Tesla

[billanole]

My post is more about trickle charging while you are not driving. On most work days, I use my car for about 1 to 2 hours. The rest of the day, it could charge. For that matter, most of my days driving are well under 100 miles, and even during traffic delays, well within the "time frame" that EVs are now capable of providing for.
Granted, our work vehicles run up to 12 hours in a 24 hour period, so EV at this time is not appropriate.

 

[PortaJohn]

I’ve got a deposit down on Tesla but might re-think after finding the ‘19 Porsche EV

http://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/14496/porsche-mission-e-may-upset-tesla-model-s-sales

 

[billanole]

I’ve got a deposit down on Tesla but might re-think after finding the ‘19 Porsche EV

http://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/14496/porsche-mission-e-may-upset-tesla-model-s-sales

Sweet. Either one looks like fun.

 

[BelemNole]

My daily commute isn't 300 miles. On the weekend I might drive that much in a day. I read that the actual range that you'd get - especially if you drive like I do - is closer to 200 miles for a P85. And if I have to constantly keep it plugged in, or stop to charge it mid trip, isn't that a big negative?

My current ride has a range of about 325 miles per tank. Difference is when I get low on gas, it takes about 2 minutes to fill it up.

I don't understand. Drive to work, drive home. Plug in. Repeat. Drive other car on long trips if worried about having to stop and power up.
They're everywhere out here.

 

[NDallasRuss]

I don't understand. Drive to work, drive home. Plug in. Repeat. Drive other car on long trips if worried about having to stop and power up.
They're everywhere out here.

Maybe I'm over complicating it. Just seems like a big hassle. Hopefully the range keeps increasing though, because I like the thought of moving to an electric car.

 

[FSU_UCLA]

I have two hybrids that have an all-electric mode of operation. My commute is 10 miles, all stop and go, and takes about an hour. My girlfriend’s is 9 miles and takes about 75 minutes. Both of us use the all-electric mode for almost the entirety of the drive, and because of the way that regenerative braking and inertial charging through the torque converter works, we usually end up with the battery near 100% at the end of the commute. Both of our parking garages also have ample charging stations, which makes range anxiety not a concern.

 

[GwinnettNole]

I have two hybrids that have an all-electric mode of operation. My commute is 10 miles, all stop and go, and takes about an hour. My girlfriend’s is 9 miles and takes about 75 minutes. Both of us use the all-electric mode for almost the entirety of the drive, and because of the way that regenerative braking and inertial charging through the torque converter works, we usually end up with the battery near 100% at the end of the commute. Both of our parking garages also have ample charging stations, which makes range anxiety not a concern.

I didn't realize you still post here.

 

[ericram]

I have two hybrids that have an all-electric mode of operation. My commute is 10 miles, all stop and go, and takes about an hour. My girlfriend’s is 9 miles and takes about 75 minutes. Both of us use the all-electric mode for almost the entirety of the drive, and because of the way that regenerative braking and inertial charging through the torque converter works, we usually end up with the battery near 100% at the end of the commute. Both of our parking garages also have ample charging stations, which makes range anxiety not a concern.

Wherever you live sucks.

 

[CobNole]

So the range is absolutely getting better. The model 3 goes 310 miles. The record on a single charge is almost 600 miles. There have been a few at the auctions I've been going to lately. I'll probably end up with one. Probably the best used car you could ever buy given the lack of moving parts.

 

[Nolomite]

Wherever you live sucks.

By definition

 

[funksouljon]

My first car had a Wankel engine. Put out a lot of horsepower for an engine its size.

Boom, perhaps you can get another one.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mazda-famous-rotary-engines-could-225626166.html

 

[RangerNole]

Very interesting car and once the price point comes more in line with my budget I would consider it; as well as a model that fits my lifestyle and some improvement in power capability. Interesting fact for me is I travel to Augusta several times a year and one of the hotels I stay at has about 10 Tesla charging stations in the parking lot. I don't know the number of Teslas in Augusta this model of putting charging stations in hotels and either having the hotel charge for power or Tesla pay a fee and work out some deal sounds pretty smart. The big thing I want Musk to work on for my personal benefit is the batteries for solar charging. I almost pulled the lever on solar for my house a little while back; but since I could not get off the grid completely decided to wait. As I understand it he just built a plant for making batteries and is not that far off.

