<VV> I want an electric sports car -Tesla Motors Roadster!!!
(Convert your vair to electric with the drive train)
Eric S. Eberhard
flash at vicsmba.com
Thu Sep 14 13:47:59 EDT 2006
This may come as a surprise to you all, but Tesla Motors is my
brother's company, and most of our family are founding investors. So
I am not biased. Here is my take on the car:
Most auto technology starts with expensive cars and moves down to
more pedestrian cars as the cost of the new technology is
recovered. However, in the past, electric cars have been the
opposite. They have tried to build "eco" cars and economy sedans
first. They are way too expensive to actually be an economy car, and
to keep costs down they are poor performers in terms of range and
traditional performance measurements.
The idea of the Tesla roadster is to fund new electric car technology
by starting with a more expensive car. In the future there will be
sedans and coupes with much more reasonable prices for the average
person, as the technology filters down.
The car stands on it's own two feet as a sports car -- no matter the
power train. It goes 0-60 in under 4 seconds. But that is actually
a deceiving number. When a car magazine tests say a Porsche Turbo
(3.6 seconds 0-60 these days) they make many "runs." This is to
determine the best amount of wheel spin/clutch slip/rev/etc at launch
and to determine best shift tactics. When all is said and done they
pick the best number. Of course, all of this is done with
professional drivers. Gasoline cars also perform differently and
different altitude and temperature. Several of the magazine "adjust"
their times for these factors. The Tesla Roadster is much different
(I have driven several including my brother's first prototype). Just
plant your foot and hang on!!! It will duplicate it's 0-60 time each
and every time. The computer handles the launch, and there is no
shift point. The altitude and temp. make no difference (perhaps to
tire stickiness?). In the real world my grandmother in a Tesla
Roadster would beat a supposedly faster Vette or Porsche 999 out of
1000 times. The feeling of torque is stunning -- like a roller
coaster almost. It has 100% of it's torque at zero rpm (idle :-) ).
The chassis has strong ties to the Lotus Elan. There are major
differences to handle different weight and weight distribution, as
well as changes to improve the passenger compartment. The Elan is
one of the world's best handling cars, this car may be better. So
although some of the skill required for obtaining great 0-60 times,
with the power this car has, handling at the limit should take
considerable skill and be a joy (I have not been allowed to test this
as crashing one of the prototypes would not be good).
Braking is stunning. Because of the rear engine the weight transfer
to the front during braking is minimized, and it stops
instantly. That is why Corvairs stop so well for a 60's car with drum brakes.
It also has all the toys expected in a high end sports car such as
nav system, blue tooth, iPod dock to go with the awesome stereo,
climate control, leather, convertible hard top, etc.
So someone considering a Vette or Porsche or Viper could at least
consider the Tesla on it's performance and luxury merits alone. As a
bonus, in jaded California it will remain a bit unique for a
while. The icing on the cake is that it is electric. In California
this often make it one of the fastest real life cars -- it can run in
the commuter lanes with only the driver :-) !!! In rush hour it'll
beat any other "super car." And people get to feel good about being green.
It is also very cheap to operate -- about 2 cents per mile for
"fuel." It has no oil changes or other drivetrain maintenance
issues. There is even a hookup for solar systems so that the car can
be powered by solar and also feed power back in to the home.
The technology is actually rather stunning. It uses laptop
batteries. It will easily go 250 miles. My brother routinely drives
from Palo Alto (Bay Area) to SLO (Central CA, San Luis Obispo),
charges the car over night on standard home circuit, and then drives
to LA the next morning. It uses sophisticated software to accomplish
a lot of what it does, including regenerative braking that works
behind the scenes (e.g. the driver just drives the car like any other
car, the electronics manage the regeneration). The transmission
(which you shift at 65 or so, if you want to bother) uses electronics
to match the motor and shaft speeds, avoiding heavy synchros and
clutches and so forth.
If you choose you can just leave it in 2nd gear all the time -- 0-60
is reduced to something just under 6 seconds which is generally sufficient.
I should point out that there are a lot of "cottage" or "niche" auto
builders, some that even make electric cars quicker than this
one. But, this is no cottage builder. This is a real car with
real-world driveability. They have already sold the first 100 cars,
and it won't even be available for another 9 months or so. After
they add the sedan (with a factory being built in the USA) they
intend to become a "real" car company. My brother dreams big, and he
is thinking "Ford", not "Caterham" or "DeLorean" as his model.
Anyone interested in meeting my brother or seeing/driving prototypes
or whatever, drop me a line. I MIGHT be able to arrange it (he is
very busy and the prototypes are often unavailable).
I have had the vague idea of taking his drive train and dropping it
in to an early convertible. It will easily fit, and the drive train
weighs 200 lbs or so, easy to support. Because it uses laptop
batteries, I can then scatter them about to get good weight
distribution. Sort of a modern interpretation of the
electro-vair. I am probably too lazy to actually do it, but it is a
pleasant thought. Anyone that wants to try, let me know, I can
help! I'll probably end up with a real Tesla Roadster instead.
Eric
At 05:52 AM 9/14/2006, you wrote:
>Yeah, I was this on Top gear, I think. It's pretty good looking. And
>fast. I would have one. I have to say that I like quite a bit.
>
>As for my previous statement that most electrics are ugly, I stand by
>it. I should have prefaced that by saying that I think most car
>companies are making crap looking cars and have been for years. The
>current 'vette is less offensive than it has been in the past, but
>that's about it. The rest of chevy's endeavors are awful. Ford's are
>twice as ugly. The only Chrylsers I've seen in recent years that i
>liked are the sebring convertible (pre-2000) and the PT cruiser,
>although I think they screwed up the front grill and bumper with the
>last design changes.
>
>One, two, three... flames wars begin!!!
>
>-Cash
>
>
>On Sep 13, 2006, at 4:52 PM, Sethracer at aol.com wrote:
>
>>
>>In a message dated 9/13/2006 8:18:19 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
>>corvair at fnader.com writes:
>>
>>The majority of folks currently driving hybrids WANT the attention
>>and
>>are drawn to the "different" look of the cars.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>If this is the different look - It's okay by me! The Tesla
>>roadster. - WOW!
>>_http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/20/tesla-roadster-unveiling-in-
>>santa-monica/_
>>
>>(http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/20/tesla-roadster-unveiling-in-
>>santa-monica/)
>>
>>- Seth
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Eric S. Eberhard
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My little brother Martin has started a very serious car company. A
hot rod (very fast) electric roadster is the first offering. The
chassis is built by Lotus to their specs. Check it
out: http://www.teslamotors.com
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