Got to drive a Tesla model S

[Scott Colmer]

That was fun! A whole new type of fast.

[Joe Handley]

Oh you lucky man!  I would love to at least ride in one!

[Chuck Most]

Did you get to mess around with the key as well? 

[Scott Colmer]

I never even saw the key. I guess the friend who owned the car had it. It looks pretty cool in the pic.

It takes some getting used to not knowing that the car is actually running. You don't even have to shut it off. You can just step out of the car and it turns itself off. 

[High octane]

GROAN, another one of those newfangled cars??? I'd be lookin' for a '69 Charger before lookin' at a Tesla.

[Rodent]

GROAN, another one of those newfangled cars??? I'd be lookin' for a '69 Charger before lookin' at a Tesla.

Honestly, I swear that half of the people on this forum must have 12:00 flashing on their Betamaxes. 

I like my 2016 car and its newfangled features. And my 2014 car and its newfangled features.

My 68 Mustang was awesome and I miss it. In reality, I couldn't reach the parking brake with my shoulder belt on. The Mazda turns on the wipers when the windshield gets wet.

[High octane]

Honestly, I swear that half of the people on this forum must have 12:00 flashing on their Betamaxes. 

I like my 2016 car and its newfangled features. And my 2014 car and its newfangled features.

My 68 Mustang was awesome and I miss it. In reality, I couldn't reach the parking brake with my shoulder belt on. The Mazda turns on the wipers when the windshield gets wet.

We Have 2012 and 2016 vehicles and while they're very nice, I honestly can do without a lot of those gizmos that come with them.

[Tom Geiger]

Tesla's are a game changer!  Suddenly there is a sedan that is faster than most supercars!  The well to do side of my family has three of them.  I have driven them, amazing fast off the line!  At first I thought they were super expensive, only because I live in my own little world and didn't realize how many cars and SUVs are near that in price!

As far as new cars and all their gadgets go... I recently had a rental car in Jacksonville, Florida the week after the hurricane.  I got to the Budget counter and the guy immediately tries to upsell me to a Chevy Tahoe.  After explaining to him that my contract with my client only pays for the lowliest rent-a-car, he turns around and gives me the Tahoe anyway. Turned out the hurricane caused a car shortage and that's all he had.  Some nerve trying to upsell me to the only car they had!   Anyway, I cursed that Tahoe thing all week.  They give you a car full of gizmos and no owners manual.  It had the memory seating, and I swear the last person who rented it was Stretch Armstrong.  Every time I started it,  the drivers seat headed towards the back of the car and I couldn't reach the pedals. Since I had no idea how to control it, I had to reset the seat every time, all week long!  What a pain.

 

[Scott Colmer]

We have been wanting an electric car since gas hit 4.50 a gallon. Yes, it went back down, but who knows when the oil prices will drive it up again. We have the solar panels. We are still paying them off, but our power expense is still cheaper than it was before. They will be paid off in a few years and then all we will see is the 6.00 power bill we have. That's running a pool pump and the AC. Not to mention that we are putting less pollution into the sky. 

When I finally have the time, I plan on making this long time project into an electric car as well. 1,500 lbs, 300 hp, amazing torque, still shifts, low CG. Gonna be fun. If I miss the sound of sequentially exploding fuel I can always rig up a sound system to the throttle and pipe it outside. Still a hot rod, simple mechanics, lots of fun, just a bit different.

Hosted on Fotki

Here is rotary powered original from my high school days.

Hosted on Fotki

Here is the stalled model. Note the flares. Still rotary powered at that point.

Hosted on Fotki

Scott

[Chuck Most]

Honestly, I swear that half of the people on this forum must have 12:00 flashing on their Betamaxes. 

Betamax? I'm thinking a good 2/3 of this group never made the jump to Super 8. 

