What did you drive before getting the model S and why did you change?

[Captain Ducman]

The price we all pay for oil, and I'm not talking about the money spent at the pump, some of that money finds it's way into the pockets of people who would like to kill us and the unnesecary wars we have to fight for the privilige of paying $100 a barrel for that oil, and it's only going up, wait till saudi has an arab spring, then the oil price is going to hit the fan.

^^THIS^^

Hear Hear 77

As well as it being one of the Hottest, Classiest, Fastest, Most Elegant, Grin Inducing cars on the market. It's like the girlfriend you're allowed to bring home - and your wife likes her too =) (too much?)

 

[mknox]

The price we all pay for oil, and I'm not talking about the money spent at the pump, some of that money finds it's way into the pockets of people who would like to kill us and the unnesecary wars we have to fight for the privilige of paying $100 a barrel for that oil, and it's only going up, wait till saudi has an arab spring, then the oil price is going to hit the fan.

Sorry, but this bugs me a bit. The vast majority of the US's imported oil comes from Canada and most of us do not want to kill you. On top of that, US production itself topped imports in 2013. There's lots of reasons for getting off oil, but it always bothers me whenever the "terrorist" card is played in these conversations.

 

[howardc64]

All new (or used) car acquisitions are due to wife's taste for different car every 3 years. Her last 4 cars are

Honda Odyssey -> Volvo V70 T5 -> Volvo V70XC -> Prius -> MS85

Got the MS85 because she loves the car, a used one fell in our lap at a great price, and time to enjoy life a little after kids are reaching teenage. I hope the MS85 last more than 3 years haha

As for me... I walk 1 mile to/from the bus stop and ride for free using the work's transit card. When I'm disciplined enough to do so

Oh and we've not been to a gas station in like 3 weeks even with 3 ICE cars with MS85 charging at home and me taking the bus! Need to sell a couple of ICE cars

 

[Seven7]

Sorry, but this bugs me a bit. The vast majority of the US's imported oil comes from Canada and most of us do not want to kill you. On top of that, US production itself topped imports in 2013. There's lots of reasons for getting off oil, but it always bothers me whenever the "terrorist" card is played in these conversations.

Yes, you are correct, the majority of the US oil comes from Canada, but some oil still comes from the middle east, I'm guess I'm still pissed about 9/11 but I certainly don't blame the Canadians.

ETA: I would rather the US (along with the rest of the world) didn't import oil from anybody...

 

[ChadS]

Mknox is correct that most US oil imports come from Canada.

But oil is a global commodity. Price is set on the global market. Canadian oil costs more than middle eastern oil to extract - between that and higher volume, the middle east gets most of the profits. The US can buy oil from Canada and say we're not supporting the middle east, but unless everybody else agrees to boycott the middle east too, buying from Canada doesn't matter because absolutely nothing of significance changes - not the price, nor who supplies or receives how much oil, nor who gets the profits (which is mostly not terrorists, but they do get a small but nevertheless problematic slice. Incidentally, it's not just the money that causes problems - it's also that Western powers have been interfering in Middle East affairs since WWII - actually before that, but only heavily since then - because of oil. I know some people have heard that's not true; please read historian Yergin's Pulitzer-winning "The Prize"). Nor our susceptibility to supply shortages. The only thing that changes is the routing of flow from supplier to consumer.

So it doesn't matter who we buy from - the fact that we buy at all props up the price, takes money out of our economy, and puts money elsewhere - much more in to the Middle East than Canada. Like Seven says, it is better to not import the stuff at all. (Best is to replace even domestic supplies with something else that is cheaper, cleaner, more flexible, and will last longer).

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

Some more in support of what ChadS and 77 have written above:

The piece below is a couple of years old, but there’s still a lot of fundamentalist militant Islamist groups out there: Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al-Qaeda in Jemen, Iraq and the Maghreb. They’re in Syria as well, and it makes you wonder about their financing… as well as all the fundamentalist Madrassas all over the Middle East (Toppling al-Assad in Syria would be great, but if parts of Syria end up under Al-Qaeda, then that will most certainly be even worse…).

Oil Warrior: Former CIA chief James Woolsey says if you want to beat Bin Laden, buy a Prius

/…/

From the May 2007 issue of Motor Trend

/…/

Woolsey /…/ drives a Prius, and he says that if you live in a country dependent on imported oil, it's your patriotic duty to do the same. His argument is simple: It's a bad thing for transport to depend on oil when the great majority of that oil lies in volatile parts of the world whose governments are hostile to the West. Moreover, he argues that, by making the Middle East so wealthy, we're indirectly subsidizing terror. For Woolsey, the cash register at your local gas station is a collection box for Al Qaeda. "We're paying for both sides in this war, and that's not a good long-term strategy," he says. "I have a bumper sticker on the back of my Prius that reads, 'Bin Laden hates this car.'" […


Oil Warrior: Former CIA chief James Woolsey says if you want to beat Bin Laden, buy a Prius | Motor Trend

I also remember a program on Swedish Public Service Radio about, or partly about US foreign policy and the Middle East. There was an interview with former CIA case officer Robert Baer. And according to Bear, one of the worst kept US foreign policy ‘secrets’ is that if anything ever happens to the current Saudi regime – which in the name of democracy of course would be as awesome as it gets – then, no matter what, the US is going to have boots on the ground ASAP in Saudi Arabia to protect the Saudi Oil Industry…

 

[AEdennis]

Just getting this thread back on track...