 

[funksouljon]

............. Interesting fact for me is I travel to Augusta several times a year and one of the hotels I stay at has about 10 Tesla charging stations in the parking lot. I don't know the number of Teslas in Augusta this model of putting charging stations in hotels and either having the hotel charge for power or Tesla pay a fee and work out some deal sounds pretty smart. ........

I did read an article a while ago about people having debates on pay vs free for charging stations in public areas. It seems Tesla had expenses to cover to install charging stations, which would impact their bottom line. Imagine if Ford had to build all the gas stations across the country. They would have taken forever to break even but now Tesla would own its customers if they sell you the car, they control your car with updates and your ability to "fill up".

 

[DanC78]

Very interesting car and once the price point comes more in line with my budget I would consider it; as well as a model that fits my lifestyle and some improvement in power capability. Interesting fact for me is I travel to Augusta several times a year and one of the hotels I stay at has about 10 Tesla charging stations in the parking lot. I don't know the number of Teslas in Augusta this model of putting charging stations in hotels and either having the hotel charge for power or Tesla pay a fee and work out some deal sounds pretty smart. The big thing I want Musk to work on for my personal benefit is the batteries for solar charging. I almost pulled the lever on solar for my house a little while back; but since I could not get off the grid completely decided to wait. As I understand it he just built a plant for making batteries and is not that far off.

He is not that far off at all from what I have read.

He has a roof tile that is a solar panel. Cosmetically it looked great and the durability was supposed to be there as well.

The commercial said it power the entire house and that you would not have to be on the grid.

 

[funksouljon]

He is not that far off at all from what I have read.

He has a roof tile that is a solar panel. Cosmetically it looked great and the durability was supposed to be there as well.

The commercial said it power the entire house and that you would not have to be on the grid.

I need to do our house in the next couple of years. I have been looking at the Tesla tiles as an option. Hope they make jumps forward before then because it is pretty close in making sense. They bill the tiles as MORE durable; we do get a couple of legit hail storms every year.

 

[DanC78]

Tesla Solar Roof Tiles:

https://www.tesla.com/solarroof

 

[seminole97]

I was interested in the Tesla tiles as well. I had to reshingle a section of my roof (the garage is offset from the house an neighbors tree fell on it within two mineths of moving in). Won't be long before I'm doing the rest and I was curious about them as an option, especially if I can pay for 1/3 via federal tax credit.

Obviously Tesla sales materials aren't the only thing to reference:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/christ...wont-save-teslas-solar-business/#1952b92f6171

https://www.extremetech.com/electronics/253567-tesla-solar-roofs-cost

I'm optimistic about the tech longer term. I want it. I want a solar array, a battery wall, and generator.

 

[Bartdog]

Tesla is nice but the Rimac Concept One makes me drool.

 

[Nolomite]

Boom, perhaps you can get another one.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mazda-famous-rotary-engines-could-225626166.html

I test-drove the last generation of RX7, which had their most advanced rotary engin - 2 rotors displaced 1.3 liters (if memory serves, it was over 20 years ago). It was rated for 255 hp, and apparently it had all of that available immediately, tap the gas as the thing took off like a bullet. The car was also pretty light and stopped just as fast, something the salesman was happy about when I punched it going into a dead end.

Mazda had trouble selling these cars, but the engine was badsass. When the silly RX8 came out after an 8-year hiatus from rotary engines, Mazda didn't bother working up a new engine, the one from the RX7 powered the RX8.

 

[F4Gary]

Wankel engines have rotor seal problems and have a hard time with emissions and mpg.

 

[QuaZ2002]

I have two hybrids that have an all-electric mode of operation. My commute is 10 miles, all stop and go, and takes about an hour. My girlfriend’s is 9 miles and takes about 75 minutes. Both of us use the all-electric mode for almost the entirety of the drive, and because of the way that regenerative braking and inertial charging through the torque converter works, we usually end up with the battery near 100% at the end of the commute. Both of our parking garages also have ample charging stations, which makes range anxiety not a concern.

