Now if I just had the $70K...

brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,055
edited July 2013 in A Moving Train
...I'd be driving one of these. It look like a winner but well out of my price range. Any takers?

http://news.yahoo.com/consumer-reports- ... 22843.html

DETROIT (Reuters) - Consumer Reports magazine awarded a near-perfect score to Tesla Motors Co's Model S, citing the electric car's power, "pinpoint" handling and quiet, well-crafted interior.

The score of 99 out of 100 puts the Model S far ahead of other electric and gas-powered rivals, including the Porsche Panamera sports car and the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid.

"Slipping behind the wheel of the Tesla Model S is like crossing into a promising zero-emissions future," the highly influential magazine said in its review on Thursday. "It's what Marty McFly might have brought back in place of his DeLorean in 'Back to the Future'."

Consumer Reports last gave a near-perfect score six years ago to the Lexus LS 460L luxury sedan made by Toyota Motor Corp, according to the magazine, which has more than 8 million subscribers.

The positive review comes on the heels of Tesla reporting its first quarterly profit in its 10-year history. Chief Executive Elon Musk is attempting to reach a broader group of buyers with the Model S electric sedan.

Consumer Reports said a Model S equipped with an 85 kilowatt hour battery was able to get 200 miles between electric charges. Range varied between 180 miles on cold winter days to about 225 miles in more moderate temperatures.

The main drawbacks of the Model S include its limited range when compared to conventional gas-powered cars. The car also takes 12 hours to charge on a 240-volt electric-car charger.

"When it's left unplugged, we noted a parasitic loss of energy that amounts to 12 to 15 miles of range per day," the magazine said. "That could be a concern if, say, the car is parked at an airport for an extended period. Tesla has promised a fix for that."

The Model S starts at around $70,000 with a 60 kilowatt hour battery before a federal tax credit. A sedan equipped with a larger, 85 kilowatt hour battery starts around $80,000. Consumer Reports recommended buying the sedan with the larger battery.
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













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Comments

  • BentleyspopBentleyspop Posts: 10,770
    I love the Model S

    One of the owners of Tesla lives here (Boulder, CO) and I have seen them since before they were available to the general public and it's an awesome car.

    Yes, like all electric cars, it has its drawbacks. But it looks awesome and is a smooth mover.

    I'm out and about every day here in town and rarely does a day go by that i don't see at least one Model S and sometimes 4 or 5 a day.

    I love it and would definitely own one if I had a need for it.
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,055
    I love the Model S

    One of the owners of Tesla lives here (Boulder, CO) and I have seen them since before they were available to the general public and it's an awesome car.

    Yes, like all electric cars, it has its drawbacks. But it looks awesome and is a smooth mover.

    I'm out and about every day here in town and rarely does a day go by that i don't see at least one Model S and sometimes 4 or 5 a day.

    I love it and would definitely own one if I had a need for it.

    4 or 5 a day? Wow! Only in Boulder. Well, and maybe Palo Alto. :lol:

    I'd love to check one out. Hmmm- maybe a test drive some time. :D
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    electric is the way to go ... considering the range they are getting and the supercharger ... it's definitely the future ... except the car companies (much like many other industries) are gonna have to figure out a business model that doesn't rely on the car breaking down ... ;)
  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,138
    The crappy thing is that if you can afford it, you are probably not worried about gas prices.

    They need to start cranking these out at $20K.
  • BentleyspopBentleyspop Posts: 10,770
    brianlux wrote:
    I love the Model S

    One of the owners of Tesla lives here (Boulder, CO) and I have seen them since before they were available to the general public and it's an awesome car.

    Yes, like all electric cars, it has its drawbacks. But it looks awesome and is a smooth mover.

    I'm out and about every day here in town and rarely does a day go by that i don't see at least one Model S and sometimes 4 or 5 a day.

    I love it and would definitely own one if I had a need for it.

