WhiteStar styling ideas

[TEG]

But, I suspect Tesla is going for more European elegance and less Japanese "boy racer" style...

 

[Kevin Harney]

There has to be a third row seat in there guys.... Elon said it holds five adults and 2 kids. I am sure it is a small rumble seat type thing .... but you need an opening to get into it.

 

[doug]

There has to be a third row seat in there guys.... Elon said it holds five adults and 2 kids. I am sure it is a small rumble seat type thing .... but you need an opening to get into it.

I'm sure that third row is just a couple rear facing kid seats, just like in the old station wagons. You get to it though the hatchback.

At least the kids shouldn't have to worry about this one:

WARNING!
The exhaust pipe will still be hot when the engine is turned off. Take care
that children do not burn themselves when they get into or out of the car.

 

[graham]

Seats like this definitely bring back memories of childhood!

I wonder how significantly the range will drop with 5 adults and two kids in the car.

 

[graham]

Sigh... Sci-Fi's Dvice just picked up the Road and Track photoshop. Although they are reporting it as fact. Lame.

I wonder how many other sites are going to think the R&T picture is real?

DVICE: First Peek: Tesla Model S, the all-electric 4-door sedan

 

[TEG]

It keeps getting copied, modified, cropped, and shrunk...

R&T:

The "Tesla Model S" label is missing from the "dvice.com" version.

Ubergizmo has a tiny "u" in the lower right:

Engadget:

Notice the differences in the streaks in the sky where the label was removed.

 

[graham]

They Photoshopped the Photoshop!?

 

[dpeilow]

Looks like it was "Ubergizmo" that did the photoshopping.

Tesla Sedan

 

[graham]

Yes, and it looks like Ubergizmo did not understand that the R&T was a mock-up either. So I guess Dvice is slightly off the hook. They were reporting from an unreliable source.

 

[TEG]

R&T article says "Photo Illustration by Larson".

'Larson' has done other photo illustrations that take some creative liberties ("guesswork") compared to the actual vehicle:

Larson GT-R:

Real GT-R:

(very close - although those intakes under the headlights are missing)

 

[TEG]

Larson Mercedes-Benz SLC:

Other renderings/opinions of what the SLC might look like:

(as you can see sometimes the illustrations are very speculative)

 

[TEG]

2010 Lexus-Prius rendering:

Old guess:

Actual 2010 Prius:

 

[TEG]

More "might look a bit like this" ideas:
Mazda6

E-Class:

 

[Kevin Harney]

Now my Roadster Screen Saver can be replaced by Model S What little I have of it

 

[Dragonfly]

What about a restyled, 4 door version of the Kabura?

 

[TEG]

More comparisons:

Saturn Aura:

Civic Si:

 

[TEG]

 

[TEG]

I wonder how much time "Model S" has spent in the wind tunnel to reduce drag coefficient...

Sometimes what looks good to the eye, isn't always the best shape for the wind.

Article on car aerodynamics

 

[graham]

I wonder how much time "Model S" has spent in the wind tunnel to reduce drag coefficient...

I don't know how long it has spent in the wind tunnel specifically, but I do know that aerodynamics were very much of concern with the design. I talked with Tesla employees over the summer specifically about trying to design the Model S, trying to decide whether to weight Aerodynamics (and therefore range) with the looks.

I do not know which factor won -- but it was at least being seriously considered.

 

[TEG]

Another thing about this photo:

Along with the concern that the tail-lights are too flush with the bumper (easy to crack in a low speed accident?), doesn't it seem like the license plate isn't recessed deep enough? Regulations call for lights to illuminate the plate at night. Is there really enough depth for something to shine onto the plate?