This past week a stranger came to my small mountain town.
On my refuse collection rounds I spotted something interesting at the Truckee PUD free public charger. A Model S Tesla was parked and recharging its batteries. My First impression was that the S is a sharp looking car, even in a ho-hum color such as silver.
Later that day upon reflection I realized was the 1st time in my four years working in Truckee that I have seen this charger being used by any EV. The Sierra Nevada Mountains act as a large barrier, with scarce charging infrastructure once you start the 7000ft climb east from Sacramento. Given the real world range limitations of lesser EVs they can’t bridge the infrastructure gap of 50 miles and 4800ft of elevation gain from Colfax to Truckee in ideal weather. In winter when daytime highs are typically in the 20s to 30s fuggedaboutit.
The Model S heralds a new era in that it’s the first EV you could conceivably take on a trip out of town. EVs are slowly starting to grow beyond their blue state urban commuter niche.
I must be in the heart of “blue state urban commuter niche,” (Marin to SF commute) as I see the Model S almost daily (sometimes twice!). Didn’t take long for the hot-new-thing to become just another face in the crowd, though I’d still love to have one!
I spend a lot of time in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Atherton. I generally see one or two per day, although it’s hard to guess how many are accounted for as test drives from the Menlo Park dealership.
I don’t find the styling unattractive, but it doesn’t knock me over ever. Seems pretty much like every other car out there – nothing particularly distinctive about it. If I didn’t know what it was and you showed it to me, I’d guess Lexus. And that’s not a compliment. I’m disappointed and annoyed that they felt compelled to include an enormous faux grille on the nose. Seems even the electric car market can’t cope with form following function.
I’m seeing one every 2 days or so. Berkeley and Oakland EcoSnobs have less income and will probably be a bit slower to ditch their Priuii and W123 biodiesel Benzes.
Although I’ve seen a HUGE uptick in the number of Volts in my neighborhood. Is there a incentive push right now on those?
I’m not familiar with the powertrain of the Type S, but most electric cars and plug in hybrids use liquid cooled electronics. These systems have water pumps, radiators and cooling fans, so that grill may be functional rather than faux.
It’s not a grille. It’s a big black oval chunk of plastic where a grille would normally go.
Fascinating–I had no idea these were already becoming so popular. These were still at least a year away the last time I was in the US, and the auto mags at the time seemed skeptical the launch would even go off at all.
I love the idea of these, especially the ‘ultimate boxer engine’ effect of the floor-mounted battery pack lowering the centre of gravity. And the instant torque punch in the few electrics I’ve driven has been great fun.
If they could just simulate a three-pedal gearbox for the 2% of us still interested in such things, I’d be happy to leave internal combustion to the classics today.
Does anyone else find it ironic that the owner of a $60,000 Tesla is charging it at a free public charging station? It seems to me just a little like asking the guy with 4 kids and a 2004 Taurus to chip in on another fellow’s gas for his Bentley.
Not really. There’s probably not another high-speed charger to be had within a 50-mile radius, for any price.
Agreed, it’s not like it isn’t free to everyone, and I’m betting the Tesla owner would likely not have had a problem swiping his credit card had that been required like it is with many public chargers.
“Does anyone else find it ironic..”
Yes…I do.
I can’t afford even to live in country like that…and here’s a guy with a gee-whiz rig that benefited from all kinds of public subsidies…getting a free CHARGE!
I’ll remember that when my IRAs get grabbed…the last holdover of more prosperous days, and all that stands between me and an ALPO retirement.
I would rather see more affordable hybrids than a few fully electric supercars – and IIRC $60k is the Tesla’s base price, optioning it out can put it close to $100k. Still for a car I could never possibly afford to own, I do like the look of it.
Like any tech, it gets cheaper with time. Tesla’s first car was $110,000. This one starts at $50,000. Thats progress already.
