Danny's Contentment

[tonybelding]

Back in March a Tesla Roadster was shown at the Green Wheels Motorshow in Norwich, England, which just happens to be home of the Lotus assembly plant. Danny -- of Danny's Contentment, an electric car videoblog -- was there with his camera. He's been pacing out the video, posting a clip every few weeks, and the fourth one in the series is now online.

Check it: http://www.dannyscontentment.net/

In this episode we get a brief but enthusiastic description of how the car's traction control and anti-lock brakes perform on ice.

[TEG]

As far as I know there have been no crashes of any of the prototypes to date.

That (IMHO) is a strong testament to the ease of control they have engineered into this car.

There are no shortage of crash videos of Ferrari Enzo's for instance. Both cars are extreme performance, and both cars are driven daily to "show off" what they can do.
I can tell you first hand that the Roadster prototypes are driven in situations where other cars would have flown off the road had they not been so easy to drive fast.

The flat torque curve of the eMotor is a big part of getting easy/safe high performance acceleration.
The suspension system also makes sure that bump steer, and nose plow don't send you off the road.

I think we have to give the Lotus involvement some real credit for this success. If Tesla tried to do "home brew handling" the outcome may not have been so rosy.

Now mind you, eventually someone will crash a roadster. When that day comes I suspect it will be a press field day.

[vfx]

Now mind you, eventually someone will crash a roadster.

Usually the Car company will buy the first few wrecks to study them.

[WarpedOne]

As far as I know there have been no crashes of any of the prototypes to date.

Maybe not a crash but hit nontheless...

[tonybelding]

That's not damage, that is a loop of cable or hose for the test equipment. (I think it may be related to the "peeing man" device that was mentioned on the Tesla blog.)

[tonybelding]

Now mind you, eventually someone will crash a roadster.* When that day comes I suspect it will be a press field day.

Recently crashes of exotic sports cars and supercars have been getting a lot of attention in the press. See here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118186544305536109.html

The article notes an 81% increase in exotic sports cars wrecked in California since 2002, while overall highway while overall crashes declined over that same period. That sounds pretty dire, however the same article notes US sales of exotic sports cars increased over 200% since 2003. With that many of them hitting the road, a mere 81% increase in crashes maybe isn't so bad after all.

[vfx]

Recently crashes of exotic sports cars and supercars have been getting a lot of attention in the press

I remember once seeing a website that had nothing but wrecked exotics. Not looking forward to a Roadster inclusion.

[AGR]

Increasingly exotics are being wrecked. Its one thing to have the financial resources to buy an exotic with 500HP, its another to drive it. Most people have no idea how quickly you can get in trouble with a 500HP car.

Comparing a Tesla to a Ferrari....when a video of a Tesla doing what this Ferrari does...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfF1Fzx8tmA*

[TEG]

I just found out that my friend totaled his Elise

Well, there are lots of morbid Elise crash photos here:

http://www.wreckedexotics.com/elise/

[tonybelding]

I just found out that my friend totaled his Elise* *

OH, sorry to hear. . .

Keep in mind, an Elise can be "totalled" from a relatively minor accident, particularly due to the lack of bumpers, large-but-delicate fiberglass clamshell pieces, and the bonded aluminum frame.

Here are some photos of a totaled Elise:* http://www.my914-6.com/crap/