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Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 5:32 pm
by NP317
Yesterday and last night I got to ride in my Sister's new Tesla 3.
First thing she said: This is a computer that is programmed to feel like a car!
How very true. Really an impressive machine. Excellent human interface, from various sources.
~RN

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 6:20 pm
by John Hasler
It'll be even more fun after it gets hacked.

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 6:33 pm
by warmstrong1955
We don't see Tesla's, or other electrics around here. I guess grandma could use one to go to the grocery store, and to get her hair done, but for most folks, not enough range, and whatcha gonna haul in one? Where's the Tesla pickup anyway? When I do go clear to Reno, I fill the pickup.
Want to go to Home Depot? That's a short 125 miles, one way.
Don't have what you want, and need to hit a Lowes? Backtrack that 125 miles, and drive west another 125 miles.
Plan on hitting Home Depot and Lowes? plan 165+ miles one way.

They have their place, but until they solve the energy storage problem, much of Nevada ain't one of 'em.
Never buy a prototype, and at this point, that's what they are.

Bill

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 4:29 am
by thomaskremers
I have a Chevy Bolt, not the volt, and at 215 a month it is the best car I've ever had with a range of almost 250. Go try one out....if you dare

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:55 am
by John Hasler
Most people live in large cities. I suspect that Tesla can concede the rural Nevada market and still do very well.

I live in rural northern Wisconsin. There are 20 public charging stations within 50 miles of me according to the DoE.

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 4:20 pm
by liveaboard
250 mile range; that would work for me 95% of the time.

I drive about 6,000 miles a year; too few to pay for one. And what about the other 5%?

I do believe the era of fossil fuels will end, and the day may come when we simply don't have a car standing around that is capable of taking us to the other end of whatever continent is holding us up, whenever we're in the mood.

What a wretched world.

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:37 pm
by John Hasler
liveaboard writes:
> And what about the other 5%?

You stop for lunch and a recharge.

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:06 am
by liveaboard
Then a few hours later, stop for lunch again.
If I took one of my transcontinental 1,500 mile drives, I'd arrive a few pounds heavier.
In reality I've stopped doing that anyway, and fly.
Airlines pay a pittance for the fuel they use, and no road tolls.
I can't pack 300lbs of tools though.

Yes, you could take long trips with an electric car, but you'd have to stop every 4 hours or so to recharge; and it takes considerable time to recharge.
This changes the nature of the journey so much that in reality it will rarely be done, at least with the technology we're looking at today.

Like I said, it may be that we have to sacrifice the practical capability to make really long trips.

Even the 250 mile range would barely get me to the airport and back. If I would drive up to the capitol [which I sometimes do] I'd need a charge to get home.

If I was going to buy a new car, I'd be looking at these in more detail. Particularly the battery life and replacement cost.
I tend to keep vehicles until they're 20 or 30 years old. New cars are generally sold to customers who plan to keep them for 5 to 6 years.

New car! That's not going to happen.

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 6:44 am
by tornitore45
For the rare long trip there are options, like rental.
My wife wanted a 7 passenger SUV "for when the children come" ... once a year. We have a second car so is no problem going anywhere with the grand-kids.

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 7:43 am
by John Hasler
liveaboard writes:
> Yes, you could take long trips with an electric car, but you'd have to stop every 4 hours or so to recharge;
> and it takes considerable time to recharge.

30 minutes at a public service station with high current DC chargers from dead to full charge. 4 hours is plugged into a single-phase outlet at home. Note that you can recharge from any outlet: you just need a cable. The charger is in the car.

Even without radical new battery technology I will be quite surprised if that 30 minutes is not down to less than 10 and the range up to over 300 miles within 10 years.

> If I was going to buy a new car, I'd be looking at these in more detail. Particularly the battery life and replacement cost.
> I tend to keep vehicles until they're 20 or 30 years old.

Likewise.

> New car! That's not going to happen.

I've never owned a new car. probably never will. If I ever do it won't be a Tesla because of the hacking risk I mentioned upthread.

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 6:00 pm
by liveaboard
I was in a Tesla taxi in Amsterdam a couple of years ago; I interrogated the the driver about technical issues on the way to the airport, and he told me a different story about charge times.
The cars charge full overnight, 10 hours or something.
They take them to the Tesla dealer for fast charging at lunch time; they get them 80% charged in a something under an hour.
Even with 15 Tesla taxis, the company couldn't afford to buy a "supercharger" to do the fast charge at their own shop. The charge stations on the street in Amsterdam and at highway rest stops were not, at that time, "superchargers".

Maybe it's all different now.

Re: Tesla cars

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 6:21 pm
by tornitore45
The charger is in the car.
I did not know that. So the connection is AC and the charging time depends on the cable size and the AC receptacle on the wall capability?

Basically the size of the extension cord set the charge time. Of course you must have the proper service.