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Our Model S is home... (NEWDL's Story)

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NEWDL

R#350 R#1323, RWD LR 3, Perf3, 23 X LR (7th Tesla)
Jan 5, 2009
490
4
NE OHIO
I am still grinning. WOW.

For those of you who are deeply familiar with the Roadster product forget everything you know about TESLA other than EV and rapid acceleration.

The S is AMAZING. I feel extremely proud of TESLA for having built such an unbelievable vehicle.

My comments might make for sense if I fully explain who I/we am/are.

I am Neal AKA NEWDL. I am a car guy who has luckily been born into a family that just needed a slight push to get back onto the car crazy bandwagon. My grandparents and great grandparents owned a tire shop in Barberton, Ohio. My father worked there when he was young and drooled over some of the cars. After I came around with my (healthy or unhealthy obsession) we now own 2 Roadsters, a Model S, 2 BMWs, 6 Jags, 1 MG, 3 MINIs, a Ford F-350 and a HUMMER H2. Most are Classics and all are well cared for. I was also employed by Tesla Motors and worked at the Menlo Park Store for a while, at HQ for some time, and some small work in the Midwest. If you placed your reservation at the Menlo Park Store in 2009 I may have helped you!

My family has had Roadster #350 since May of 2009 and Roadster #1323 since May of 2011. We are very familiar with the Roadsters and love those cars. They are fun vehicles that perform better than cars more than twice the price while requiring minimal upkeep and obviously no gas.

This being said, when the opportunity to reserve the “sedan model” was presented in February of 2009 we jumped on it. This was before the Model S unveiling in March of 2009 where my girlfriend (wife now) and I flew from Ohio to L.A. to not only attend the event, but also secure my internship with TESLA. At this event we were driven in the Silver (at the time) Alpha. My girlfriend even pushed me into a crowd to make me chat with Elon. It was an awesome move for a girl who is far from car crazy but loves my obsession and appreciates that it is a family trait.

At that time my parents (actual reservation holders) were going off little more than my word for both the Roadster and the Model S. We had two large deposits with a company we were far from intimately familiar with.

Three and one half years later we have a Roadster, Roadster Sport, and Model S P85. Once again, I am so very proud of this company.

The Model S is an amazing departure from the Roadster. While both are amazing for very different reasons, as a Roadster owner you learn to live with certain oddities, certain quirks, and certain inconsistencies. These are gone. This is bigger than the big leagues. This sets the bar.

Fit and finish on the car is great. paint is gorgeous, gaps are good, seals are like a vault, sound is extremely isolated, handling is GREAT for a car its size and weight. You quickly forget how large the vehicle is once you are moving at speed.

The design on the interior is gorgeous. I can’t help but look at the car. Everyone I have showed it to has thought it was simply a beautiful vehicle BEFORE understanding its significance in the world of EVs, modern production vehicles, start up companies, green companies, start up auto manufacturers, automotive interior display technology, ect...

The vehicle is sealed almost too well. I feel as though I am in a waterproof vault. It is an amazingly solid vehicle. It is even hard to shut the doors at times because I feel as though I am compressing the air in the vehicle and it has no where to go. This helps give it such a quiet ride.

Acceleration is great. We are used to being thrown back in the Roadsters, but this is a 4,000+ lb vehicle. I didn’t expect the same level of acceleration out of this car. It just squats and goes. No questions asked. I had the S out for 100 miles last night and took out a number of unsuspecting overly eager traffic light to traffic light drivers.

One huge difference is the lack of attention. The roadster draws more looks and questions because it is so visually loud. In California, there may be a greater percentage of the population that knows what a Model S is. Here in Ohio, especially being the first one in Ohio, we do not. I/we are more than willing to educate to the point of exhaustion, but most people just think it is a good looking fast car.

There are only a small list of things we are waiting on from TESLA in order to finalize the due bill. These are nothing big and nothing that has not be hashed and rehashed on these boards.

Overall, this is an amazing car.

To those who are waiting…

It is without question far worth the wait.

Congratulations to all who stuck it out all these years. Your patience is being rewarded with a mind blowing vehicle.

This is all the car I was telling people it would be more than 3 years ago and MORE! Tesla more than delivered on its promise of building the best sedan out there. I didn’t think this level of vehicle was possible from TESLA. I knew it would be great, I didn’t know it would be earth shatteringly unbelievable.View attachment 9820View attachment 9821View attachment 9819View attachment 9822
 

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Even better to have them on the road. It was a blast to drive. Did about 180 miles yesterday just playing around, showing off to family and friends and driving aimlessly.
 
Absolutely fantastic! So nice to see the first one in our neck of the woods...and what a beauty it is!

Did they haul it all the way on that U-Haul trailer to you, or did they ship it by rail to Cleveland, or send it in a car carrier batch to Chicago, and then the U-Haul from there to Cleveland or something?
 
Congratulations! I think you're the first to post photos of a full-production white Model S! Glad to hear that you find the gaps and fit to be good. Looks good from your pictures, too.

I'm sort of regretting not springing for the 21" wheels. They look sharp with the white.
 
Great story, Neal, and let me add my congratulations. The only downside to your story is, it makes me even more eager to finally get my hands on my new toy. I've already planned to take a week off when I take delivery, just to have plenty of time to play with it and show it off.....
 
Congrats Neal. Spreading the word in places like Ohio is really important, and I'm glad you recognize your "responsibility" to educate people in this regard. Enjoy it in good health.

Now next week you'll have to repent for all of your speeding the next 8 days! :wink:
 
Thanks everyone!

As far as I know it was batch shipped to Chicago and then driven on the trailer to Ohio.

Nearest service center is currently Chicago or NYC. We have been told Columbus is coming soon. We really have not worried about it because TESLA has been great with the Roadsters so far.

The fleet is our pride and joy. We love the cars and they all have a great story.

The reason i really love the white is that the static display clay Model S was on the showroom in Menlo Park while I worked there. I used that display to explain the car and what it will be. Now it is in the garage. It is amazing that it has the same 21" wheels, the same design theme, the same overall look, and an even larger battery pack than was told the Signatures would have (back then we knew we could do the 240 mile pack, but were not sure the battery chemistry would be good enough to pull off 300 out the gate).

I have been at work all day and can't wait to go see it and play with it again. I go in late tomorrow... :)