I drove a BMW Active E. I was supposed to choose something else after I return the Active E to BMW (not allowed to keep it) and really was choosing between an i3 or a Fiat 500e... But neither was appealing to the better half. The Model S was going to be her car, until she saw and fell in love with her CPO Roadster AFTER we finalized our order for the S... As a result, no BMWi i3 (this may still be negotiable depending on the deal from BMWi) or Fiat 500e for me...

The reason is... EVs are just too much fun... Any EV (including the maligned Mitsubishi iMiEV or no longer produced Coda) are quick and fun to drive. Some are just more fun than others.

However, it also helps that I can use the HOV solo until 2019 in California and I spend next to nothing on "fuel" with the Solar PV that I installed on my roof last year. I've found myself Accidentally Environmental rather than just mental.

 

[Tslynk67]

Apologies for the long post, executive summary:

- Coming from a Volvo XC90 diesel
- It's tech
- It's beautiful
- It's FAST
- It's practical enough for a three kid family
- It sort of green (no car is actually green, I realise that)
- Couldn't afford to buy it myself, but it's quite a "sensible" purchase as a company car

Long version:

I'm about to order a 19" fully loaded P85 - will go for it this weekend :smile:

Currently I have a Volvo MY2011 XC90 2.4 diesel Executive - so that's will every possible gadget on it, but it's a very old design and despite being extremely comfortable on the motorway, it's a real tractor. We bought it as I wanted to depreciate an expensive car as a business purchase as it was a well used tax saving in Blegium, plus wifey being Danish liked the idea of a safe Scandi car.

Then the Belgian government changed from centre-right to centre-left and one of the first things they did was to dramatically increase the benefit in kind of company cars based on cost and CO2 emissions. All of a sudden the Volvo because very expensive and I started to regret it.

A friend (who drives a Fisker Karma) sent me a link at the time of the MX unveiling and I was deeply interested. I'm quite a fan of Apple products and only buy organic food, so not surprising that the Tesla appealed, but with the production of the MX so far away I basically forgot about it.

Then, a few months back I happened to pass by a newly opened Tesla showroom here in Brussels and went in to look at the MS. I couldn't believe how spacious and practical it was - I hadn't even considered it an option before, but here was a car that could seat the whole family with a decent amount of luggage and could get us from home and back anywhere in this funny little country we live in on a single charge. Of course we go farther a field four or five times per year: up to Denmark, to Holland, Provençe, the usual stuff, but then when I saw the plans for the SC network I got the idea it might be feasible.

Next step was the first test drive and I can tell you that if you've never driven MS then you're just not prepared for the "Ohm-my-god" factor when you press the throttle. I couldn't believe it. Even more unbelievable was that my wife liked it - she said it was the first car she'd been a passenger in where she didn't feel sick - must be a combination of the smoothness of the delivery and the air suspension. She fully supported my desire to buy one.

Next came the finances and when I worked it all out on paper, with the various incentives it was about the same cost to my company as my current Volvo. Here in Belgium you still have to pay the VAT, but you can claim 120% of the cost as a business expense (there's a rumour this will increase to 150% next year). Furthermore, there's no tax when you register the car and the annual road tax is very low. Factor in the savings on diesel and it's a compelling case, further factor in the fact that the benefit in kind is dramatically reduced and your in profit.

Early in the New Year, Volvo will be up for sale. I've never been so excited about a car in my life and never could have imagined to have been able to afford such a car, in fact it's only feasible as I have my own company and the tax laws are very favourable for it.

Basically all the stars aligned for me.

 

[NoMoreGas]

Congrats Lycanthrope, sounds like a no brainer to me! No doubt you will enjoy it for years. I'm picking up on the 20th. That first test drive did me in, I was hooked. I'll be posting pics soon. As to your question of what type of car I had before, I drove a 2011 BMW 535i which my wife wants to keep. So I traded her 2008 BMW 535i in on the Tesla.

 

[Apoclyps]

I've only owned 2 cars in my life. both were bought used (albeit from family members).

1991 Honda Prelude
2003 Nissan 350z

I was in the market to buy a brand new car, one which I could say I was the very first owner. But really couldn't figure out what I wanted. When I read about the Model S, the tech and design of the car intrigued me to a point of obsession, and I absolutely wanted to buy (and be a part of the first year production owners). But then the sticker shock hit, and I had to cut out a lot in order to afford one. Even had to rent out a room to help pay for the car (would have been a good idea had I chosen a compatible housemate). Wish I had more money to add the things I wanted.