TTAC Long-term Tesla Model S thread (written by a NON-car guy)

[cwerdna]

Not sure if someone started a thread on this yet...

I stumbled across part 5 and hadn't even read all of the parts yet. Here are links to the parts so far. It's sometimes interesting to hear the POV of a non-car guy and a non-EV enthusiast, esp. about the Superchargers, even if you totally disagree or are rolling your eyes at the writing.

As a Leafer, I'd like to have a CHAdeMO network that's free and has better placement of stations w/multiple charging stalls than we've seen in Nor Cal (single DC FC at each location and if it's Blink, the chances of it working aren't great, Blink charges $5/session (no thanks), etc.)

TTAC Long-Term Tesla Part 1: Why I Bought A Tesla Model S | The Truth About Cars

Ed Zitron is a friend of TTAC, but not much of a car guy. After giving up his old, gasoline powered car, Ed went and bought a Tesla Model S P85 – and we asked him to write about it over a period of 12 months, documenting his ownership experience and what it’s like to live with an electric car. This is the first installment.

I do not know much about cars. I got my license two years ago, after growing up in London, moving to Aberystwyth (Wales), moving to New York, and only then moving to New Jersey, where having a car is somehow more natural than having legs. I unhappily learned to drive, and just about got through my test on the first go, even though my parallel parking was – to quote the instructor – “bad.”

I also know very little about cars – you go fast with right pedal, you stop with left pedal. Don’t stand in front of another car that is moving, especially if it’s moving fast...

TTAC Long-Term Tesla Part 2: Buying Direct From The Factory | The Truth About Cars
TTAC Long-Term Tesla Part 3: (Super)Charging | The Truth About Cars
TTAC Long Term Tesla Part 4: The Honeymoon | The Truth About Cars
TTAC Long Term Tesla Part 5: The Mystery Of The Vacaville Supercharger, Or Why I Miss Gas Stations | The Truth About Cars

Many (but not all of the parts) can be found via Tesla | The Truth About Cars or Tesla | The Truth About Cars. Part 4 was missing...

 

[JohnQ]

Thanks for posting and it was an ... educational ... read. Perhaps this is what non-enthusiasts experience when driving the car but it's tough to tell from one data point. I did find the writing style irritating though, it was like he was saying "look at me, I'm cool because I can dump on the Vacaville supercharger where I have to stare at a big box store while charging." Except, of course there are a bunch of places within a short walk to grab a cup of coffee, a sandwich, or whatever. I came away not liking or respecting the author very much. I expect he wouldn't care much about that but it makes it harder for me to take the piece very seriously.

 

[cwerdna]

Thanks for posting and it was an ... educational ... read. Perhaps this is what non-enthusiasts experience when driving the car but it's tough to tell from one data point.

Yeah. The thing is, EVs need to move beyond the majority/a large % of EV/tech enthusiasts to the "average Joe". I did finally read all 5 parts and find that although he admits he doesn't know much about cars and can't write eloquently about them, he doesn't seem to be a total dummy when it comes to tech. He knows about SEO, various smartphone platforms, focus groups and various technologies.

I'd imagine that we've all encountered HUGE variance in the amount of car and tech knowledge people possess. I can safely say that the author is well beyond my parents in terms of tech knowledge and definitely my mother in terms of car knowledge. And, he's well beyond that of # of my older relatives.

On places like Priuschat and MyNissanLeaf, we occasionally get a few folks pop in who are pretty clueless. However, unfortunately, I suspect the "average" car owner slightly closer to the clueless side than enthusiast.

I've worked in tech for my entire professional career. I work at a fairly well known tech company (well, maybe we're not known so much for our tech) in Silicon Valley and in the parking garage a few months ago, I had a guy ask if my Leaf (that was plugged in an EV charging spot) was a Tesla!?!?! Of course my reply was "yeah, right, I wish..." The conversation was err... interesting.

I don't necessarily agree w/the guy's comments about 120 volt charging at TTAC Long-Term Tesla Part 3: (Super)Charging | The Truth About Cars. Sure, it's slow as heck, but if one's commutes are short, it's totally fine. My commute's only 12 miles each way and if my work didn't provide any charging, I definitely can replenish enough charge each night w/my Leaf @ only 120 volts.

If my commute were much longer and I were arriving home w/a nearly dead battery, then yeah, I can't replenish it quickly enough at 120 volts and would need to find alternatives (e.g. drive my ICEV on certain days, L2 charge or DC FC on the way home, etc.)

 

[mnx]

Why on earth would a non car guy who has only had his license 2 years get a P85????? Strange!