Tesla...What does R3V think.

[CurrusDei]

We are literally watching the beginning of the death of our hobby.

I think it will be a long time in the US before drivers are banned on roads - as in not in my lifetime... at least outside of the People's Republic of California.

I like what Jay Leno said about electric cars - that he thinks they will free IC cars in the same way that IC cars freed the horse.

When IC cars took over, horses could be kept purely for enjoyment and hobby use instead of being beaten around urban streets and used as tools until they died.

I like to think that in the future people will keep IC cars just for pleasure drives, kindof like the old guy in a 57 Chevy today. On top of that, all the crappy or purely utilitiarian IC cars (Camary, I'm looking at you) will probably be recycled over time into better electric cars, leaving only the good IC cars that are actually good to drive that people keep for fun. You dont see many crappy cars left from the 50s, right? All the more reason to hold on to your E30s gentlemen.

[nando]

We are literally watching the beginning of the death of our hobby. Once cars can sufficiently drive themselves, it is only a matter of time before the driver is phased out of the equation.

/tinfoilhattime

Anyway, I'm excited. I have said this before, but from a performance standpoint, internal combustion can't hold a candle to high discharge rate batteries and brushless motor technologies. One look at the RC world makes this obvious. Nitro RC cars don't stand a snowballs chance in hell when put up against a modern electric. Even run time has gotten ridiculously long for batteries. Me and a friend constantly laugh about the sad fact that we always break our trucks before the batteries have a chance to run low.

Make a safe lithium polymer battery and it's lights out for IC. Maybe stable is a better word. Regardless, it needs to not violently erupt into a ball of fire when shorted, overheated, overcharged, or drained too low then recharged.

agreed that it's inevitable. Why do you think BMW is scrambling to compete with Tesla? I bet in 2 generations, the M3 won't even have a gas engine.

I think driverless cars are a bigger threat to our hobby than electric though. If anything, electric performance cars will be a good thing.

[Garage30]

I don't dislike Tesla that much, I dislike the people that drive them. At least the ones in europe. Douchebags that think they are better then you because they are saving the earth. Meanwhile coal power plants are running to charge these batteries with wheels. Comparative I.c cars actually pollute less co2/km. Not even taking into account the environmental disaster that is making the batteries, and higher particulate matter (brake dust) from slowing down these land yachts.

[jpod999]

I think it's seriously ugly. The Model S design language doesn't transfer to the smaller chassis IMO.

[varg]

I had a fit of severe nausea when I saw this god-awful dash.


As if the big Tesla's touchscreen wasn't bad enough, this looks like the interior team forgot to put gauges and interface in the car, penned in a giant ipad, and called it good. Touchscreens are a disaster for automotive interface. They provide zero haptic feedback and require more attention to use than knobs and buttons. They also get smudged up and look crappy from regular use and must be cleaned daily to not look like hell. I really hope this is just a short-lived fad, because it's an eyesore and it's awful.

I see teslas regularly in the wealthy areas of palm beach county, they're nice but I'm not a fan of the styling. From what I've seen of this new one, it's pretty ugly on the outside too. The nose looks like an afterthought.

[mrsleeve]

^
I drives it self why do you need to pay attention to to the road or anything but the big ugly touch screen with your twitter feed constantly updating . Its minimalist and modern just what all non hipster 20 somethings want.

I think it will be a long time in the US before drivers are banned on roads - as in not in my lifetime... at least outside of the People's Republic of California.

I like what Jay Leno said about electric cars - that he thinks they will free IC cars in the same way that IC cars freed the horse.

When IC cars took over, horses could be kept purely for enjoyment and hobby use instead of being beaten around urban streets and used as tools until they died.

I like to think that in the future people will keep IC cars just for pleasure drives, kindof like the old guy in a 57 Chevy today. On top of that, all the crappy or purely utilitiarian IC cars (Camary, I'm looking at you) will probably be recycled over time into better electric cars, leaving only the good IC cars that are actually good to drive that people keep for fun. You dont see many crappy cars left from the 50s, right? All the more reason to hold on to your E30s gentlemen.

