My New Model S by Soflauthor (First 24 Hours and then 1 week later...)

[earthling]

I would like to "second" the motion regarding motorized side mirrors. I've had them for eight years now and I retract them nearly every time I park.

Cheers! =)

 

[ElSupreme]

And ultimately that's what matters most. As long as you're content with the gaps and happy with the car, then who cares if it has slightly wider panel gaps than other automobiles?

But just for kicks I wanted to compare it to another silver car, a Lexus. The Model S certainly has wider gaps, but I think what exacerbates the gaps is the fact that the seams extend to the base of the car, as opposed to other cars such as this Lexus. So some of it may be the illusion created by these long seams.

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The problem with these two pictures is that the Lexus has direct sun, while the Tesla has shade. The sun is entering the gaps and making them lighter, thus diminishing their apparent size. If you look at the front edge of the drivers door of the Tesla, near the A pillar, there is a tiny amount it sun. The panel gap there looks much smaller than the ones in shade. The hood panel gap is also getting some sun and looks smaller, but it also at an angle.

 

[Norbert]

Here's one for the BMW M5

Hmmm:

There must be a rear lid/tail panel gap
of min. 5 mm.

That's minimum, not maximum.

 

[artsci]

The problem with these two pictures is that the Lexus has direct sun, while the Tesla has shade. The sun is entering the gaps and making them lighter, thus diminishing their apparent size. If you look at the front edge of the drivers door of the Tesla, near the A pillar, there is a tiny amount it sun. The panel gap there looks much smaller than the ones in shade. The hood panel gap is also getting some sun and looks smaller, but it also at an angle.

Absolutely. I wish people would stop offering these criticisms on the basis of photographs. It's a totally unreliable and foolish way to "measure" panel gaps. Frankly the only way to make these comparisons is with a micrometer on the actual cars, but that would require some actual work, right? Fortunately, Soflauthor has done that and posted the actual results for us to check. On the basis of his measurements and other postings for the standards set by BMW and Volvo it seems the Model S stands up quite well.

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Love the direction Soflauthor is headed in with his counsel prototype. Soflauthor, how long to you think it will be before you'll have the fabricated alpha prototype?

 

[AnOutsider]

Absolutely. I wish people would stop offering these criticisms on the basis of photographs. It's a totally unreliable and foolish way to "measure" panel gaps. Frankly the only way to make these comparisons is with a micrometer on the actual cars, but that would require some actual work, right? Fortunately, Soflauthor has done that and posted the actual results for us to check. On the basis of his measurements and other postings for the standards set by BMW and Volvo it seems the Model S stands up quite well.

For the most part you're right, but I disagree that measurements are the only way to gauge things. Perception is reality. If 2 gaps are similar but something about the surrounding construction makes one LOOK larger than e other, is that not significant?

As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. No one is foolish for feeling what they feel.

 

[artsci]

For the most part you're right, but I disagree that measurements are the only way to gauge things. Perception is reality. If 2 gaps are similar but something about the surrounding construction makes one LOOK larger than e other, is that not significant?

As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. No one is foolish for feeling what they feel.

But not on the basis of photographs. In-person inspection I'll accept, but not photographs. The light angles distort everything. If you want proof, I'll take and post a few snaps of the same car with different light angles at different times of the day.

 

[Soflauthor]

Love the direction Soflauthor is headed in with his console prototype. Soflauthor, how long to you think it will be before you'll have the fabricated alpha prototype?

We hope to have the alpha (fabricated) prototype in about 3 - 4 weeks, depending on progress. As soon as it's done, I'll post many pics on the CCI thread and even more at the new CCI website. Pricing (assuming the next question ) will be available in November and the actual product is planned for release in December.

I plan on going live with a temporary CCI web site early next week. It's very rough, but it will allow you to get on an email list for "signature CCIs" (no down payment or obligation required ) and also has a reasonable amount of useful info (all subject to change, at this point). I'll announce the web site here and at a few other appropriate places on the TMC and TM forums.

The rough prototype is working out very well as it rides around in my Model S. Honestly, if I didn't have a neat, enclosed place to put my "stuff," I would not be happy, but that's just me (and I hope a small, but non-trivial percentage of new owners). I've already made a few tiny design tweaks based on these preliminary drive tests.

 

[onlinespending]

Soflauthor, perhaps you could take a picture of the car straight on the side on a nice sunny day? Just curious to see if that improves the perception of the wide panel gaps. Thanks!

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

Yeah. I think the left side of the car door gaps look really bad (as seen in the 2nd pic). Especially the front door gaps. That's a straight on shot, so no odd effects from the angle of the shot or anything. Just one man's opinion. Car looks gorgeous otherwise though!

The only difference that I see in panel gaps is that the panels on the BMW look misaligned and pinched together at the lower ridge between the doors while having a larger gap at the top. The physical space or "gaps" look the same but the Tesla panels look to be perfectly aligned while the BMW panels are crooked.

Note also the gap in the brightwork between the doors on the BMW. The Tesla is one piece through that area. Makes the BMW just look cheap.

