What is Digg?43 Comments
- inactive, on 08/05/2008, -0/+23I think he could have been a totally jerk about it after being ousted at CEO, but this is a fair review and a lot of insight. I'm still in love with that car.
- inactive, on 08/05/2008, -2/+21Great car, but I don't think I'd like having my stereo running on Microsoft either... unless they put a Ctl+Alt+Del button next to the tuner.
- snowhite7185, on 08/05/2008, -0/+15I certainly wouldn't mind having that little number in my driveway. Nice that Eberhard chose not to be snarky...way to take the high road and still give some love to the Roadster.
- dtd00d, on 08/06/2008, -0/+14But... but... it's Windows Mojave!
- Radan, on 08/05/2008, -0/+10Sounds pretty much as I thought it would; great want-to-have car, but with a bunch of minor annoyance, especially concerning the cockpit. I just hope they fix the flaws with the European model.
Nice to actually read about someone who has actually used the car though. - inactive, on 08/06/2008, -0/+6An expensive two seater car with limited range is an oddity??? You've pretty much written off the entire luxury sports car industry. One that has made obscene amounts of money and stretches back a century. Your supposedly serious objective critisism is completely wrong on all counts. Let me rewrite your post:
"I want a car that fits within MY budget that I can use to drive across country selling double glazing, yet my wife can occasionally drive the kids to school with."
I'm sure they will one day make boring 'practical' saloon cars for people like yourself, but don't take the fun out of life for the rest of us!
Phillip. - YojimboJango, on 08/06/2008, -0/+6What people want is not what people really use.
The average Joe driver does not drive over 150 miles in a day, and only uses one of his 4 seats. For the average driver this car is fine, unfortunately it's the first real all electric option on the market and it's price reflects that.
Give it a few more model revisions for the design flaws to work their way out and the price to come down and you'll probably have something the middle class will accept. Right now it's built like a sports car and appeals to rich sports car drivers. Let them eat the major dev costs. - cjacks9, on 08/05/2008, -1/+6Quick, insightful, to the point. Good stuff. As someone said above, it's good to get a review from someone actually using such things/vehicles/methods and are believable.
- bousquetcm, on 08/06/2008, -0/+5"plenty of cons" ???? There were onyl 4 or 5 cons based on potholes (which suck for any sports car), change holder, and the size of the rear view mirror. Oh and the M$ Nav system.... If these are the biggest cons, sign me up!!!
- Jektal, on 08/06/2008, -1/+6Electric fire? Batteries?
- LoudMusic, on 08/06/2008, -0/+4If those are all the negatives he's got, it's an awesome car.
Lack of cockpit storage - Uh, roadster?
Lack of quality stereo - Uh, roadster? Besides, most sports car owners swap out for aftermarket anyway.
Rigid suspension - Uh, roadster? Again, often swapped out for aftermarket. Even in high end Porsches, Ferraris, etc.
Visibility - Usually sucks in sports cars, but not out the front. This one is serious - they need to put a better mirror on the windshield.
The one that gets me is the "pro" about mileage. 125 miles proven, assumes 155 miles. Granted he was driving it somewhat aggressively, but that's not impressive. I was expecting more like 180 - 190 during aggressive driving, and more like 250 during casual driving. - Taiyoryu, on 08/06/2008, -0/+4I think your math is off
2008 Porsche 911 GT2 with all options = $265,330 (edmunds.com, there is no 2009 model)
15,000 miles for 3 years at 23 mpg highway = 1957 gallons of gas so...
1957 gallons at $3.855 national average with 1.057 premium markup = $7974 (gasbuddy.com)
Now if you went with a Porsche 911 Carrera ($73,500 MSRP) with no options then yes, your statement would be correct. - grneye53, on 08/06/2008, -1/+5I only have one question,what happens when we all plug in ? look California has how many brown outs when the temperature changes a few degrees !
- Origin415, on 08/05/2008, -0/+3Its good that the founder has things he hates about it, it means it probably won't happen again.
- Nerdable, on 08/06/2008, -1/+4of all the paint schemes he picked THAT?
- RUFFyamahaRYDER, on 08/06/2008, -0/+3Yes, it has A/C. And would you "race" a Lambo that far? No... Let's "race" a Prius Vs Soccer mom van. OH WOW! The Prius with less horsepower wins... whoody doo...
- edebolt, on 08/06/2008, -3/+6You could still buy a flawless 2009 Porsche 911 with all the extras and have enough money leftover to buy gasoline for 3 years.
- e4digg, on 08/06/2008, -0/+2Electric cars are definitely purpose built. Take the roadster for example: this car was developed to break the stereotype that electric cars are slow, unattractive, and boring. This car is certainly fast, pretty and looks to be pretty fun.
That being said, if a few minor adjustments were made on the vehicle it would be very easy to increase it's overall range. The Tesla has a 3-phase 4 pole ac induction motor that has to be running in excess of 300 or 400 volts. I wasn't able to find the tech specs but I bet it uses a decent amount of current at these voltages. If all else were equal and the Tesla put in a smaller motor, the range would very quickly pass over the 200 mile mark.
