NYT article: Stalled on the EV Highway

[jbherman]

Geez guys, you make it seem like I was imposing my beliefs on everyone. Haha. I didn't even generalize. Notice how I spoke in the first person when speaking about my own experience as a winter driver. Just providing one view point, and agreeing with the sentiment shared by most people that have written in this thread that 65 degrees is hardly "white knuckles" cold.

Didn't particularly mean to "call you out." :tongue: That's the only issue in Broder's review that remotely approaches credibility (as it pertains to my experience), although he obviously takes liberty of marked and sensationalistic hyperbole, akin to the rest of his article. Climate control (and still waiting for my CF spoiler:crying is the only issue I have with this masterpiece and even that "issue" is essentially to the point of insignificance for me. I've used my quota of two emoticons in one post, so by rule, must stop here...

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

Update on this.

Some of you might remember the hill on my way home that I've reported about:
Overcharge

Here's what the energy consumption looks like going up that hill with cruise control set at 25mph:
View attachment 16579
Here's what the energy consumption looks like going down that hill with cruise control set at 45mph and Regen set to Low:
View attachment 16580

Here's what the energy consumption looks like with cruise control at 75mph on I-5S somewhere between Bellingham and Burlington (or maybe past Burlington, not totally sure) with Regen set to Low:
View attachment 16581

What do these 3 scenarios have in common? The vehicle never strayed more than 1mph from the set Cruise Control value. (Sidenote: see the pretty sine curve in the 3rd photo? Inefficient cruise control because it's so strict.)


Further proof that Mr. Broder is full of... fiction.


More details on this trip if you're bored:
Tesla Motors Club - Enthusiasts & Owners Forum

Send that to [email protected]

 

[brianman]

Send that to [email protected]

Done.

For your consideration,


In the original article...

Stalled on the E.V. Highway - NYTimes.com

... Mr. Broder made claims about setting the cruise control at 54 mph.


In the subsequent rebuttal...

A Most Peculiar Test Drive | Blog | Tesla Motors

... Mr. Musk counter-claims that the vehicle speed was between 65 and 81 mph.


In the follow-up...

That Tesla Data: What It Says and What It Doesnt - NYTimes.com

... Mr. Broder asserts:
"Certainly, and as Tesla’s logs clearly show, much of my driving was at or well below the 65 m.p.h. speed limit, with only a single momentary spike above 80. Most drivers are aware that cars can speed up, even sometimes when cruise control is engaged, on downhill stretches."


These are the public statements. Let's take them in aggregate and assuming all parties are being honest relative to their recollections.

With that approach in mind, let's say that Mr. Broder did in fact set the cruise control at 54 mph. Let's further assume that the Tesla logs are correct and that Mr. Musk's representation of those logs is accurate. Let's further assume that some mechanical failure or timing mixup in Mr. Broder's notes accounts for the 80mph speed while the vehicle was set on cruise control.

This still leaves the vehicle cruise control being set at 54 mph yet the vehicle going at least 65 mph.

From this we can assert that the cruise control was off by 11 mph -- for an extended period -- not just momentarily. If it was truly off by that much, then Mr. Broder is negligent as a driver for not disabling cruise control and returning his speed to the desired level manually. Further, he would be off-the-mark as a reporter for not reporting this significant failure in the cruise control system.

Ignoring these failures as a driver and as a reviewer on Mr. Broder's part, let's evaluate the vehicle.

Does the Model S stray that far from the set cruise control? No it does not. I've logged 2500+ miles on the vehicle since taking delivery mid-November. It never strays more than 1mph from the set speed. I've even done a specific test with Regen set to Low on the vehicle to see if it has any impact on this experience. It does not.

I've posted about some of my testing of the Model S cruise control behavior at the link below.

NYT article: Stalled on the EV Highway - Page 98

Thanks for your time and your diligence in reports the facts faithfully,
- Brian

P.S. I'm also publishing this e-mail on the same thread in that forum. I'd be happy to publish a response in kind if you have a message you'd like to express in that venue.