 

[artsci]

The only difference that I see in panel gaps is that the panels on the BMW look misaligned and pinched together at the lower ridge between the doors while having a larger gap at the top. The physical space or "gaps" look the same but the Tesla panels look to be perfectly aligned while the BMW panels are crooked.

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Those gaps in the BMW are awful. What sloppy manufacturing! As bad or worse than Tesla Who took those photos?

 

[STxTesla]

Soflauthor,

Does the CCI extend out the arm rest a little?

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

Those gaps in the BMW are awful. What sloppy manufacturing! As bad or worse than Tesla Who took those photos?

MotorTrend

2011 BMW 535i vs 2010 Mercedes-Benz E350 Comparison - Motor Trend

 

[Soflauthor]

Soflauthor,

Does the CCI extend out the arm rest a little?

No. To blend with the minimalist feel of the interior, the CCI design had to be very low profile, so it really is too low to serve as an armrest. In addition, The CCI design had to accommodate the existing USB ports and the 12V outlet. If I extended the arm rests via the CCI, I would have had to bury the USBs and 12V -- not a good thing.

BTW, I've been driving the Model S with my prototype CCI installed for three days now, and I have to say that the existing arm rests are fine, very comfortable, at least for my body type (6'2" about 200 lbs). A very minor problem is that the existing Model S arm rests slide a bit when axial pressure is inadvertently applied, because they're designed to expose the cup holders when pushed back. But otherwise, they do their job quite well.

 

[AnOutsider]

Which seems normal, both of our cars with sliding armrests do that, can be a pain, but you get used to it.

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

And ultimately that's what matters most. As long as you're content with the gaps and happy with the car, then who cares if it has slightly wider panel gaps than other automobiles?

I have no doubt that a Lexus has smaller gaps than the Tesla, because as a general rule Lexus has the smallest gaps in the industry. In fact their process for cutting parts out of a single stamping and ending up with industry leading tolerances pretty much made their reputation in the '90's.

But the gaps actually measured by Soflauthor are hardly remarkable in the industry. I just measured the gaps on my 535i and every gap was larger than reported by Soflauthor (by as much as a millimeter), and the spec sheets posted by smorgasboard show even looser tolerances than my measurements. So it's hardly the case that Tesla is some sort of industry outlier.

 

[dmetcalf]

That actually may be more tough than you think. It appears the S is using raster tiles from Google Maps, meaning they're just image files and therefore fixed in orientation. Rotating a raster of this type would look pretty muddy, so that's why they don't just implement that.

Google has available vector maps, which would be ideal to use for a variety of reasons (including orientation changes), but are complex to implement. It's been stated that they aren't running stock Android with a custom skin, but something else on top of Linux. So, the components for vector rendering may not be there yet. I think we'll have to wait a while for that to be implemented.

As soon as you hit an address and the navigate button you get a window on the left of the dash that shows your direction based on your compass heading. This compensates for the true north only on the big screen in my view.

 

[Soflauthor]

As soon as you hit an address and the navigate button you get a window on the left of the dash that shows your direction based on your compass heading. This compensates for the true north only on the big screen in my view.

I agree. I've been fooling around with the nav function, and as long as you focus attention to the left of the speedometer, the Model S nav display works pretty much like a typical nav. The google maps image on the display gives you a map view, rather than a classic nav view, but that's probably okay. I would, however, still like to have the option of either view on the big display.

 

[ChadS]

As soon as you hit an address and the navigate button you get a window on the left of the dash that shows your direction based on your compass heading.

That was true when I first got the car. But since the firmware update a few days ago, I don't get the garmin map on the left side of the dash when I navigate. The next-turn direction box still flashes there, but it's otherwise blank. I reported it to Tesla; haven't heard back yet. I can still see the google map, hear the voice, and see the next-turn box, so it's not critical to have it. Just odd that it's no longer there.

 

[dsm363]

That was true when I first got the car. But since the firmware update a few days ago, I don't get the garmin map on the left side of the dash when I navigate. The next-turn direction box still flashes there, but it's otherwise blank. I reported it to Tesla; haven't heard back yet. I can still see the google map, hear the voice, and see the next-turn box, so it's not critical to have it. Just odd that it's no longer there.

Did you try rebooting the system? Also, if you hold down the left (or right) thumb-wheel button you can select new things to place there (music, nav....etc). Maybe it just got replaced with a blank space. It sounds more like a bug so maybe rebooting will help.

 

[earthling]

Did you try rebooting the system? Also, if you hold down the left (or right) thumb-wheel button you can select new things to place there (music, nav....etc). Maybe it just got replaced with a blank space. It sounds more like a bug so maybe rebooting will help.

Whoa, I hate to show my noobness but to hear (er, read) that there are programmable steering wheel buttons is awesome. That was the only feasible response that came to mind when I first heard about the "glass" cockpit (all touchscreen, that is). I desire tactile feedback to facilitate actuating controls without looking. And that is the answer.

Cheers =)