doug said:
Elon mentioned that it will be roomier than a 5 series and will have space for 3 child restraint seats in the back.
Personally that sounds a tad larger than I would like.
The Roadster is also an inch or two wider than my ideal.
Urban situations call for use of compact parking spaces. Wide cars get "door-dinged" a lot more.
It bothers me when people park their expensive wide cars in the middle of two spaces thinking that they are protecting their doors.
They may avoid door dings, but then someone "keys" them for taking more than their fair share of parking spaces.
If all you ever do is drive between your big private garage and some private valet parking somewhere then it doesn't really matter, but for a vehicle to be parked wherever in some downtown I appreciate something a bit more narrow.
Comparing a range of vehicle widths as follows:
86" HummerH1
81" HummerH2
75" HummerH3
75" BMW 7-Series E66 2002-now
73" BMW 7-series E38 1995-2001 (approx Roadster width)
72" BMW 7-series E32 1987-1994
72" BMW 5-series E60 2004-now
70" BMW 5-series E39 1996-2003 <== What I like
70" BMW 3-series E90 2006-now
69" BMW 5-series E34 1989-1996
69" BMW 3-series E46 1998-2005
67" BMW 5-series E28 1982-1988 <== BMW 5 series used to be more narrow
67" BMW 3-series E36 1991-2000
65" BMW 3-series E30 1984-1994
65" BMW Mini 2001+
55" BMC/MG-Rover Mini 1959-2000
39" Tango
You can see that BMW has wider cars as the price (and luxury factor) increases. Also over the years they have grown around the waist (ready for a mid-life crisis?)
There is a strong temptation to add width because it is an easy way to add interior space, and does help handling in some ways, but you increase wind drag, cause more steering needed in a slalom, and you compromise "parkability".
The Roadster is already in BMW 7-series width territory.
If Whitestar is wider than 72" I will be disappointed.
(Personally I hope they make it closer to 70" wide, but then you would have trouble doing 3 across seating in the rear)
As you can also see above, each new generation of Hummer gets more narrow.
GM has been learning that the behemoth footprint is just too impractical.
In Tokyo, parking can be at such a premium, and wide spaces are few and far between.
They tax a wide car more, so you find a lot of narrow sedans coming from Japan.
For instance, there are many compact sports sedans that are all < 70" wide.
For those in the SF bay area, take note of the fact that two Hummers (or Lamborghini Diablos) can't really drive side by side down Alma in Palo Alto...