Agreed. Nissan just canceled their 2 door Altima coupe this year because sales were so bad compared to the sedan. The coupe only accounted for 3% of the total Altima sales. The sedan crushed the coupe in sales.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Agreed. Nissan just canceled their 2 door Altima coupe this year because sales were so bad compared to the sedan. The coupe only accounted for 3% of the total Altima sales. The sedan crushed the coupe in sales.
ThosEM
Space Weatherman
Let's be realistic. Elon has said the 3 series will be the target comparable. With a 20% smaller body it is not going to have as much battery mass or volume as a Model S, and will seat 4 rather than 5. The curb weight is likely to be around 3600 lb. There isn't now a hatch back 3 series, though BMW steadfastly produces wagons, so we can wonder what will become of that aspect of the S. As for performance, we'd expect a taut suspension with add on performance features analogous to turbo and M3 series features. The other creature comforts and bionic driver amenities would be analogous as well. What's. It to like about that?
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
I hope Gen III gets closer to this (thus effectively becoming a shrunk version of the Model S):
2015 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe Quick Spin - Autoblog
2015 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe Quick Spin - Autoblog
Raffy.Roma
Rome (Italy)
igotzzoom
Active Member
Agree 100%
Yes. Smaller, trimmer Model S would be just fine with me. I think it will still be a nominal five-seater, though probably not the truly comfortable three-across accommodations of the Model S, due to its necessarily narrower width. Supposedly even the second-gen Chevy Volt is going to have seatbelts for five. That was supposedly one of the most-requested features by current owners.
ryanjm
Tesla Podcast Host
My hope is that, when loaded up with options, the GenIII is basically a smaller Model S. If I stretched as far as my finances possibly could, I could afford a bare-bones Model S in three years after I save up enough. But I'd rather spend that same money on a fully loaded GenIII. So here's what I'm hoping I can get WITH OPTIONS:
Performance model that has a 4.0-second (or less) 0-60 time
250+ mile EPA-rated range w/Supercharger access
19" wheels (guessing standard will be 17")
Air suspension (I *love* this on Model S, but it obviously won't be standard, if it's even offered at all)
Panoramic roof (a regular sunroof would disappoint me)
Retractable door handles a la Model S (it could be part of a "Tech Package+," perhaps). It's just SO COOL that I want it!)
15" touchscreen dashboard (I believe all GenIII's will have the same size screen, and it's bound to be smaller than S's 17-incher since it's a smaller car)
Parking sensors
Auto-folding mirrors
Premium interior lighting package
4G LTE data transfer
Backup camera with on-screen guidelines (a la Infiniti and many other manufacturers)
And I'm hoping I can get all that for $70k-$75k. That's the dollar figure I'm trying to plan for. Time will tell if I'm nuts or not. Elon has already said he wants this car to be an M3 killer, so I'm optimistic.
Finally, it's worth remembering that Elon/Tesla has said that Model S should be getting a redesign around the same time as GenIII hits. So it's then that I expect a 400+ mile battery to become available on S along with a significant leap forward in interior options and tech gadgets in order to keep it firmly ahead of GenIII in the desirability department. And that will probably be the car that gets an AWD option, not the GenIII.
Performance model that has a 4.0-second (or less) 0-60 time
250+ mile EPA-rated range w/Supercharger access
19" wheels (guessing standard will be 17")
Air suspension (I *love* this on Model S, but it obviously won't be standard, if it's even offered at all)
Panoramic roof (a regular sunroof would disappoint me)
Retractable door handles a la Model S (it could be part of a "Tech Package+," perhaps). It's just SO COOL that I want it!)
15" touchscreen dashboard (I believe all GenIII's will have the same size screen, and it's bound to be smaller than S's 17-incher since it's a smaller car)
Parking sensors
Auto-folding mirrors
Premium interior lighting package
4G LTE data transfer
Backup camera with on-screen guidelines (a la Infiniti and many other manufacturers)
And I'm hoping I can get all that for $70k-$75k. That's the dollar figure I'm trying to plan for. Time will tell if I'm nuts or not. Elon has already said he wants this car to be an M3 killer, so I'm optimistic.
Finally, it's worth remembering that Elon/Tesla has said that Model S should be getting a redesign around the same time as GenIII hits. So it's then that I expect a 400+ mile battery to become available on S along with a significant leap forward in interior options and tech gadgets in order to keep it firmly ahead of GenIII in the desirability department. And that will probably be the car that gets an AWD option, not the GenIII.
mnx
2018 M3P
I'm with you on this one!!! I hope they engineer it to handle track duty. No more power limiting mode. I hope they make a perf version that handles better than the S and accelerates as quickly or better. I'd be all over it if that's the case.