I’d just like to point out that my dad paid $2,000 for his Motorola DynaTAC cell phone when I was a kid. Now, I paid $70 for my phone, and it does way more than Dad’s DynaTac ever did.
Thing is, it’s not the passage of time that leads to the lower manufacturing costs. It’s exponential increases in volume. That’s what’s behind all the subsidies for electric cars – trying to jump-start the increased volume.
Problem is, it’s not just the price that’s a problem in selling electric cars. It’s that even the most advanced of them still isn’t ready for prime time.
I live over the hill from Silicon Valley and see far fewer Teslas than when lived near Palo Alto. Saw 3 Model S in one day last week in Palo Alto … and saw a roadster 2 weeks ago in Hong Kong. I am not bowled over by the Model S styling … the shape is derivative, but having seen several up close, I think the detail design is very well done. And though it doesn’t need a large grill for conventional radiator cooling, I’m sure it needs to handle aircon condenser cooling, and perhaps battery/motor cooling or ventilation intake as well. Obviously, Silicon Valley is unique in both the amount of wealth and early adopters, plus proximity to Tesla HQ and factory, but over the last few years Teslas have become a daily sight, which I can’t say about Vipers, Skyline GTR’s or Hyundai Azeras (or, yet, new Darts).
Look closely at that “grille”. It’s mostly black paint. It’s entirely a styling element. Whatever airflow the car needs could be easily accomodated by small low-key openings.
For reference, look at the nose of a 1993 VW B3 Passat. No grille at all. Just a slot across the bottom of the bumper, and one air duct feeding through the slightly oversize badge. And that handles the requirements for a 2.7L V6.
And unfortunately, that generation of Passat (which I really loved the looks of) didn’t sell worth a damn until the last year or two when they put a really boring grille on the car and made it look ordinary.
I’d love to have one of those 93’s, just for the looks alone.
There’s this little matter that the paying public has certain expectations . . . .
My cousin had a 93 GLX with a 5-speed. We autocrossed it a few times. It was a hoot. Beat a couple of 2nd-gen Ford Probes.
Like with the 92 Crown Victoria that they ruined with a grille in 93?
I just saw one of those Passats last week, a wagon. I should have stopped for pics; I hadn’t seen one in years, save a late version with the grille at the junkyard a couple of years ago.
We did that one here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1990-vw-passat-wagon-b3-practicality-uber-alles/
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/VW_Passat_B3_front_20071205.jpg
I read the link in the story and just have to counter with this. http://www.saxton.org/tom_saxton/2012/07/ev-road-trip-ca-2012.html Sure it was a leisurely trip but none the less they were able to take a 1,823 mile road trip in their Tesla Roadster w/o the assistance of a tow truck.
In the context of the public monies that have been spent on transportation infrastructure and technology development I will begrudge the Tesla owner $3 worth of electrons.
There is a long precedent of spending public funds on transportation infrastructure in the US. The Constitution References Post Roads in Article 1, Section 8. The Erie Canal was built by NY with Public Funds. The 1st transcontinental rail line that runs through Truckee was heavily subsidized when built in the late 1860s. The Aviation Industry was subsidized via Air Mail in 1920s and 30s. So was Interstate 80 when build in the 1960s. You will have some charlatans as la Credit Mobilier and Solyndra but stuff gets built and we move foreword.
There is State and Federal Grant $ out there right now to for Publicly assessable EV Chargers and CNG Fuel Stations. A few months ago at my work we got a week long test drive of a Autocar Heil Frontloader powered by CNG, fuel cost was equivalent of Diesel at $1/gal. Electric Utilties also have a vested interest in gaining share of the transportation fuel market from oil producers and refiners.
We are all better off as a Nation with a diversity of fuel sources.
Many of the refuse trucks around here have large signs declaring that they are powered by “clean burning CNG”, of course the real reason that they are using CNG is the massive savings in fuel and maintenance.
