Took a ride in a dual motor

[kgtest]

Buddy needed to borrow a 3/4 ton and in return let me use his Tesla Model 3 dual motor for the day.

IT IS FAST! Fastest production car I have been in. I was in a fully blown 5.0 mustang back in the day that would beat the model 3 though.

This thing really put me back in my seat. I thought the interior was just too cheap for my tastes.

Auto Pilot scared me, especially mergine and changing lanes...its one of those "Do I trust this? " Feelings.

The fact there was no shift point blew my mind...it was trippy after driving in traditional transmission driven cars. 0-60 without a shift is something that takes getting used to.

The regenerative braking...oh my, I am not used to that. I suppose you can disengage this...but there really is no reason to brake with this activated...which always made me feel like someone behind me would rear end me as soon as I took pressure off the "accelerator pedal"...note I did not say "gas" hehe.

Overall, fun car to drive. Would I buy one..I'd probably look at a Stingray or something else first.

It does scare me with the business model musk has built hedging one model with the next to hopefully turn a profit.

I noticed one thing with my buddy too though...you don't just need the Tesla...

It's like Giving a mouse a cookie... IF you give a guy a Tesla, he's going to ask for a 60v charging station in his garage... if you give a guy a 60v charging station in his garage, he's going to ask for a sun-tracking solar array system... and the beat goes on.

I recommend everyone find a friend who has one, and give her a try!

 

[Midpack]

My BIL just drove one for the first time recently, and I did a few years ago. Everyone I know says the same thing first - jeeeeezus this is fast! There are several YouTube videos showing Tesla’s blowing the doors off some serious muscle cars and exotics. Here’s a humorous example http://nosleepatall.com/jay-leno-cobra-gets-taken-out-by-granny-in-tesla/

 

[gerntz]

How does really fast help in 70 mph SL & bumper to bumper traffic?

 

[Car-Guy]

I've seen several in the past few months.... All parked at recharging stations.

 

[kgtest]

I've seen several in the past few months.... All parked at recharging stations.

HAHA! Sooo, the first thing he said to me when he started giving me an overview before I took it for the day was...

Sooo, it has 170 miles left, if you need to charge you can go to So and so super charger 2 cities over...

I'm thinking, here we go...I already have range anxiety and this isn't even my car.

 

[Car-Guy]

HAHA! Sooo, the first thing he said to me when he started giving me an overview before I took it for the day was...

Sooo, it has 170 miles left, if you need to charge you can go to So and so super charger 2 cities over...

I'm thinking, here we go...I already have range anxiety and this isn't even my car.

I have never actually seen one on the road (running) but I'm looking. I'd really like to see how it does against my Jeep. I suspect it will be pretty close until his duracells run down. (Which shouldn't be long at full load)

 

[aja8888]

We have a bunch of Tesla's running around The Woodlands (Texas). These are primarily driven by young females or their mothers. Guys here tend to drive large trucks, leased MB's and leased BMW's.

Although there is a population of fake Jeeps (FCA"s) running around here.

 

[Animorph]

We have the Model 3 Dual Motor. 0-60 should be a little under 4.5 sec, 4.0 with some luck and discounting the first 1 ft. Faster than anything I ever drove regularly. And it's DW's car.

Charging is super easy if you can charge at home. Full every morning. It can be annoying if you are far from home and your normal charging.

After a few days most drivers say you'll have to pull regen braking from their cold dead hands. The brake lights come on if regen deceleration is above a certain amount. I've seen comments from people afraid people would rear-end them and people afraid they were brake-checking the car behind them when using regen. In truth it's about the same as braking a manual transmission sports car by downshifting, which does not activate brake lights. And surely people gently brake with any car, with little deceleration but brake lights on anyway. Regen just takes a short time to get used to. You do actually have to hit the real brakes to come to a full stop, just like downshifting a manual.

A hidden benefit of no gear shifting is that you are always in the optimum gear for fast acceleration. Super easy to position the car during merges or lane changes.

 

[Car-Guy]

Although there is a population of fake Jeeps (FCA"s) running around here.

What's a fake Jeep? You mean an old WWII Willys Jeep VS the new FCA Jeep vehicles?

 

[clobber]

The fact there was no shift point blew my mind...it was trippy after driving in traditional transmission driven cars. 0-60 without a shift is something that takes getting used to.