9 miles in 75 min is unfathomable to me.

 

[seminole97]

9 miles in 75 min is unfathomable to me.

I'd expect self driving cars to help commuters gain a lot of time compared to meatbags when they reach the point of being networked and operating in sync.

40k dead and 4 million injured a year just in this country is a lot of room for improvement. I look forward to not even owning a car, but just having a vehicle membership and summoning a ride akin to Uber.

 

[Nolomite]

Wankel engines have rotor seal problems and have a hard time with emissions and mpg.

If you walked through the corridors of JD Power when they were still in Agoura Hills, you would have seen dozens of newspaper clips about the tech failure of the original RXs in the early 70's, RX2 & RX3 among them. They were really proud they helped take down "Mazda's Revolutionary Engine" (Mazda's pun, not mine). The surprisingly low gas mileage made those entry-level cars not worth saving when the "reliability" turned into "liability" (my pun). The RX7 was cool enough and performance-oriented enough that people still wanted them, though they didn't last very long compared to Toyotas or Hondas. They got their act together in the 80s, but their rotary engine cars are for brand image, not for corporate finances.


Seminole97 seems to be gravitating toward the Johnny Cab model - I always thought the driver looked a lot like David Letterman

 

[seminole97]

Seminole97 seems to be gravitating toward the Johnny Cab model - I always thought the driver looked a lot like David Letterman

These will be operating profitably in cities soon.

Sitting in the tire store and saw something on their screen about battery cranking power at low temp.
I knew Iowa would have different problems:

Link

"Over the month of January I decided to study the impact sub-zero weather conditions had on the battery range of my Tesla Model S and found it to be diminished by roughly 40%"

 

[RangerNole]

He is not that far off at all from what I have read.

He has a roof tile that is a solar panel. Cosmetically it looked great and the durability was supposed to be there as well.

The commercial said it power the entire house and that you would not have to be on the grid.

My understanding is the power issue is solved; it is the storage issue. Supposedly the batteries to store the power are very expensive and if you don't have sun for several days or something like that you need to pull power off the grid.

 

[BelemNole]

9 miles in 75 min is unfathomable to me.

Don't move to a big city.

 

[Nolomite]

These will be operating profitably in cities soon.

Once the financial industry figures out insurance and liability assignation procedures...that is a big-money industry, they are not going to roll over and "take the hit". Clever people are going to be very creative in assigning blame to driverless vehicles, for property damage and personal injury to start, but all sorts of BS things over time.

 

[ericram]

If you walked through the corridors of JD Power when they were still in Agoura Hills, you would have seen dozens of newspaper clips about the tech failure of the original RXs in the early 70's, RX2 & RX3 among them. They were really proud they helped take down "Mazda's Revolutionary Engine" (Mazda's pun, not mine). The surprisingly low gas mileage made those entry-level cars not worth saving when the "reliability" turned into "liability" (my pun). The RX7 was cool enough and performance-oriented enough that people still wanted them, though they didn't last very long compared to Toyotas or Hondas. They got their act together in the 80s, but their rotary engine cars are for brand image, not for corporate finances.


Seminole97 seems to be gravitating toward the Johnny Cab model - I always thought the driver looked a lot like David Letterman

One idea that is proposed is a fleet of driverless cars that will be constantly moving around the city. Fewer people will own cars and you just hail a vehicle and go to your destination then it moves on the nexr pick up. The idea of owning a car would go away. I kind of like this view of the future.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

Wherever you live sucks.

Where he lives probably does not suck.
What probably does suck is the availability and adoption of public transportation where he lives.

 

[ericram]

Where he lives probably does not suck.
What probably does suck is the availability and adoption of public transportation where he lives.

I don't know exactly, but to spend that much of his life going no where ruins his quality of life. So therefore where he lives sucks.

 

[funksouljon]

My understanding is the power issue is solved; it is the storage issue. Supposedly the batteries to store the power are very expensive and if you don't have sun for several days or something like that you need to pull power off the grid.

