OT, but Christmas.
First and only avatar I've used is a copy of a sign I dare not post near garage as we have the only Tesla in nearby neighborhood. A Christmas gift from one son who drove the M3 yesterday on rain soaked streets. It is so tight and road worthy it seems like a bank vault on wheels. A very nimble bank vault. Once he punched it more than I have and I knew in the rain the wheels would not spin. He said, "best car you've bought, Dad." Last, 18 years ago, was a top of the line Lexus which my wife doesn't want to sell just yet. The Lexus rides better and is better insulated so a bit quieter on the road. But seems tinny by comparison. And the very premium sound system is inferior to the Tesla. Even the steering wheel in the Lexus has some play because with my heft and old-age stiffness I use the wheel in each car for easy entrance/exit. No play with the Tesla; it's a rock.
The Lexus steers so well, once on a smooth curve my brother remarked "it seems like it understands the curve and sticks to it." Believe me the steering in the M3 is much better. Even on the terrible roads we have near home you can feel the steering shudders with the bumps a bit but the turn or straight line driving is not affected. Both cars have double-wishbone in front but M3 is somehow much better. It really does not want to be diverted from where you point it. I don't know if front motor helps with this. Maybe.
This was our first distance travel in the car. Round trip to Santa Rosa on a full charge would have made it (just about 200 miles plus tooling around town for much of the rest of a full charge indicated at 306 total). On the return we stopped at Fairview supercharger with 87 miles remaining and about 50 miles left to go. I had some range anxiety as at least once we had near bumper to bumper near an accident. I was a klutz about backing into the disabled stall, but my wife can use the mirrors better. Four of the eleven stalls were occupied (6 ish on Christmas eve). I also was pleasantly surprised billing works like a charm. Plug and pay. I did have the foresight to make sure our credit card was correct on our Tesla account. 50kwh charged in an hour or less at 26 cents per (we have 11.5 overnight rates at home). That added about 200 estimated range. A complete fill up for 400 miles on the Lexus costs at least $90-100 so 200 gives the Tesla a $45/13 advantage at supercharger rates or over twice that at home rates. Somewhere in the range of 3.5 to 7 times cheaper.
Right now the stock looks like a downer so remember, ownership is a good investment too. That day on paper we lost in the market more than half the cost of the car. I don't have second thoughts about either investment. However the macro situation looks like Trump is an 82 year old trying to back into a disabled stall using only the backup mirror for the first time in the rain. I can't delineate the stalls boundaries in the rain at night but for the economy or foreign policy there are no boundaries worth knowing about, naturally.
First and only avatar I've used is a copy of a sign I dare not post near garage as we have the only Tesla in nearby neighborhood. A Christmas gift from one son who drove the M3 yesterday on rain soaked streets. It is so tight and road worthy it seems like a bank vault on wheels. A very nimble bank vault. Once he punched it more than I have and I knew in the rain the wheels would not spin. He said, "best car you've bought, Dad." Last, 18 years ago, was a top of the line Lexus which my wife doesn't want to sell just yet. The Lexus rides better and is better insulated so a bit quieter on the road. But seems tinny by comparison. And the very premium sound system is inferior to the Tesla. Even the steering wheel in the Lexus has some play because with my heft and old-age stiffness I use the wheel in each car for easy entrance/exit. No play with the Tesla; it's a rock.
The Lexus steers so well, once on a smooth curve my brother remarked "it seems like it understands the curve and sticks to it." Believe me the steering in the M3 is much better. Even on the terrible roads we have near home you can feel the steering shudders with the bumps a bit but the turn or straight line driving is not affected. Both cars have double-wishbone in front but M3 is somehow much better. It really does not want to be diverted from where you point it. I don't know if front motor helps with this. Maybe.
This was our first distance travel in the car. Round trip to Santa Rosa on a full charge would have made it (just about 200 miles plus tooling around town for much of the rest of a full charge indicated at 306 total). On the return we stopped at Fairview supercharger with 87 miles remaining and about 50 miles left to go. I had some range anxiety as at least once we had near bumper to bumper near an accident. I was a klutz about backing into the disabled stall, but my wife can use the mirrors better. Four of the eleven stalls were occupied (6 ish on Christmas eve). I also was pleasantly surprised billing works like a charm. Plug and pay. I did have the foresight to make sure our credit card was correct on our Tesla account. 50kwh charged in an hour or less at 26 cents per (we have 11.5 overnight rates at home). That added about 200 estimated range. A complete fill up for 400 miles on the Lexus costs at least $90-100 so 200 gives the Tesla a $45/13 advantage at supercharger rates or over twice that at home rates. Somewhere in the range of 3.5 to 7 times cheaper.
Right now the stock looks like a downer so remember, ownership is a good investment too. That day on paper we lost in the market more than half the cost of the car. I don't have second thoughts about either investment. However the macro situation looks like Trump is an 82 year old trying to back into a disabled stall using only the backup mirror for the first time in the rain. I can't delineate the stalls boundaries in the rain at night but for the economy or foreign policy there are no boundaries worth knowing about, naturally.