The Model S didn’t do so well in a recent NY Times sponsored trip from DC to Boston (with stops at Tesla ‘superchargers’ in Newark, DE and Milford, CT). The Model S ran out of battery due to the extreme cold and had to be towed the last leg. Tesla’s stock has dropped and its CEO, Eton Musk, is claiming the Times article is a fake due to operator error (mainly for not fully charging at the stations and not plugging the car in overnight):
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-11/tesla-falls-after-n-y-times-model-s-test-drive.html
Typo check… that’s Elon Musk.
It comes down to “who has more credibility, Musk or the NYT?”
Having lived in or near Silicon Valley since the late 90s, (and the Bay Area all my life) and seen much much vaporware come and go, I’m leaning toward the NYT.
Whining about the reporter not charging it fully just underscores the writer’s point – that the car demands an unreasonable commitment to sitting around twiddling one’s thumbs for hours if you want to drive it into triple-digit miles, in cold weather, or both.
They should develop an Espar-style heater for Trunk Area. Figure 2-3 gal of Diesel and it can heat the passenger compartment and battery bank for a week.
If he hadn’t been so set on using only the free Tesla super chargers he would have been just fine. I do not understand why during any of the calls he made to Tesla they didn’t direct him to any of the other numerous chargers in the area along his way and why he did not choose to stay in one of the hotels in the area that have chargers. See the link I posted above for a blog post on a 1800 mi road trip in a Tesla roadster.
So here is some of the back story on that article. http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/most-peculiar-test-drive their data from the logs does not correspond to what was reported in the NYT at all.
Yeah, Musk’s whining about the reporter’s failure to follow the protocal ‘exactly’ definitely makes it seem like driving a Tesla is not for anyone in a hurry, at least not in an extreme climate.
Considering the expense of the car and that many of those with the money to buy one aren’t exactly the ‘sitting around waiting for my car to charge’ or ‘I gotta go find an overnight plug for my car so I have enough battery to make it tomorrow’ types, Musk’s complaints do seem specious.
OTOH, as to the vaporware, Musk and Tesla have easily gone above and beyond what anyone thought they would ever have accomplished. I have personally been quite surprised and astonished what’s been delivered up to this point. It seems way beyond anything any other start-up that has come and gone in, say, the last sixty years or so (Tucker, Bricklin, Delorean, et al).
I agree, what Tesla has been able to do is far beyond what I ever expected them to pull off. I think the Model S is an amazingly cool vehicle and if I were a millionaire I’d love to own one.
That said, I do have serious doubts that pure EVs will ever be anything more than a niche product at best. I have seen exactly zero Model S’ in New York and few other EVs, which is surprising considering that it seems like every third car I see is a Prius and there isn’t any lack of free charging stations. In Manhattan, a car like that should be very practical in theory… but people who live there and own cars don’t actually use them like that. They keep their cars in parking garages 99% of the time and use public transit/taxis to get around locally. The cars only come out for trips out of town – exactly what EVs aren’t really suited for. I assume that’s the same way it is in most other highly urbanized areas.
For the rest of the world? I just don’t see people in the suburbs and rural areas getting on board, ever. Even if an EV’s range is more than what they need for their daily commute and then some, it will be a long time before the price makes sense to most folks… and when we finally get there, plug-in hybrids will be infinitely more practical. The majority of the world doesn’t really care that much about cars. They buy Toyotas because they want something safe and reliable. A car that needs careful planning when taking any trip to avoid calling a tow truck is the complete opposite of that.
Personally, I’d love it if they really took off – seeing as I work for an electric utility that would stand to make tons of money off of them, but I just don’t see it happening. I do hope they’ll remain around in some capacity for years to come, however… and I do think there’s a market for them, just not a very large one.
An electric with roughly 200 miles reliable range would make an excellent city/exurb car – for a car share paradigm, where you grab the one nearest to you, run your errands and then put it back for the next person to use. In that context, they can penetrate the market pretty well, covering those “95%” trips that boosters always point to when they tell us we should buy electiric cars.
