong, I fully support a electric vehicle available to a larger percentage of the driving population. Couldn't happen fast enough, in fact. But for me personally, I like a nice car. When I had to commute 80 miles a day, I had a Prius. I got all the best options it had, and I didn't enjoy the ride because even so it felt cheap and plastic-y. It WAS plastic. The console rattled when I'm drove 65 on the freeway. It wheezed when I was just trying to go up a hill. No amount of gasoline savings made it actually fun to drive, and I got rid of it as soon as my commuting year was over. I've been hoping for past several years that the Model S is going to be the perfect car for me, and I would be really, really unhappy if the extra width makes it impossible. I know 4" is not a big deal in the Valley, where the roads are wide and nobody even needs to learn to parallel park.
And don't get me wrong, I fully support a electric vehicle available to a larger percentage of the driving population. Couldn't happen fast enough, in fact. But for me personally, I like a nice car. When I had to commute 80 miles a day, I had a Prius. I got all the best options it had, and I didn't enjoy the ride because even so it felt cheap and plastic-y. It WAS plastic. The console rattled when I'm drove 65 on the freeway. It wheezed when I was just trying to go up a hill. No amount of gasoline savings made it actually fun to drive, and I got rid of it as soon as my commuting year was over. I've been hoping for past several years that the Model S is going to be the perfect car for me, and I would be really, really unhappy if the extra width makes it impossible. I know 4" is not a big deal in the Valley, where the roads are wide and nobody even needs to learn to parallel park.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
The real problem is the width and the lack of motorized folding side mirrors!
I'll have to open the windows and fold in the driver side and passenger side mirrors so the Model S will fit in my single-car garage. Manually folding side mirrors are so lame!
I know this for a fact b/c my Hybrid Escalade barely fits when I fold the motorized side windows in. The width of the Hybrid Escalade with folded-in mirrors is 79".
I honestly am upset at Tesla for not thinking about these important features; it almost nullifies the amazing engineering job they did with the drivetrain and battery tech, etc. More and more I regret this purchase.
Tommy
Member
You have posted in several threads about your displeasure with the S. Please take what I am suggesting in the spirit of good intentions/advice: Contact Tesla (GB perhaps direct) and see if you cannot back out of your purchase without incurring the penalty of losing all of your deposit; there are many I am sure waiting to fill the vacant slot. I am suggesting "quiet diplomacy" between you and Tesla may be the best path in solving you're unhappiness with the S.
As I understand it, the goal is to make it more inexpensive (price alone) but not cheaper (price and quality).
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