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Thread: electric cars catching on?

  1. #61
    Quote Originally Posted by DHC6twinotter View Post
    There are hardly any EVs on the road around here. I think I've seen one Leaf here in Fayetteville. I did see a Tesla Model S up on Raleigh, and I'm sure there are more EVs up there, but I only make the trek up that way about once a month.

    The Tesla Model lll could be game changer, and I would definitely consider one for a DD.
    The hottest selling states are those that offer tax rebates. California offers a $2,500 rebate to be used twice in your lifetime and Georgia offers a $5,000 state rebate, plus of course the $7,500 federal rebate. Atlanta, Georgia usually takes first place for number of EVs sold due to the huge incentives. I wouldn't drive one without the rebates, because it wouldn't make financial sense at this time.

    I would love a $35k 200 mile Tesla Model III, but I don't think it will happen. Many are guessing it will be closer to $40k and missing a few very desireable options, and the supercharger access (free charging for life) will cost an additional $2,000 just like Tesla does for the Tesla Model S with the 'smaller' 60kw battery. I suspect I will end up with a 150-mile Leaf 2.0 for <$35k. That extra 50 miles of range (assuming the Leaf tops-out at 150 miles--maybe it won't), isn't worth much to me based on my driving patterns.

    Chevrolet is promising a 200-mile Sonic EV with price set to undercut a $35,000 Model III. If that happens, Nissan will have to offer a 200 mile Leaf for that price or charge less money. Keep in mind those numbers are before $7,500-$12,500 in rebates.

  2. #62


    I just finished watching Elon's unveiling of the new Tesla Model S P85D. The "D" stands for dual motor all wheel drive. The specs are awesome--691 horsepower, 687 ft lbs of torque, all wheel drive with variable vectoring, 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds and get this, 10 miles more range than the weaksauce 417 hp single motor model. Amazing.

    Oh, it also self-parks, will come pick you up at scheduled times (based on the car's calendar) and is semi-autonomous driving. Fricken amazing.


  3. #63
    That's pretty awesome!

    I wonder how that autonomous driving things works. I'd like to have a car that I can drive to the airport, then let the car drive itself home.
    -Daniel2000 4Runner Sport | V6 | 5spd | 4x4 | Leather | 265/75-16 BFG AT/KO | OBA | BudBuilt front skid

    1990 4Runner SR5 | V6 | Auto | 2wd | 3.90 rear | Cobra CB | 265/65r17 Bridgestone Duelers H/Ts | '08 Tacoma 5 spoke rims | Has an 11:1 crawl ratio! SOLD

  4. #64

  5. #65
    I am pretty sure I want my next car to have an "insane" power button.


    "In the options selection, you'll be able to choose [between] three settings: Normal. Sport. And Insane." Elon Musk glanced around and grinned.

    "Yeah, it will actually say 'In-sane."


    The McLaren F1's time of 3.2 seconds to 60 mph was the technological redline of what a mad genius Grand Prix designer could conjure from a road car. I tested one back in the day, and although it was at a closed airstrip encircled by acres of table-flat run-off room, it was among the most shattering few seconds of my life. One moment everything was still; the next, the cabin had exploded in a maniacal machine racket. The tach needle swept clockwise, the clutch pedal fought my left foot's stabs, the shifter pinballed through its detents, the V-12 engine charged through its revs again, my right foot feared staying planted but did anyway, everything shook, and I just hung the hell on as the world melted into a smear. Exhale. Launch one of Musk's Falcon 9 rockets horizontally, and you'll get the idea.

    But scrambling to the same 60 mph time in the P85D bears no resemblance to that at all. With one transmission gear and no head-bobbing shifts, it's instead a rail-gun rush down a quarter-mile of asphalt bowling lane. Nothing in the drivetrain reciprocates; every part spins. There's no exhaust smell; the fuel is invisible. The torque impacts your body with the violence of facing the wrong way on the train tracks when the whistle blows. Within the first degree of its first revolution, 100 percent of the motors' combined 687 lb-ft slams the sense out of you. A rising-pitch ghost siren augers into your ears as you're not so much accelerating as pneumatically suctioned into the future. You were there. Now you're here.

    Consequently, the easiest way to flatten your retinas at a dragstrip isn't by just stomping on the right pedal. Instead, you draw your foot back and kick the living hell out of it. (I'm serious.) Your foot's flying start at the pedal means the potentiometer opens the battery's electron floodgate that much sooner, and without the teeniest tire chirp, the P85D accelerates at the highest rate the road's mu (its coefficient of friction) allows. It's surreally efficient. And it's so fast off the line that the slower-sampling rate of our two high-frequency GPS data loggers was actually missing some of the action; within the first 1/20th of a sec (not even the "O" in "One Mississippi") the car was already going 0.7 mph. To 30 mph the P85D would be four feet ahead of the fastest-accelerating sedan we've tested, the Audi RS 7, a gap that holds to 60 when the Tesla punches the clock at 3.1 seconds, a tenth quicker than the Audi (as well as the McLaren F1's accepted time -- all of these after subtracting the customary 1-foot rollout). Both cars arrive at the quarter in 11.6 seconds, with the Audi starting to show its higher-speed chops. (The P85D tops out at 155, the RS 7, 174 mph.) Great for the Autobahn, irrelevant in America.

    Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz3I1U1bo4M

  6. #66
    Ok autonomous driving is not cool lol. They will develop it in the military and I would prefer to retire thank you very much.

    On the other hand it would be nicer on road trips than dd
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  7. #67
    Turned over my first 10,000 gas-free miles this morning.


    According to the onboard telematics, I have burned 2,212.2 kilowatts (kW) of electricity worth a total of $238.91. I still can't believe I can drive 10,000 miles on just over $200.

    Other nerdy stats:
    - I travel an average of 4.2 miles per kW of energy consumed
    - I average 173 trips per month (number of times I hit the 'start' button)
    - I have apparently spent 295.4 hours behind the wheel of this car
    - On my typical commute, the motor burns 276 watt-hours per mile, I regenerate 64 watt hours by braking (per mile) and the vehicle accessories consume 9 watt hours per mile.
    - I have spent zero hours at the gas station, changing the oil or doing any maintenance whatsoever.
    - I have reduced tailpipe emissions by 6,061 lbs. Basically, each of you owes me a beer.


    I love this car for a lot of reasons. It's not 4Runner kind of love since this thing is not capable of taking me to my favorite back-country places, but for pavement travel it's hard to beat. I will go so far as to say I hope to never have to buy another gas car again in my life.

  8. #68
    Impressive. A very rough estimate here... I do about 900 miles for $200. What a difference.

  9. #69
    Quote Originally Posted by fenrisx View Post
    Impressive. A very rough estimate here... I do about 900 miles for $200. What a difference.
    But it sure doesn't put an ear-to-ear grin on my face like offroading in the 4Runner.

  10. #70
    I am seriously looking at getting one when its time to get a new commuter. 50 miles a day.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

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