    4 or 5 a day? Wow! Only in Boulder. Well, and maybe Palo Alto. :lol:

    I'd love to check one out. Hmmm- maybe a test drive some time. :D

    Yes definitely only in Boulder, Palo Alto, and probably Austin as well

    However, I did see one in my dads tiny little fishing village on the Florida Panhandle.
  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    Jason P wrote:
    The crappy thing is that if you can afford it, you are probably not worried about gas prices.

    They need to start cranking these out at $20K.
    Yup. And reduce the charging time (with related cost).
  • lukin2006lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
    electric cars too expensive ...

    and with a shrinking middle class these cars will be for the wealthy and will be a fringe item.
    I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin

    "Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
  • lukin2006lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
    I also don't much about the bodies of these electric cars ... are they stainless steal? rust proof? because if not, here in Ontario with the amount of salt that gets tossed on our roads during the winters the bodies will eventually get rusty...hard to avoid here.
    I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin

    "Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    lukin2006 wrote:
    I also don't much about the bodies of these electric cars ... are they stainless steal? rust proof? because if not, here in Ontario with the amount of salt that gets tossed on our roads during the winters the bodies will eventually get rusty...hard to avoid here.

    they are the same ... the only difference is they use an electric motor vs. a gas motor ... which also means you don't need the maintenance on them ... no spark plugs, no oil filters, no oil changes ... etc.. in fact, the tesla's are annual maintenance optional ...

    for sure - the tesla's are more expensive ... but the reality is that it's not that far off ...
  • g under pg under p Posts: 18,196
    brianlux wrote:
    ...I'd be driving one of these. It look like a winner but well out of my price range. Any takers?

    http://news.yahoo.com/consumer-reports- ... 22843.html

    DETROIT (Reuters) - Consumer Reports magazine awarded a near-perfect score to Tesla Motors Co's Model S, citing the electric car's power, "pinpoint" handling and quiet, well-crafted interior.

    The score of 99 out of 100 puts the Model S far ahead of other electric and gas-powered rivals, including the Porsche Panamera sports car and the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid.

    "Slipping behind the wheel of the Tesla Model S is like crossing into a promising zero-emissions future," the highly influential magazine said in its review on Thursday. "It's what Marty McFly might have brought back in place of his DeLorean in 'Back to the Future'."

    Consumer Reports last gave a near-perfect score six years ago to the Lexus LS 460L luxury sedan made by Toyota Motor Corp, according to the magazine, which has more than 8 million subscribers.

    The positive review comes on the heels of Tesla reporting its first quarterly profit in its 10-year history. Chief Executive Elon Musk is attempting to reach a broader group of buyers with the Model S electric sedan.

    Consumer Reports said a Model S equipped with an 85 kilowatt hour battery was able to get 200 miles between electric charges. Range varied between 180 miles on cold winter days to about 225 miles in more moderate temperatures.

    The main drawbacks of the Model S include its limited range when compared to conventional gas-powered cars. The car also takes 12 hours to charge on a 240-volt electric-car charger.

    "When it's left unplugged, we noted a parasitic loss of energy that amounts to 12 to 15 miles of range per day," the magazine said. "That could be a concern if, say, the car is parked at an airport for an extended period. Tesla has promised a fix for that."

    The Model S starts at around $70,000 with a 60 kilowatt hour battery before a federal tax credit. A sedan equipped with a larger, 85 kilowatt hour battery starts around $80,000. Consumer Reports recommended buying the sedan with the larger battery.


    Brian, absolutely I'd get one of these if I could. I was leaving a restaurant in Palm Beach and saw this car, it was so unusual (Palm Beach is known for their exotic expensive cars) and i had find out what car this was. It was the Model S, I went home and google it. Loved the car but even if I was ready to buy I would wait two years for it to be even more fined tuned. It's not for long long distance driving but you'll look damn good driving around town while helping to save the planet.

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    Sweet looking car and it's electric! However, if I ever had that kind of money, a car is not what I'd buy. I'd start completing my bucket list.
  • g under pg under p Posts: 18,196
    Jeanwah wrote:
    Sweet looking car and it's electric! However, if I ever had that kind of money, a car is not what I'd buy. I'd start completing my bucket list.