Edited November 27, 2016 by Chuck Most

[Twokidsnosleep]

Saw a beautiful one myself today at Home Depot.....darn thing is so quiet nearly ran us over

i love what Tesla has done for electric vehicles in status and form just to give it to the oil companies and big three who have quashed electric vehicle development. Now if Tesla is smart, they would take the stupid autopilot out of the car so it stops killing people....or they are in for a company destroying law suit some day

Edited November 28, 2016 by Twokidsnosleep

[Rob Hall]

Tesla's are a game changer!  Suddenly there is a sedan that is faster than most supercars!  The well to do side of my family has three of them.  I have driven them, amazing fast off the line!  At first I thought they were super expensive, only because I live in my own little world and didn't realize how many cars and SUVs are near that in price!

As far as new cars and all their gadgets go... I recently had a rental car in Jacksonville, Florida the week after the hurricane.  I got to the Budget counter and the guy immediately tries to upsell me to a Chevy Tahoe.  After explaining to him that my contract with my client only pays for the lowliest rent-a-car, he turns around and gives me the Tahoe anyway. Turned out the hurricane caused a car shortage and that's all he had.  Some nerve trying to upsell me to the only car they had!   Anyway, I cursed that Tahoe thing all week.  They give you a car full of gizmos and no owners manual.  It had the memory seating, and I swear the last person who rented it was Stretch Armstrong.  Every time I started it,  the drivers seat headed towards the back of the car and I couldn't reach the pedals. Since I had no idea how to control it, I had to reset the seat every time, all week long!  What a pain.

 

I've had a few Tahoes and Yukons as rentals, I like them quite a bit..had no problems w/ the seat adjustment... thinking a 4WD Tahoe might be the ideal replacement for my old Jeep, especially if I get a boat in Ohio like I'm thinking about doing next year.  

 

As far as Teslas go, I've ridden in a Model S a couple of times..one of the execs at my current client has one, rode in it to lunch a couple times..very quick and smooth..love the styling.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Rob Hall

[peteski]

Saw a beautiful one myself today at Home Depot.....darn thing is so quiet nearly ran us over

 

Well, the government crafted a solution, just for people like you.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/16/13651106/electric-car-noise-nhtsa-rule-blind-pedestrian-safety

[Ace-Garageguy]

Betamax? I'm thinking a good 2/3 of this group never made the jump to Super 8. 

Never miss a chance to take a shot at old guys.   

Of course, a lot of the younger ones would be SOL if they lived on a planet where the general populace was expected to be able to get somewhere without talking GPS, write a coherent sentence, perform simple arithmetic, or make change from a dollar.   

[Tom Geiger]

Well, the government crafted a solution, just for people like you.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/16/13651106/electric-car-noise-nhtsa-rule-blind-pedestrian-safety

Tesla owners forced to put baseball card in their wheel spokes!  Details at 11!  

Never miss a chance to take a shot at old guys.   

Come on Bill!  We know you have an 8-track somewhere!    

[iamsuperdan]

The problem I have with Tesla, and other electric cars, is that they haven't figured out how to give maximum range in all weather conditions. I'm in Edmonton, we routinely hit minus 20 degrees celcius throughout the winter, and quite often hit minus 30 and sometimes minus 40. Battery life goes to about 1/5 of what it does in normal warm weather. I've leased out a Tesla, and my client returned it early, totally unhappy with the winter performance, trading for an Audi S7. All the car, significantly less money, and no range issues if it gets chilly outside.

And for those who argue that cold won't affect it that much, go fully charge your iPad or cellphone. Now turn it off and put it in your freezer overnight. How's the battery life?

[Chuck Most]

Never miss a chance to take a shot at old guys.   

Of course, a lot of the younger ones would be SOL if they lived on a planet where the general populace was expected to be able to get somewhere without talking GPS, write a coherent sentence, perform simple arithmetic, or make change from a dollar.   

Is 34 considered old? Because I can do all of that stuff. Well, except for getting somewhere because REAL MEN DON'T ASK FOR DIRECTIONS!!!!!