 

[dpeilow]

Good work.

 

[brianman]

Good work.

Thanks. A few typos that I'm dying to correct in the above, but I decided to leave what I sent in the e-mail -- warts and all.

BTW, their autoreply confirms they got the e-mail. I must admit I'm not confident they'll do much with it. But maybe they'll surprise me.

 

[JRP3]

Can we get technical clarification on this?

Sure, it's fairly simple. Higher voltage levels cause the electrolyte solvents in the cells to degrade faster. Think about using electricity to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water. A range charge and then taking off soon after will expose the cell electrolyte to a higher voltage for only a very short period of time, hence little effect. The real problem would be to range charge every day and leave the car sitting at that higher voltage for a longer period.

 

[Seegem]

THIS IS HILARIOUS!!!!!!!

A review of the new-fangled Solid State Group

 

[dpeilow]

Looks like they are just going past the site of all those flooded Fiskers.

 

[zack]

Tesla electric car row goes up a gear as New York Times journalist hits back | Environment | guardian.co.uk

 

[MSPRad]

I was originally on the fence about getting the Model S. But after reading about how Tesla was Brodered by NYT, I finalized my order for a blue P85. So that's one more person who was not dissuaded by Broder's disingenuous article.

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

THIS IS HILARIOUS!!!!!!!

A review of the new-fangled Solid State Group

It really is. I've read it like 3 times since it was posted

 

[Al Sherman]

Tesla electric car row goes up a gear as New York Times journalist hits back | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Interesting. Not sure about the "furious response" part though. I still think Broder is a fraud. Seems pretty clear to me in fact.

 

[Seegem]

It really is. I've read it like 3 times since it was posted

I'm on my fifth. Can't stop laughing, since my bf has a Panamera S as well, and is so supportive of my Model S (he's a soon-to-be convert!)

 

[Norbert]

THIS IS HILARIOUS!!!!!!!

A review of the new-fangled Solid State Group

Perhaps add something like this:

"As I was on the phone with Porsche's product expert, I was told the car need to be repeatedly filled with a liquid called 'gasoline', at one of their new 'gas stations'. When I started pouring gasoline into it, using an awkward and smelly mechanism, a display updated the price (which I was expected to pay immediately) faster than I could think. It quickly reached $20, and I wasn't ready to pay more than that. Given the average income around here, who in their right mind would pay more than that for a single trip? So I made sure to stop this, and pulled a big lever on the handle, but it kept dropping small amounts of gasoline, some of it on my shoes, which I could still smell hours later. Guess what, barely 90 miles later (I assure you I was driving less than 78.5 mph at least at one moment), the car started making funny noises and occasionally stuttered in its mechanical motion to a degree far above the usual vibrations it had all the time. Eventually it ceased functioning, but I could still drive off the highway and come to a stop. Porsche's product expert explained to me on the phone that it must have run out of gasoline, in spite of the horrendous amount I paid for it."

 

[SFOTurtle]

This looks just to be a rehash of Broder's pathetic and often non-responsive retorts from Thursday. Is there anything new to report in this article that hasn't been soundly dissected and refuted in the past two days?

Tesla electric car row goes up a gear as New York Times journalist hits back | Environment | guardian.co.uk

 

[ModelS8794]

Broder just had a first world problem is all.

 

[firstinflite]

I was originally on the fence about getting the Model S. But after reading about how Tesla was Brodered by NYT, I finalized my order for a blue P85. So that's one more person who was not dissuaded by Broder's disingenuous article.

As a share holder in TESLA, I want to personally thank you.

 

[Citizen-T]

Love me some Memes...

 

[Fr23shjive]

Awesome memes Citizens-T.

I really can't wrap my head around people defending Broder. Even if I wasn't an EV enthusiast I still don't think I could understand his POV.

 

[dpeilow]

This Google ad was too funny.