It also uses a 2 speed transmission. This is fine for an electric car, but if this car was designed with range in mind (rather than acceleration and speed) the gearing could be adjusted to use fewer amps thus increasing the distance the car would travel.
I am building an electric car of my own. I'm converting a 1994 Tercel to be an all electric vehicle. I am building this with the intention of having a vehicle to take me to and from work, and to get my errands done around town. The top speed of the car will be about 55mph (the highest posted speed limit between work and home) and will have a range near 50 miles per charge (enough to drive back and forth 2.5 times). The entire project should come in under $7,000. You can take a look at the project at http://www.ZeroGasoline.com
I mention this only to try and prove that ALL vehicles are purpose built. An F-150 was made to haul heavy loads, a Caravan was made to carry people, the Metro was made as a commuter car, and the Roadster was made to be opinion shattering and fun. - Iceduck, on 08/06/2008, -1/+3I'm sure there are PLENTY of people who'll gladly pay $100k for a Tesla. There is definitely a market for it.
- johnomaz, on 08/06/2008, -0/+2I would own one, and definitely drive it, but he said he got 125 miles out of it and could push for another 25. Thats 150 miles per charge. I live in the CA valley and if I wanted to go to Fry's Electronics in Sacramento (which is the closest one) or just to Sacramento for whatever, will I make it home. How would I recharge it. This car to me feels like a niche car. Its for someone who doesn't leave city limits much and has access to a power outlet regularly. If they could somehow get traditional gas stations to put in some from of a rapid charge station that in 20 mins, your electric car is fully charged, then maybe. Stretching your legs for 20 mins isn't bad, but also increase its range. 200+ miles would, to me, make a 20 minute recharge stop worth it. As long as the gas station or whatever doesn't charge $50 or something ridiculous to recharge.
- davewashere, on 08/06/2008, -0/+2Overall this seems like a very positive review. The only major flaw was the rear suspension, with all the other negatives being minor design problems that could easily be fixed by Tesla in next year's model or even by the owner himself with a few custom mods.
- Taiyoryu, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1With any plug-in hybrid/full electric vehicle, the expectation is that you plug-in during non-peak hours (typically overnight) when rates are cheapest.
- ironeus, on 08/05/2008, -1/+2The cons don't sound too bad except for the "system-vegematic thingy"
- Codename, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1Next Knight Rider?
- Spytap, on 08/06/2008, -1/+2Do you frequently "race" LA to NY? Dude...just take a plane.
- truck87bp, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1GM take note...Go Open source for all of your cars.
- robfrye, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1Until I read up in the comments, I thought this was some new meme I hadn't encountered yet, like "I for one welcome...." or "***** you, two of my friends..."
- p3ngwin, on 08/06/2008, -2/+3Apparently, the "JVC radio-CD player-nav system-vegematic thingy" SUCKS, "The thing runs some Microsoft operating system (really!), and it behaves just like you might expect. Or more like a Mac-righteous Apple fan might expect it to behave." Changing stations is hard, the driving directions are bad, etc.
oh man, the thing sucks and he generalizes it as "some microsoft ...."
you know you suck as a company when customers don't even need to specify WHICH of your product sucks! - inactive, on 09/01/2008, -0/+1Telsa need 2 step they game up and get linux
- Taiyoryu, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1which is exactly what the majority of drivers do
- edebolt, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1a 911 Carrera with 20,000 of options and 10,000 in gas is 100K. Right now even less than that because Porsche is having trouble selling cars with the economy the way it is.
- Vagari, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1But how often do you drive that much? On a day-to-day basis the average person does not drive over 150 miles.
- ChayD, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1Had at look at one of these at the motor show, really lovely cars - but the price! WTF?!?
Thing is that at the cheap end of the electric car market (like $16000 ish), they all look like ugly plastic bugs,
so basically, ya pays yer money and ya gets yer choice. - edebolt, on 08/07/2008, -0/+1you puss why would you assume a GT2.
- floorman56, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1Gumball rally
- Spelvin, on 08/06/2008, -2/+2the pics make it look like it has the build quality and attention to detail of a Kia.
Why were wires not routed cleanly and neatly, and is that a can of Fix a Flat? Again at the price I would hope for some type of road side assistance.
it is still cool though. - elephantwaylon, on 08/05/2008, -5/+2I'm with Snowhite on both counts.
- inactive, on 08/06/2008, -8/+1More blather about a car that's little better than vaporware. Few have ever been made, and the price is so ridiculous that they might as well not have been.
How many breathless stories do we need about electric cars that cost $100,000? What a pitiful waste. - floorman56, on 08/06/2008, -10/+2Does it have AC? Why do you need a fire bottle in a electric car?
The Roadster can take trips ... Cool lets race from L.A to NY ....I'll take a soccer mom van lets see who get there first $100,000 Sports car Vs Soccer mom van we all know who will win. .... Right?
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