While that is a good analogy, Look at the cost of having horses, they are not a hobby for the the man of modest means in many cases. Trust me I know my wife has been riding horses longer than she has been able to walk....... I think like horses now it will be very very very costly to keep a IC ride in just road fees and taxes let alone fuel and up keep. I think most "average" type people will be pushed out due to these costs (you know global warming an all) ...

Lets not even talk about what kind of infrastructure upgrades its going to take in this country to support a 100m electric cars.

Let me know when you can charge you batteries in 2-5 mins on nearly any street corner or in the middle of godforsaken nowhere UT @ 2am and be on your marry way, then we have something that is a real competitor to IC. The auto pilot car thing really scares me, lets give people even more incentives to NOT pay attention to whats going on around them.....

Tesla = Apple of the automotive world, lots of hype, and results of superior marketing. When Siri fucks up and gives you the wrong goggle search results, or voice dials your Mom's cell when your trying to call your neighbor Ron, or locks up for a min when the app crashes thats not really that big a deal. Rolling along at 70+mph is a little more serious when the electronic wizardry fucks up

[varg]

^
I drives it self why do you need to pay attention to to the road or anything but the big ugly touch screen with your twitter feed constantly updating . Its minimalist and modern just what all non hipster 20 somethings want.

I'm 20-something, not a hipster, and I don't even have a twitter account. Self driving cars are a nightmare to me and I don't consider a gigantic touchscreen and other gadget bloat "minimalist". Sad that I'm in the minority.

Here's hoping someone's self driving car goes haywire and causes lots of damage, then a resulting enormous lawsuit suit scares companies away from making them anymore due to liability.

[mrsleeve]

Well remember what happened to toyota with the runaways with floor mats caught under the go pedal, or was it the drive by wire throttles..... Hum people could not shut them off of shift to N (so it was reported).......

[nando]

They blamed it on the floor mats but it was most likely a software bug. There's this huge PDF floating around of the whole story from the guy who was brought in as an expert to check their code. They did their best to cover it up and blame it on other factors (like the floor mats or owners).

basically, fuck Toyota!

FWIW, all cars these days are E-throttle. What you probably didn't know is the Germans got together years ago and came up with a standard E-throttle control scheme so they could share bug testing and safety features to avoid problems like Toyota.

[Fsnow]

Fuck prius, fuck toyota.
While electrics are getting better I can't see myself ever buying one. I like things that have tiny explosions , a smell , a sound, a soul. . Even nitro rc is more fun to me no matter how much better electric gets.
And cars that drive themselves? I think that's a terrible idea all around. I enjoy driving far too much to promote that.

[CurrusDei]

I had a fit of severe nausea when I saw this god-awful dash.

I can't believe that interior is complete. With 2 years to production I'm really hoping they add gauges, etc.

[flyboyx]

Fuck prius, fuck toyota.
While electrics are getting better I can't see myself ever buying one. I like things that have tiny explosions , a smell , a sound, a soul. . Even nitro rc is more fun to me no matter how much better electric gets.
And cars that drive themselves? I think that's a terrible idea all around. I enjoy driving far too much to promote that.

your first sentence above echo's my sentiments from earlier in the thread.

i do have to agree with others who say that in our lifetime, there will come a day when the only car available will be an electric car. and yes, i do foresee that one day all cars will drive autonomously. i can see this eliminating traffic jams during rush hour in major cities.

perhaps there will be a highway or a few lanes for autonomous vehicles running along at 5pm doing 80mph and one for cars with gas pedals full of grid lock.

[N2MYE30]

Out in the wild! I think the lines are excellent!

[GasBuggy]

When I drove one I was hoping to like the Tesla but it didn't do anything for me. And the back seat is terrible. I'm 5'9" and my knees were way up in the air because the floor is so high (batteries under your feet). Uncomfortable. The headliner was the same material Cadillac was using 10 years ago in the CTS.

[rturbo 930]

The headliner was the same material Cadillac was using 10 years ago in the CTS.

Leg room is a valid point, but who really cares if they're using "outdated" headliner material? Exactly how much time do you spend looking at the headliner?