Your statement made me think you might like to see a picture of a Tesla with the body removed. If you have not already. This is why I think electric cars are likely the future. There is NOTHING there. No spark plugs, no timing belt, no master cylinder, etc. All the things that break on a traditional car.

 

[ERD50]

How does really fast help in 70 mph SL & bumper to bumper traffic?

Yes, seems to me that acceleration at this level is really all about "entertainment".

I got a ride in a Model S, and yes, the acceleration is crazy fast, but for me, w/o the engine noise, it was not as entertaining.

It's kind of like those simulators some of us have been on - they have a surround movie of cars buzzing past you, then they tilt your seat back, rumble it, and blow wind in your face, and make some noise while the video has you pulling ahead of the other cars - and you could swear you are accelerating! But that seat didn't move forward a bit. It's entertaining though, it's about the effects.

The person with the Model S has also given me a ride in his Cobra kit-car. A tuned-up engine on a frame with wheels. No heater, no radio, no doors, no top. Now when that thing accelerators - it's an experience!

I don't find acceleration entertaining enough to buy a car for acceleration. A few rides in my lifetime in other people's cars is enough for me. I've offered to race him in my 1.4L barely adequate acceleration vehicle, but I get to plan the path. He would lose in his Model S.

-ERD50

 

[dirtbiker]

I wish I had a friend who had one to try. They look like a ton of fun based on YouTube videos I've seen. It's too early for me to jump on the electric bandwagon of buying though. And the area I live is rural without much of a charging network. But the idea of not having to pay for fuel intrigues me. Maybe in 10 to 20 years when the charging network is more mature, charging times decrease, intervals increase, and they offer an electric pickup, I may very well be a buyer. However, I like doing road trips, and I just can't imagine having to stop for over an hour to recharge, rather than ten minutes to fill the tank with fuel. And I use my pickup bed too much to swap for a car at this time.

This all being said, I really am glad that Tesla is making electric cars cool and popular. I think it's good to have an alternative to fossil fuels (though how we're getting the electricity to plug the cars in is another story, of course).

As far as the company goes? I'm sure as hell not an investor. Their stock is so overpriced, it is staggering. Their market cap is larger than Ford's, despite selling a small fraction of the number of cars, and still not turning a profit. People are buying the hype, which I get, given the likely future of electric cars. But even if they do ramp up sales and start turning a profit, how much higher can it go? The stock price is SO much higher than its intrinsic value.

Your statement made me think you might like to see a picture of a Tesla with the body removed. If you have not already. This is why I think electric cars are likely the future. There is NOTHING there. No spark plugs, no timing belt, no master cylinder, etc. All the things that break on a traditional car.

But one thing that regularly needs replaced in all cars is the battery. Easy and cheap on a gas/diesel engine car. On an electric? Not so much...

 

[ERD50]

Your statement made me think you might like to see a picture of a Tesla with the body removed. If you have not already. This is why I think electric cars are likely the future. There is NOTHING there. No spark plugs, no timing belt, no master cylinder, etc. All the things that break on a traditional car.

Sorry, that's just wrong. But the EV fans like to repeat it.

And BTW, A Tesla also has a master cylinder, look it up.

While ICE and drive train are complex, they are also extremely reliable. In the past 20 years, I think the only engine related repair I've had on the family cars was... a thermostat. Before that, I recall a water pump going out on an 11 year old van. Big deal. Maybe replace the spark plugs once in the ownership period? These things are super reliable these days.

And doors, windows, suspension, AC and heater, entertainment system, locks, etc, are all common to ICE and EV alike . All those things break far more often than drive train parts. And Tesla specifically has had a lot of issues with those parts.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-ca...lems-tesla-model-3-owners-have-reported.html/

-ERD50

 

[kgtest]

Your statement made me think you might like to see a picture of a Tesla with the body removed. If you have not already. This is why I think electric cars are likely the future. There is NOTHING there. No spark plugs, no timing belt, no master cylinder, etc. All the things that break on a traditional car.

I had not seen that! Different than what I'm used to looking at in terms of a chassis that's for sure. Is different better, I am still open to hear that debate.

I looked up the total cost of ownership for a Camry LE vs Model 3 and of course data can be skewed anyway you want, but the only advantage the Model3 had was they rated it about 10k higher resale value after 5 years of ownership than the Camry.

