How do you like your model 3? What home or work charging arrangements do you use? Tell us about it!
Which is why I drive the Crosstrek. That 9" clearance combined with their “all-wheel drive” is wonderful in the snow.
When in fact they are all basically station wagons anyway. Which no way in hell are they going to call it that. They’d put fake wood on the sides first.
I love it. I’m not a big car guy, but this car actually makes driving fun. I don’t have the performance, but I do have the AWD and this thing is zippy as hell. You’re literally risking whiplash if you floor it without leaning back into the seat, first. I can’t imagine what the performance would be like. From the stories I’ve read online (which admittedly need to be taken with a grain of salt because of our internet age), I think I’ve lucked out so far. My model 3 has had zero quality issues.
For charging, I installed the Tesla wall charger in my garage. I don’t drive a huge amount, so a few hours every other night or so is more than enough. Not having to go to gas stations regularly is probably one of the greatest things about this car.
When I was a kid, Fords were considered garbage, but after having owned a Fusion, my opinion of what an American car could be completely changed. I’m curious to see what a Mustang-inspired crossover is going to look like, but given some of the fastback-styled suvs coming out, it makes a lot of sense.
The front end is a bit overly aggressive for my tastes, but not so much I wouldn’t consider it depending on how the rest of it looks.
The recent Fords are all very nice looking. I had a 2000-ish Taurus (a station wagon too!) for a while however. :shudders:
The irony being Ford is basically getting out of the car business.
The sedan business? I don’t know if that’s really overblown or not. I’d imagine the vast majority of their sales come from a handful of models anyway.
Also hatchbacks, which bugs me. I could have seen a sporty Focus of some variety being my next car.
In the US. Fat people like us apparently need SUVs.
I really like that actual car companies are getting much more aggressive in the EV space, as they are likely to make actual cars that just happen to be powered by electric motors, than the iPhone/device/thingies that many EVs (Teslas, in particular) seem to be. I would not be at all adverse to an AWD electric Mustang, with the same bad-ass looks and at least as good and attractive interior as the current Mustang GT has.
What would you expect to find in an “actual car” with an electric motor that’s missing in a Tesla?
For the mustang itself, they are doing a hybrid version, which makes a ton of sense in a performance car (you can’t beat the immediate torque of an electric motor).
An interior layout with gauges (digital, of course), switches, and levers that work like regular cars do. Attention to detail, including trim, materials, and ergonomics based on over a century of automobile design. Driver-centric layouts (left side of the car, not the center of the dashboard) for primary displays. In short, I want an EV that looks pretty much exactly like my existing ICE vehicle, just with an electric powertrain.
To me, it’s not the same as the misguided skeuomorphism that bedeviled Apple and others some time back. There’s a damn good reason for the look and layout of a conventional automobile, and nearly none of those reasons go away just because you switch the powertrain. Tesla IMO tries way too hard to distant people from the fact that they are still driving a car. Of course, like some other tech types, Tesla also seems to think driving is a horrible chore that needs to go away.
I can definitely appreciate that sentiment.
Attention to detail, including trim, materials, and ergonomics
Everyone prefers high quality materials and workmanship, but plenty of “actual cars” lack both. The Chevy Camaro has a widely criticized interior, but it’s still a car.
Driver-centric layouts (left side of the car, not the center of the dashboard) for primary displays.
The Tesla Model S and X both have left-side primary displays, behind steering wheel. The Prius has only a center console. So is the Model S more an actual car than the Prius?
switches, and levers that work like regular cars do
Well, all Teslas do lack mechanical switches. But increasingly, so do most luxury cars.
With every new model, every car uses bigger touchscreens that do more than they used to. Knobs and dials are going away, just like phone keypads did. That’s not Tesla’a fault, it’s what most people want.
Not blaming Tesla. Just saying it’s not what I want. And not everyone is ditching knobs and switches. Some companies add them back in because they simply work better for things like volume control. My new car has no touchscreen (though admittedly the next iteration of Audi’s MMI system uses them). Research shows that touchscreens are not really a good idea for cars, given the way they pull the driver’s attention (and sometimes literally their hands and hence the car) away from what they should be doing.
When I talk of an “actual” car, I’m being very self-indulgent, because I am using my own definition, applicable for me. I certainly don’t intend to imply that anyone who thinks or buys differently is in any way wrong or something. I simply do not like Tesla’s aesthetics, marketing, philosophy, or intent.
Sounds good. Since you charge at home and it’s sufficient for day-to-day use, how much have you used outside charging stations? Have you used the J1772 adapter? What app do you use?
In my home town, there is a charger that is free next to where we get our groceries, and there is coffee and restaurants nearby. It’s not a fast-charger so only practical for a top-up, but still a good service they provide.
Edit. Actually I just googled it and it is apparently 22Kw - that’s pretty fast (?)
How long before actual knobs and buttons is referred to as “retro”?
Never (as long as we’re driving our own vehicle). It’s pretty obvious that you need to keep your eyes on the road so shifting, changing the radio, turn signals, etc is all an eyes off activity.
I’m pretty sure the Tesla screen isn’t for active driving, but when you’re at a stop light. As with cell phones, once you lose the physical buttons, everything becomes eyes on device which means not during driving.
There’s a reason people get mad at drivers on their phones and not drivers changing the radio, although sometimes that can have consequences too.
And Wombat, many of the newer electric cars that are coming out by the big car companies are very much like their normal combustible models*. The whole retro-future bullcrap electric car designs appear to be falling by the wayside, and good riddance. The new Hyundai Kona I mentioned upthread is a normal compact SUV, and they’re just releasing a version that is an EV.
* Ok on re-read this is hilarious, but I’m leaving it. I’ll take my apparently fire-proof EV over your flaming cars any day.