I think you're being realistic. We can't see the official numbers but I'm certain that a lot of what you're after will happen on the Gen III. If it was successful for the Model S and X then why not have it translate over to the Gen III?
Performance version? Definitely.
Larger pack available immediately? Of course. The smaller pack will be needed to hit the target $35K. A larger pack will be the most common upgrade.
Air suspension? Why not.
Door handles? Possibly. I think there will be an option with the tech package or it won't be an option at all.
Touch screen? Very close to a sure thing. Why go backwards?
And none of your other requests are outrageous either. They will be an add-on with cost but you expect that.
I'd like to see a more interesting palette of available colors. Right now on the Model S they basically offer 3 shades of white, 4 shades of black, and red.
I feel like in order to get the cost down Tesla is going to have to delete some of the gee-whiz stuff and I think the power retracting door handles should be the first to go. I agree they are fun but seem like more cost than they are worth, both in terms of initial manufacturing and ongoing warranty support. We might see these as part of the Tech package but on the other hand designing two different door handle systems would be more engineering expense.
15" touchscreen seems reasonable since the Gen 3 will be narrower. I expect all future Tesla vehicles will have the large touchscreen center console as a signature design feature and the software/interface will probably be very similar across all Tesla models.
I'm hoping too that the general layout will be the same as Model S, with the battery pack under the floor, drive unit integral with rear axle and rear wheel drive. Possibly AWD optional but with electronic traction and stability control I don't really think AWD is that necessary. Common drive unit with Model S maybe, but might be too large and heavy depending on how large Gen 3 turns out to be. Battery pack certainly won't be the same as S/X because the chassis of Gen 3 will be too small in both length and width.
I feel like in order to get the cost down Tesla is going to have to delete some of the gee-whiz stuff and I think the power retracting door handles should be the first to go. I agree they are fun but seem like more cost than they are worth, both in terms of initial manufacturing and ongoing warranty support. We might see these as part of the Tech package but on the other hand designing two different door handle systems would be more engineering expense.
15" touchscreen seems reasonable since the Gen 3 will be narrower. I expect all future Tesla vehicles will have the large touchscreen center console as a signature design feature and the software/interface will probably be very similar across all Tesla models.
I'm hoping too that the general layout will be the same as Model S, with the battery pack under the floor, drive unit integral with rear axle and rear wheel drive. Possibly AWD optional but with electronic traction and stability control I don't really think AWD is that necessary. Common drive unit with Model S maybe, but might be too large and heavy depending on how large Gen 3 turns out to be. Battery pack certainly won't be the same as S/X because the chassis of Gen 3 will be too small in both length and width.
I have a Compact sized sedan and it can seat 5. Of course the Gen III will seat 5 in a bench style back seat. The Volt only seats 4 because of the huge battery pack intruding into the fifth seat position. Even a Sub-compact like the Yaris can seat 5. The Gen III will be a mid-sized sedan.
yaris interior - Google Search
The car will seat 5. I'm willing to bet on it.
I'm with you on this one. Having a 5 seater is actually a huge selling point because it differentiates from the other cars and it's very useful to be able to fit 3 adults in the rear. My IS350 is technically a 5-seater car, but in reality you can't really use the rear middle seat for anyone but a very small child and only for short trips at a time.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Yes, 3 seats in the back with no hump in the middle - much like in the Model S - are indeed a no-brainer.
I was surprised to see even the LEAF (the only sedan-like BEV other than the MS that's a 5-seater) have a hump in the middle (purportedly for some battery components) that makes the seat in the middle practically useless.
I was surprised to see even the LEAF (the only sedan-like BEV other than the MS that's a 5-seater) have a hump in the middle (purportedly for some battery components) that makes the seat in the middle practically useless.
Elon also said that it will be a compelling car and that he would rather sell more cars for less money than less cars for more money.
Elon has said its only battery costs that is stoping a low cost EV.
With the giga factory being able to produce batteries at a lower cost and battery improvements equalling less batteries for 200mile range yes gen3 will basically be a small model S. Isn't the 3 series just a smaller 5 series?
Some people will be upset with what they paid for their model S when the giga factories are done. But that's what comes with early adoption and buying technology.
However i do thank those tesla owners that could afford these cars and made the company survive so more people can one day own a tesla/EV.
Skotty
2014 S P85 | 2023 F-150L
I want it to look good, have a reasonably good performance option, and have a battery option that gives about 275 EPA rated miles (Supercharger enabled, of course). The rest is negotiable.
tdelta1000
Active Member
Similar threads