Well, I've owned my Camry for 5 years and have had 1 issue that the dealer covered under warranty (torque converter needed to be replaced and they did the work the same day). Other than that it was just oil changes, a set of tires, 1 set of front pads, replaced the air filters and that was it (didn't even replace the wiper blades yet). I didn't have to wait 30 minutes for a charge each time I "ran out of go go juice" and for me, with small kids, time is money. Gas stations within 2minutes of my house so even with drive time plus fill up time, that convenience is real.

Sooo, total repair costs over 5 years for Camry = 0 for me the consumer so long as you compare apples to apples. Tires need to be replaced on Teslas, brake servicing likely will need to be done, and sure the oil changes are mute, but I've never paid more than $15 for a conventional oil change done every 5,000 miles (150/5)*$15 = 750, new tires = $250 air filters are like $6 and the pads cost me $20 (I have the rear pads too, just haven't needed to be replaced yet per mechanic).

I used to buy slightly used cars before I had a real career, and I was ALWAYS fixing those things...engines, transmissions, clutches, fuel pumps, spark plugs and wires, radiator flushes, starters, tie rod ends,

I think I will be likely buying another Camry just because DW travels 30,000 miles a year. It's been nice putting on over 150,000 miles with literally no repair bill.

Now in terms of fuel vs electricity...I just don't know how much it would "cost" to charge a Tesla to a level of 150,000 travel miles...but assuming they get 300miles per charge it would have been 500 iterations of charging, vs my 360 gas station fill ups.

Of course I would need to drive 11 miles to the supercharger, or buy the equipment and install it in my home...so there is that "debt" to consider as well, including time extra wear and tear on the vehicles, or just a seperate cost to install the equipment.

IF you don't drive as often, maybe the Tesla becomes more economical for the consumer and if you have your own super charger that will reduce your costs as well. All things to consider.

Like I said, my buddy who lent me the Model 3 installed the 60v and 2 solar arrays but he needed to. It wasn't really an option not to. His electricity bill went through the roof when he was pushed into the higher usage tiers.

 

[kgtest]

I just thought of another experience I had the other day that sort of matters. I went to the gas station and had to sort of "circle the pump" to get the one available pump in the station. Unfortunately some old hag thought her time was more important than mine and zipped her Mercedes right into my pump even though I had clearly had a nose in when she showed up.

Did this seriously irritate me? YES!!! I squeeled the tires and left the station...thankfully the next station was only a block away.

Put yourself in that SAME situation with a Tesla...you are gonna have to sit and wait for that old hag to charge her Tesla, fuming the entire 20 to 30 minutes with NO other option. OF course with your own charger at home this is eliminated for a fee.

 

[ERD50]

...

Put yourself in that SAME situation with a Tesla...you are gonna have to sit and wait for that old hag to charge her Tesla, fuming the entire 20 to 30 minutes with NO other option. OF course with your own charger at home this is eliminated for a fee.

Yes, but I think most EV owners do have a charger installed at home. For most, they will rarely need to charge away from home.

Not that filling up as seldom as I do is any big burden, but it would certainly be nicer to just plug in at home.

-ERD50

 

[SnowballCamper]

It's the acceleration. I've got a Chevy Bolt. Immediate throttle response! Oh, and super quiet. The bad part is, now I can smell most other cars, and they stink.

 

[Cessna152]

And the area I live is rural without much of a charging network. But the idea of not having to pay for fuel intrigues me. Maybe in 10 to 20 years when the charging network is more mature, charging times decrease, intervals increase, and they offer an electric pickup, I may very well be a buyer. However, I like doing road trips, and I just can't imagine having to stop for over an hour to recharge, rather than ten minutes to fill the tank with fuel. And I use my pickup bed too much to swap for a car at this time.

If you or anyone else is curious about the actual time charging on cross-country trips, you can play with this route planning map tool for various EV models: https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

(Side note - you'll likely charge your EV at home, so you'll likely always leave home with a full charge.

Put yourself in that SAME situation with a Tesla...you are gonna have to sit and wait for that old hag to charge her Tesla, fuming the entire 20 to 30 minutes with NO other option. OF course with your own charger at home this is eliminated for a fee.

Just FYI, Tesla charges an idle fee at its Supercharging stations for every minute a car remains plugged in at a station after it is fully charged. Details at their web site: https://www.tesla.com/support/supercharger-idle-fee