Cars We Drive!

[faustian bargain]

any early adopters?

http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php?js_enabled=1

250 miles per charge, 0-60 in 4s, body design by lotus.

 

[VMan]

Originally Posted by faustian bargain

any early adopters? http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php?js_enabled=1 250 miles per charge, 0-60 in 4s, body design by lotus.
Wow, incredible. I know the website does not list a price, but any idea as to the general ballpark? Somewhere in the 6-figure range most likely. Edit: I read on another site the first cars will be introduced in the $80K-$120K range.

 

[faustian bargain]

Originally Posted by VersaceMan

Wow, incredible. I know the website does not list a price, but any idea as to the general ballpark? Somewhere in the 6-figure range most likely.

Edit: I read on another site the first cars will be introduced in the $80K-$120K range.

yeah, starting price around 80k. in a year or two they're supposed to come out with a sedan.

 

[VMan]

Originally Posted by faustian bargain

yeah, starting price around 80k. in a year or two they're supposed to come out with a sedan.

This is good news - I can't wait to see what the future has in store for cars such as these.

 

[briancl]

Originally Posted by VersaceMan

This is good news - I can't wait to see what the future has in store for cars such as these.

These are Lithium Ion. The same battery technology that powers laptops. I've had many laptops, and used them for work related travel, so I use them off AC often on planes. The batteries last forever, but they don't retain their charge like new after about 6 months. Then its a steady downhill process until about 3 or so years later when you can barely get 30-40% of the original charge on your battery. If you daily drive your car plug-in car, I can't imagine that you'll get close to 250 miles per charge within 1 year.

Plus, its really easy to manage a battery in a laptop. If you want to "refresh" it, you just run it until its dead.. use it unplugged, then plug it in and let it charge until full. Cars need to be ready immediately and batteries won't be able to be managed quite so well. I just can't see these cars being economical. Think about the resale.. yikes.

 

[faustian bargain]

Originally Posted by briancl

I just can't see these cars being economical. Think about the resale.. yikes.
i can't imagine the early adopters are in it for the resale value. (although as a collector's item, the first year model might be worth something.) according to the wired article, the founder of the company is strategically piggybacking on the battery technology development of the laptop/portables industry. so, as lithium batteries improve, so will these cars. who knows.

 

[Brian SD]

From what I've read, the range you want to keep your Li Ion batteries charged to is about 60-80% of its max charge. This keeps its life longer and more consistent. Constantly running it from 100 to 0 is actually not beneficial to the battery's life. So I imagine that averaging normal behavior and that people will probably re-charge it long before it gets to 0%, the battery life will be a bit closer to max than the average cell phone or laptop usage.

 

[faustian bargain]

Originally Posted by Brian SD

From what I've read, the range you want to keep your Li Ion batteries charged to is about 60-80% of its max charge. This keeps its life longer and more consistent. Constantly running it from 100 to 0 is actually not beneficial to the battery's life. So I imagine that averaging normal behavior and that people will probably re-charge it long before it gets to 0%, the battery life will be a bit closer to max than the average cell phone or laptop usage.

...which would make it ideal for commuters, especially those with plug-ins at the office.

 

[LabelKing]

Imagine the tedium involved to fix those electronic devices 30 years after.

I suppose it would be like an abused Citroen DS coupled with a broken down Mercedes 600.

 

[faustian bargain]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Imagine the tedium involved to fix those electronic devices 30 years after. I suppose it would be like an abused Citroen DS coupled with a broken down Mercedes 600.
or anything with computer-controlled fuel injectors, not to mention all the fancy stuff in the dash these days. but think of it this way: the only moving part in the engine is the rotor.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by faustian bargain

or anything with computer-controlled fuel injectors, not to mention all the fancy stuff in the dash these days.

but think of it this way: the only moving part in the engine is the rotor.
The unfortunate factor of things these days is that they are designed with materials that fuel consumerism. In that they start to degrade and fail within a few years so I doubt most items will have a lifespan of 30 years.

 

[faustian bargain]

in the post-apocalyptic nuclear winter, steam engines will be all the rage. also vinyl LPs.

 

[Aureus]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Imagine the tedium involved to fix those electronic devices 30 years after.

Imagine the tedium involved to fix those electronic devices found in a Honda civic 30 years from now..... It makes one shudder in horror. IE, it doesn't matter what the car is, the electronics will have gone to hell and it won't be worth salvaging. Today a 30 year old Mercedes is a Classic. in 2036 a 30 year old Mercedes is going to be an electric death trap.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by Aureus

Imagine the tedium involved to fix those electronic devices found in a Honda civic 30 years from now..... It makes one shudder in horror. IE, it doesn't matter what the car is, the electronics will have gone to hell and it won't be worth salvaging. Today a 30 year old Mercedes is a Classic. in 2036 a 30 year old Mercedes is going to be an electric death trap.
There will be very few future classics.

 

[Aristocrat]

Porsche 928 -87(Just mine)
Bentley Continental GT -05(Me and family)
Mercedes CLS500 -06(-"-)