I've found there are two kinds of driving that I enjoy. I categorize them loosely as "zooming" and "cruising".
Zooming is what real sports cars are made for. I love getting out on the narrow, lightly travelled, farm-to-market roads and zooming around. There are corners, there are hills. It's a highly interactive experience, as I am constantly steering, shifting, and manipulating the throttle and brakes. My Lotus Esprit V8 is perfect for this kind of driving. It has great road-holding ability, great feedback through the steering and suspension, and the turbocharged engine is always ready and eager. It's fun!
Cruising is my catch-all term for relaxed, low-speed driving. That could be driving around town, or it could be on those same country roads. It's about seeing the sights, smelling the fresh air, and chilling out. I find the Esprit is a poor choice for this. It doesn't have a cruise control, and it's hard to keep the speed from creeping higher. It's not happy at low speeds, as the truck-like motor and transmission noise in low gears constantly nag at me. The side windows are small, which impedes sightseeing. The moon roof, on the few times I've opened it, actually draws smells from the engine compartment into the cabin. And of course, all the gear shifting becomes simply a nuisance in town.
One of the reasons why I personally want a Tesla Roadster is because I can see it really excelling in both of these situations. I reckon it should prove just as fun as the Esprit when zooming around those country roads. When taking them slower, I can imagine rolling along with the top off, no funny smells, minimal engine noise, and the cruise control set on 40 or 50 MPH -- while I check out the bluebonnets, the longhorns grazing, and the fiery sunsets.
I think our highway system is one of the great, under-appreciated wonders of the modern world. I'm fortunate enough to live in a small town, out in the country away from big city traffic and freeways; I can easily hop in my car and take a spin around the back roads anytime. There's very little traffic on those roads, and I don't remember seeing any highway patrol on them in the many years I've lived here. Basically nobody cares whether I drive 90 MPH or 45 MPH out there, and with the Tesla Roadster I could enjoy doing either one, as the mood strikes me.
That's my vision anyhow, and that's why I'm saving my pennies and eagerly waiting for Tesla to bring the cars into production and bring Texas into their service area.
Zooming is what real sports cars are made for. I love getting out on the narrow, lightly travelled, farm-to-market roads and zooming around. There are corners, there are hills. It's a highly interactive experience, as I am constantly steering, shifting, and manipulating the throttle and brakes. My Lotus Esprit V8 is perfect for this kind of driving. It has great road-holding ability, great feedback through the steering and suspension, and the turbocharged engine is always ready and eager. It's fun!
Cruising is my catch-all term for relaxed, low-speed driving. That could be driving around town, or it could be on those same country roads. It's about seeing the sights, smelling the fresh air, and chilling out. I find the Esprit is a poor choice for this. It doesn't have a cruise control, and it's hard to keep the speed from creeping higher. It's not happy at low speeds, as the truck-like motor and transmission noise in low gears constantly nag at me. The side windows are small, which impedes sightseeing. The moon roof, on the few times I've opened it, actually draws smells from the engine compartment into the cabin. And of course, all the gear shifting becomes simply a nuisance in town.
One of the reasons why I personally want a Tesla Roadster is because I can see it really excelling in both of these situations. I reckon it should prove just as fun as the Esprit when zooming around those country roads. When taking them slower, I can imagine rolling along with the top off, no funny smells, minimal engine noise, and the cruise control set on 40 or 50 MPH -- while I check out the bluebonnets, the longhorns grazing, and the fiery sunsets.
I think our highway system is one of the great, under-appreciated wonders of the modern world. I'm fortunate enough to live in a small town, out in the country away from big city traffic and freeways; I can easily hop in my car and take a spin around the back roads anytime. There's very little traffic on those roads, and I don't remember seeing any highway patrol on them in the many years I've lived here. Basically nobody cares whether I drive 90 MPH or 45 MPH out there, and with the Tesla Roadster I could enjoy doing either one, as the mood strikes me.
That's my vision anyhow, and that's why I'm saving my pennies and eagerly waiting for Tesla to bring the cars into production and bring Texas into their service area.