    I wonder if this car was named after the inventor Nikola Tesla?

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,055
    hedonist wrote:
    Jason P wrote:
    The crappy thing is that if you can afford it, you are probably not worried about gas prices.

    They need to start cranking these out at $20K.
    Yup. And reduce the charging time (with related cost).

    I'm guessing it's like anything new- once they start cranking them out in bigger numbers the price will come down and the technology will improve. Sort of like the first CD players- very expensive and not-so-great features.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • mookeywrenchmookeywrench Posts: 5,903
    Jason P wrote:
    The crappy thing is that if you can afford it, you are probably not worried about gas prices.

    They need to start cranking these out at $20K.

    That's their goal.

    My bet is that Elon Musk will be an iconic household name right along within the decade
    350x700px-LL-d2f49cb4_vinyl-needle-scu-e1356666258495.jpeg
  • 8181 Posts: 58,276
    local mall has a tesla store with a fully assembled car and one that shows the frame/suspension/motors. it's a pretty cool looking under the skin.

    but if i was spending 70K on a car, i'd be getting a Z06
    81 is now off the air

    Off_Air.jpg
  • mookeywrenchmookeywrench Posts: 5,903
    You also get a $7,500 tax credit with the car.
    350x700px-LL-d2f49cb4_vinyl-needle-scu-e1356666258495.jpeg
  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    You also get a $7,500 tax credit with the car.
    Ah, but who pays for that credit? Me, Ms. Taxpayer, who can't afford to spend 70K on a car ;)
  • pjl44pjl44 Posts: 9,475
    g under p wrote:
    Jeanwah wrote:
    Sweet looking car and it's electric! However, if I ever had that kind of money, a car is not what I'd buy. I'd start completing my bucket list.

    I wonder if this car was named after the inventor Nikola Tesla?

    Peace

    Nah...probably the band.

    250px-Tesla_at_the_Chance_cropped.jpg
  • mookeywrenchmookeywrench Posts: 5,903
    hedonist wrote:
    You also get a $7,500 tax credit with the car.
    Ah, but who pays for that credit? Me, Ms. Taxpayer, who can't afford to spend 70K on a car ;)

    You and about 122 million other tax paying entities (all of which who are entitled to the credit) over the course of ten years which comes out to a whopping 62 cents per year carrying the assumption that everyone is paying an equal tax bracket and ignoring corporate taxes.
    350x700px-LL-d2f49cb4_vinyl-needle-scu-e1356666258495.jpeg
  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    hedonist wrote:
    Ah, but who pays for that credit? Me, Ms. Taxpayer, who can't afford to spend 70K on a car ;)

    you're paying that money one way or another in corporate welfare to big auto and the oil companies ... they just don't make it so obvious ...

    plus driving an electric car is in many ways a societal benefit ...
  • g under pg under p Posts: 18,196
    pjl44 wrote:
    g under p wrote:
    Jeanwah wrote:
    Sweet looking car and it's electric! However, if I ever had that kind of money, a car is not what I'd buy. I'd start completing my bucket list.

    I wonder if this car was named after the inventor Nikola Tesla?

    Peace

    Nah...probably the band.

    250px-Tesla_at_the_Chance_cropped.jpg
    The hard rock band got its start in Sacramento, California in the early eighties. The original name of the band was Earth Shaker, then City Kidd. They changed their name to Tesla after one of their managers lent them Man Out of Time, a book about inventor Nikola Tesla, the overlooked electricity and radio pioneer. In 1990 the band tried to convince the Smithsonian Institute to accept and display a bust of their namesake, but the Smithsonain declined the offer.

    http://www.examiner.com/article/tesla-w ... -come-from

    It all comes back to my man Nikola Tesla yeah the Smithsonain always preferred Thomas Edison.

