Some high praise from Vanity Fair magazine (I like the title of the article): Is the Tesla Model S the Most Important Car of the 21st Century? | Style | Vanity Fair Always great when someone recognizes the Tesla Model S as a game changer!
Yeah. But not so great when a car review forces me to look up movie stills from obscure French films to figure out what he's talking about. Still, an honest and enthusiastic review. I enjoyed it.
I'm guessing that if you're a Vanity Fair subscriber, you've watched all those films and would know the meaning without research.:smile:
Thanks for posting this Vanity Fair article, Prime Mover. A very positive, glowing endorsement of the Model S by such a mag will help spread the word. :biggrin:
I took possession of a Model S Founders #30 two weeks ago and I couldn't agree more. It's probably the most significant advancement in Automotive technology since, well the beginning. Beyond being a sensational car, it is very clear it is a new platform and the beginning of a fork in the road for automotive innovation.
This Barry Schuler? Barry Schuler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Edit: Answered my own question, from above link, "Schuler is managing director of the Draper Fisher Jurvetson..."
Personally, I see Model S as the first real car. Altogether. Of course not the first thing with four wheels, but the first car that really is what we will understand a car to mean to be. If that makes sense.
It might not be the first real car (the DS series takes that title IMHO), but it's the first real electric car for sure and probably the second real car.
DS series? If you agree Model S is the first real electric car, to me it means that it is also the first real car, altogether, as I think non-electric cars will be seen as a precursor, not the real thing. Like horse-drawn carriages.
I agree with you that non-electric cars will be seen as a precursor, but the ID/DS (I had a DS so I tend to think DS) had many innovations that still haven't made it into cars today (or into many cars). The first was sold in 1955: First production car with disk brakes Adjustable suspension height Front wheel drive Centre point steering Inboard brakes Lights that follow the road Aerodynamic styling Flat undercarriage (only the exhaust was outside the flat pan on the bottom) Would run on any three wheels and lift the flat tire off the ground. Could parallel park in any space that was 12" longer that the car. The ratcheting could be disabled from the foot operated parking brake and it could be used as a real emergency brake (with its own set of pads on the rotors). The list goes on for quite a ways. Basically it was everything a car should be other than being electric.
Seriously, I think distinctions such as "front wheel drive" will fade, whereas "electric" will remain for hundreds of years and be seen as one of the defining characteristics of a car per se.