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Electric Car - Tesla Type S

66. Jeremy Clarkson

Celebs have an authority. The BBC should be impartial. Clarkson has been described as a skillful propagandist regarding the motor industry. I like to think of him as a twat.
 
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BenBurch said:
Yeah, I've seen it.
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No you haven't. And also from what I've read about the Prius "review" it wasn't really all that biased. The race was moronic but they are right that in terms of economic freedom from oil cartels is probably ********. There will be a cartel but which one depends on which technology we use.
 
I wish I had the money to buy one. I wouldn't buy one, but I sure wish I had the money.
 
Davo said:
http://www.teslamotors.com/models/index.php

Further to the Tesla Roadster, Tesla have unveiled their new model S-Type.

Specs seem very promising: 300 mile range , 0-60 in 6 seconds

Very nice looking motor, would buy one if I had a bit of spare cash ($57,000)
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Do these vehicles come with air conditioning? Here in the American southeast you really need ac.
 
I am watching that episode right now. They may have faked the power outage, but it is reasonable to calculate how long it would run with their sort of driving. The sort of driving they do on their test track would get you pulled over in no time in real traffic. Extreme acceleration and deceleration is not good for mileage whether your source of power is electric or gasoline. What they should have mentioned is how fast a regular sports car would run out of gas under those circumstances. It is easy to see how a car that typically gets 20 mpg or better would be down to 5 mpg under that sort of driving. The "brake failure" was due to a blown fuse that took 2 minutes to replace, but Clarkson had a good point, it did not matter why the brakes weren't working, the point is that they were not working.
 
Subduction Zone said:
I am watching that episode right now. They may have faked the power outage, but it is reasonable to calculate how long it would run with their sort of driving. The sort of driving they do on their test track would get you pulled over in no time in real traffic. Extreme acceleration and deceleration is not good for mileage whether your source of power is electric or gasoline. What they should have mentioned is how fast a regular sports car would run out of gas under those circumstances. It is easy to see how a car that typically gets 20 mpg or better would be down to 5 mpg under that sort of driving. The "brake failure" was due to a blown fuse that took 2 minutes to replace, but Clarkson had a good point, it did not matter why the brakes weren't working, the point is that they were not working.
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I love Top Gear. It is one of the funniest shows ever and who in their right mind does things like that to such expensive cars. They are an entertainment show, that's it. If I wanted a review, I'd watch Fifth Gear or Motorweek.

However, they owned up to the fact that the Tesla didn't have any of problems like how it was portrayed in that episode. I consider it exceedingly disingenuous if not fraudulent for them to claim such a thing purely for "entertainment reasons."

If the car was flogged like that, which it has been, it could do perhaps 80miles before requiring a recharge and even then, it would go into low power mode before the battery died.
 
paximperium said:
Electric is the way to go. It is still more efficient than gasoline and hydrogen still isn't a mature enough technology. Battery tech is improving.

But where's the electricity coming from. Mostly from burning fossil fuels. And since neither gasoline, hydrogen, nor electric power is 100% efficient, how efficient are electric vehicles really unless their source of electricity is solar, wind, or hydroelectric?

Tesla has a system where they can wire up your house charging station with solar panels and wind turbines so you can get completely off the power grid. Sounds good except for the extreme cost.

The quick charge system requires a very high voltage system so your house socket needs to be modified.
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And, for most, you'll need a very long extension cord
 
Have they solved that pesky little problem about the hydrogen cars not working below freezing? That is the part that drives me nuts; all these neat new cars are practically useless around the Great Lakes and Canada. Grrrr...
 
tyr_13 said:
Have they solved that pesky little problem about the hydrogen cars not working below freezing? That is the part that drives me nuts; all these neat new cars are practically useless around the Great Lakes and Canada. Grrrr...
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That would involve defying the laws of physics or adding heaters.
 
The Ultrabattery shows promise in reducing the weight of battery packs.

http://www.csiro.au/news/UltraBattery.html

Yes battery cars can reduce consumption of oil, but anyone who thinks they make any contribution to easing climate change is kidding themselves, particularly with most electricity produced by coal-fired power stations.
 
lionking said:
Yes battery cars can reduce consumption of oil, but anyone who thinks they make any contribution to easing climate change is kidding themselves, particularly with most electricity produced by coal-fired power stations.
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Actually that is false and an oversimplification. Power from the power grid, despite the loss during the transfer and storage into batteries is still more efficient than burning gasoline even if it is from a coal power plant. We're also seeing more solar and wind power coming online which will help to further decrease pollution and CO2 emissions.

It is likely, we will see more efficient engines come online with Direct Injection, forced induction and better computer controlled fuel management. This will be coupled with "light" hybrid technology and start-stop engine systems and regeneration braking.

This will be a place holder technology until the next system(whether plug-in electric, hydrogen etc.) comes online.
 
Personally, I think electric cars are the inevitable future option, if only because of regenerative braking. Traditional brakes turn momentum into heat, a total loss. Regenerative braking turns some of that momentum back into electricity. But if you don't have batteries, you can't store it.

But maybe a hybrid hydrogen system with some capacitors to store energy from braking and reuse it for starting off again would be a good solution.

What I'd really like to see is a car with four in-wheel electric motors, getting rid of all the driveline weight. ETA - Also means you get full traction control for nothing, and you have motor redundancy.
 
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TjW said:
I wish I had the money to buy one. I wouldn't buy one, but I sure wish I had the money.
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There was one parked in front of the upscale restaurant across the street from my office a few weeks ago. Several of my office mates went out to have a look and take pictures. Quite a nice looking car, if nothing else.
 
politas said:
Personally, I think electric cars are the inevitable future option, if only because of regenerative braking. Traditional brakes turn momentum into heat, a total loss. Regenerative braking turns some of that momentum back into electricity. But if you don't have batteries, you can't store it.
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That is what "light" hybrid are designed to do. Unlike the more complicated Prius, the system in place uses regenerative braking and stores that system in a smaller battery. This battery power is used to power the electronics, AC and other system in the car however, the gas engine continues to power the drivetrain.
But maybe a hybrid hydrogen system with some capacitors to store energy from braking and reuse it for starting off again would be a good solution.
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Good idea but it is already being done with current battery technology. New Start-Stop technology uses the battery and a small electric motor to keep an idling engine(such as in traffic) running without using gasoline.
What I'd really like to see is a car with four in-wheel electric motors, getting rid of all the driveline weight. ETA - Also means you get full traction control for nothing, and you have motor redundancy.
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I agree that would be a major advance. The tech is still very new and I don't have much of an opinion on this at present.
 
Note that I put "tested" in quotes; I'm well aware of the entertainment nature of the show.

Still, some of the complaints were likely on point. Of course, vehicles produced by the major manufacturers have no particular history of being defect-free....
You have to look at how Tesla will be willing to address complaints and stand behind their product.
 
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