But sole ownership? And especially, sole car owned? No. Everybody needs to drive more than a few miles on occasion. Case in point. Assume I buy a Tesla, and install a high-speed charger in my garage. And I need to run up to my dad’s, spend a few hours helping him move furniture and chop firewood, and then go home. Maybe do the 35 mile drive into town with him to shop, or buy plumbing supplies, or whatever it is that needs doing on this trip. My dad lives 110 miles away from me. And there’s absolutely zero chance that there will be any public charging infrastructure anywhere near him in my lifetime. So I’m going to be limited to a 110v outlet on a shaky wiring job done in the 1940s. How long is it going to take to recharge that thing to get me home?
No Wallgreens drug stores in your area because they are installing them at every store in the country. The ones in my area typically have 3 or 4.
Those Chargepoint stations at Walgreens charge $2.50/hour. At 240v, most EVs only get about a 10 mile range for an hour recharge.
For a normal car that gets, say, 40 mpg, it would take a four hour charge costing $10.
Besides having to find something to do at Walgreens for four hours, unless gas gets up to $10/gallon, it’s unlikely anyone other than the occasional desperate EV owner is ever going to use a Walgreens charger.
Yes using those charging stations at that price it not economical nor all that convenient but it would make it so you could take that occasional longer trip w/o range anxiety. I’ll have to stop by my local Wallgreens and see what the going rate is there. There was legislation passed in our state that allows them to charge by the amount of energy consumed rather than a flat rate. Not saying that they are charging by actual use but charging by the amount used was illegal. Which meant that Leaf drivers with the lower charging rate would have been ripped off vs someone with a Focus EV and it’s faster charging rate. Then there is the fact that even on the same car the charging rate is different depending on the SOC of the battery.
As far as a “normal” car getting 40 MPG we are not there yet, yes there are cars with 40 or more MPG hwy ratings but they are still not the norm. So if you compare it to the real norm at say 25 MPG vs a Focus EV that can gain up to 25 miles in an hour you are still coming out ahead $.10 per mile vs $.14 per mile based on gas prices in my area.
Yeah, a better comparison would be the Volt since it actually has close to the same range on either a gallon of gas or a fully charged battery (~35 miles).
You can go a mile using a gallon of gasoline for around $4 (the Volt takes premium), or you can recharge using a Walgreens charger and go the same distance after waiting four hours for $10.
But I’m not sure that $2.50/hr rate is universal. I suspect that a lot of these places with pay chargers think that an hour charge is all that’s needed to get the same range as a gallon of gas and there are a lot of EV owners who are bad at math.
OTOH, some of the more tuned-in charge station operators may have gotten a clue and reduced the rate a bit to something that makes more financial sense to EV users.
In the flyover country just east of the Cascades, I don’t recall seeing any EVs. Hybrids, yes, though it’s been mostly Priussss, the odd Honda, and a solitary Volt. (The nearest GM dealer is 100 miles away, and folks weren’t happy when the local dealership lost the Chevy franchise in the bailout…)
I still see the odd Smart car in town (there is one that goes 30 miles out on the highway), but we don’t have any EV infrastructure, and I suspect the long drive from any westside dealer would cool any enthusiasm.
I saw a Tesla S on the street in my neighborhood last week. A friend of mine has one on order with July delivery, it’ll replace his BMW M3. I’m thrilled to see a new American automaker successfully rolling out the most capable electric car ever.
Like anything else it has its pluses and minuses (if you will). And like all high-tech devices with lots of silicon inside, it’s expensive at first and the price is coming down over the years. Rough edges, like cold weather range, get smoothed out with real world experience.
One thing is certain, Nikola would be proud.
I just had my first Tesla S sighting this evening, in front of the Y. Seeing accelerate from a red light without a sound is like seeing the future.