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • pjl44pjl44 Posts: 9,475
    g under p wrote:
    The hard rock band got its start in Sacramento, California in the early eighties. The original name of the band was Earth Shaker, then City Kidd. They changed their name to Tesla after one of their managers lent them Man Out of Time, a book about inventor Nikola Tesla, the overlooked electricity and radio pioneer. In 1990 the band tried to convince the Smithsonian Institute to accept and display a bust of their namesake, but the Smithsonain declined the offer.

    http://www.examiner.com/article/tesla-w ... -come-from

    It all comes back to my man Nikola Tesla yeah the Smithsonain always preferred Thomas Edison.

    Peace

    Edison's Medicine

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2zwBRa0YhA
  • ldent42ldent42 Posts: 7,859
    How would you charge it though? If it needs 12 hours to charge they'd need to open dedicated garages just with charging stations for these things, no? In cities, I mean, where people don't have garages with electricity attached to their home.
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  • mookeywrenchmookeywrench Posts: 5,903
    duska3419 wrote:
    How would you charge it though? If it needs 12 hours to charge they'd need to open dedicated garages just with charging stations for these things, no? In cities, I mean, where people don't have garages with electricity attached to their home.

    Outside of dedicated garages. In Seattle we have parking spaces that a solely for electric cars that come with charging stations. There are also tax incentives for businesses to have charging stations in their parking lots.
    350x700px-LL-d2f49cb4_vinyl-needle-scu-e1356666258495.jpeg
  • ldent42ldent42 Posts: 7,859
    duska3419 wrote:
    How would you charge it though? If it needs 12 hours to charge they'd need to open dedicated garages just with charging stations for these things, no? In cities, I mean, where people don't have garages with electricity attached to their home.

    Outside of dedicated garages. In Seattle we have parking spaces that a solely for electric cars that come with charging stations. There are also tax incentives for businesses to have charging stations in their parking lots.

    I dont know anything about seattle, so i can't really compare. But i'm trying to imagine how this would work where i live. If there were a parking lot that had special spaces for these cars to charge... then someone who owned one would have to drive it there and leave it there and then either get a cab or the train home? otherwise there would have be a ton of those garages around. plus you'd have to pay to park the car there?

    I really really really wanna like the Tesla, I'm just struggling with the practicality of it.
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  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,138
    The GOP in North Carolina has blocked Tesla from selling cars in that state.

    :crazy:

    :fp:

    The state Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday night that would block Tesla's plan for selling its cars directly to consumers — forcing it to either steer clear of the entire state or use a franchised auto dealer like all other automakers.


    The Republican-sponsored bill, which has the backing of the North Carolina Auto Dealers Association, mirrors fights in several other states by dealers who worry about the precedent set by Tesla — even though Tesla's own projected output of 20,000 vehicles a year is a rounding error on the 15 million new vehicles sold by U.S. dealers annually. Dealers in New York and Massachusetts have gone to court in attempts to block Tesla; in Texas, the automaker has been pushing its own bill that would loosen restrictions which limit its sales pitches to phone conversations.


    http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/auto-dealers-push-law-blocking-tesla-sales-north-194223800.html
  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,138
    Professions I despise.

    1) Meter Maids
    2) Car Dealers
    3) Politicians
    4) Traffic Cops
    5) Lobbyists
  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    tesla just introduced battery swapping at charging stations ... 93 seconds to swap out ... costs about the same as a fill up if you want the convenience every now and then ...

    also to reiterate ... tesla's model s received a 99 out of a 100 in consumer reports ... also, they just guaranteed resale value for the car at the same level of the highest resale value of luxury sedans ... used to be benchmarked to mercedes but now they will benchmark to the car rated highest ...
  • BentleyspopBentleyspop Posts: 10,770
    Wish I had bought some Tesla stock when that CR review came out. As of this morning the stock is up almost $50 since then

    Elon Musk is a smart businessman so need to keep an eye on whatever he does

    On another note I was out this past Sunday for a 4 hr 70+ mile bike ride and in the first hour I saw 3 Tesla S in 3 different colors and later on 2 different Tesla Roadsters. But the real highlight of the day was seeing 2 different Shelby Cobras out on the road!!
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