Yep, I was reading the details on their page and the batteries are not really included in the "it costs the same as a regular roof" blanket statement. Nor does it account for a homeowner who wants to stay on the grid and supply juice back in if the home has a surplus (net metering). Gotta believe that cost is notable to have an electrician and permits to install the appropriate meters. That said there are reates and tax credits as well.

 

[seminole97]

Once the financial industry figures out insurance and liability assignation procedures...that is a big-money industry, they are not going to roll over and "take the hit". Clever people are going to be very creative in assigning blame to driverless vehicles, for property damage and personal injury to start, but all sorts of BS things over time.

If these things significantly reduce accidents like I suspect they will, there will be a much smaller pool of incidents and injuries to rectify... for the people.

 

[RTM58]

You guys have missed the very best part: starts at 2:20


HINT: Watching old peoples heads explode

 

[RangerNole]

If these things significantly reduce accidents like I suspect they will, there will be a much smaller pool of incidents and injuries to rectify... for the people.

Which sounds like there will be a lot less lawyers; which can only improve society.

 

[Nole Lou]

What is the major drawback of the Volt model? To me, that always made a ton of sense. Even with just a 50 mile electric range, I could easily be on electric 95% of the time. But it's really hard for me to give up the ability to gas up if I need to.

My ultimate goal would be to get to a lifestyle that much reduced the need for a car anyway. I have some jealousy of people in big urban cities that literally don't need a car.

I know there's been some moves in this direction, but to me I'd love to have a simple way to rent a vehicle for road trips. I do like to drive places, I like the idea of someday you'll be able to plan a trip, book a hotel, and painlessly book a vehicle. The night before or the morning of, the vehicle is dropped in your driveway, and they pick it up when you're back. Renting cars is a pain in the ass...getting to the rental place, waiting in line, filling out forms, sometimes waiting for a vehicle. When reserving a car is as easy as booking a hotel room or AirBnB, that will get interesting.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

Which sounds like there will be a lot less lawyers; which can only improve society.

I think the point being made is will the legal and insurance industries go slowly into the night as their cash cows of auto insurance and collision lawsuits gradually disappears?

They'll find a way to keep extorting money out of us, likely by lobbying for regulations to keep us paying them.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

Good read on the inflection point on car ownership -- basically if you drive less than 10k miles/year, you're likely better off not owning a car at all (depending on the market you live in)

https://www.citylab.com/transportat...-year-you-probably-shouldnt-own-a-car/542988/

 

[Bartdog]

... when they reach the point of being networked and operating in sync. ...

.

I don't know if anyone else expanded on this but I was daydreaming the other day and I think this could be a very cool thing.

Imagine you're "driving" a longish distance down i10 say from Jax to Pcola and your car is doing all the work and at they same time it's talking to all the other cars. It tells them where it's going and they tell it where they're going. They elect a leader and "hook up" and form an impromptu auto train right there on the highway. They conserve <s>fuel</s> power and optimize speed, etc through constant communication. They know the <s>fuel</s> power level of each car and hopefully everyone is doing the responsible thing and fueling. You could have several cars involved, some going farther than others, which would just drop off at their stop.

just something I was playing with in my head. don't know how feasible any of that is. Maybe they just talk to each other and keep a safe distance.

 

[F4Gary]

I don't know if anyone else expanded on this but I was daydreaming the other day and I think this could be a very cool thing.

Imagine you're "driving" a longish distance down i10 say from Jax to Pcola and your car is doing all the work and at they same time it's talking to all the other cars. It tells them where it's going and they tell it where they're going. They elect a leader and "hook up" and form an impromptu auto train right there on the highway. They conserve <s>fuel</s> power and optimize speed, etc through constant communication. They know the <s>fuel</s> power level of each car and hopefully everyone is doing the responsible thing and fueling. You could have several cars involved, some going farther than others, which would just drop off at their stop.

just something I was playing with in my head. don't know how feasible any of that is. Maybe they just talk to each other and keep a safe distance.

Just so long as they get in the right lane so I can pass them, I'm fine with it.

 

[Bartdog]

Just so long as they get in the right lane so I can pass them, I'm fine with it.

Naw, they would have their own special express lane.

edit: because they'd potentially be going faster than regular traffic.