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Model S Prototype

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Went to the Seattle Tesla dealership to see the Model S prototype on tour.

The Model S Design Prototype Tour: Seattle, WA | Events | Tesla Motors

Here's my impressions

- This car is WIDE
- ~4200 lbs - yikes. Combing that with brake regen - the back tires are expected to last ~10k miles, which is similar to the Roadster. Ugh.
- Brembro brakes were recommended for those with the 300 mile bat pack. Why? The extra weight just begs for more braking power.
- Prototype had the same tire sizes on the fronts as backs - Alpha and beta will have different size tires
- The prototype had near zero leg room in the back seat. They mentioned the Alpha and beta will have more leg room. I sure hope so!
- Tesla is scheduled to open a satellite sales store in Bellevue, WA "soon-ish". The Seattle Tesla dealership will be predominately for service.
- Upgrading the battery pack will add ~10k per upgrade. So ~57k for 160, ~67k for 230, and ~77k for 300 mile battery pack
- After 8 years the you loose ~5-10% range per year
- I'm _VERY_ concerned about the interior. In much the way the Roaster had a cheap interior, history is repeating itself. Its very bland and the leather looked cheap. With so many people geeking out over the 17 inch monitor the aesthetics/creature comforts of the cabin are left profoundly underdeveloped.
- Panoramic sun room was really cool
- Retractable door handles we're covered with fingerprints!!! Normally this would NOT be worth mentioning, however if your CONSTANTLY showing them off because they're retractable - thats the first thing people will notice.
- The red/cinnamon color is ... well ok. Color is very subjective.
- repeated charging from a 440V charging source WILL damage the battery. 220V is strongly recommended for everyday charging.
- doors looked very think and heavy

The biggest buy question I had was "If Tesla was able to quickly iterate with the Roaster - why shouldn't I wait till 2015/2016 when the Model S 1.1 or 1.5 is out?" I got the response of "We've learned alot from the Roaster and we'll get it right the first time around".

Overall the big picture was really encouraging. However, polishing needs to take place. Hopefully the Alpha and Beta runs will address. Totally support early adopters, but for me, I'm gonna wait until Tesla has learned from few years of 'S' production under its belt before committing.
 
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-With respect to the interior, I wouldn't be concerned. I suspect the final interior will look very little if at all like the prototype. After all, it IS just a prototype. It's mainly meant to showcase the exterior of the car and infotainment screen--everything else was likely just temporary "filler". Plus, the prototype used a Roadster battery/PEM and a Mercedes chassis...so you can't judge interior room from it at all.

-I'd be very surprised if the tires only last ~10k miles. I suspect we're looking at something closer to the target lifetime of other tires in its class, like the BMW 5-series. The Model-S is NOT a supercar like the Roadster. I think 10k life for tires would kill off a lot of customers...and don't think Tesla will make that mistake.

-My expectation was that Brembo brakes were standard...but that's just conjecture.

-Regarding the comment "After 8 years the you loose ~5-10% range per year" that sounds like hogwash. If the sales folks told you this, they are misinformed. You'll start losing range on day 1--although granted it will not start out at a high rate.
 
There is a video on youtube which shows the interior of the prototype and it doesn't seem cramped at all. Also, everything on the interior still seemed to be "under contruction", so I guess we'll have to wait for the beta version to see what Model S is really going to be like.

 
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I had to replace my rears at 5k because they were bald. I interpret this to mean that strider isn't having enough fun.
That's what everyone keeps telling me but although I don't do any sport drives (just a commuter car so far) I do accelerate fairly often. I've given tons of rides to people at work and each time do at least 2 Performance mode standing starts. It's not a Sport and the AD07's are running at the higher "economy" pressures but otherwise they just seem to be wearing really well.
 
That's what everyone keeps telling me but although I don't do any sport drives (just a commuter car so far) I do accelerate fairly often. I've given tons of rides to people at work and each time do at least 2 Performance mode standing starts. It's not a Sport and the AD07's are running at the higher "economy" pressures but otherwise they just seem to be wearing really well.

Well your car, and your usage, sounds a lot like mine. I guess I just have a heavy foot.
 
Canadian asphalt is more abrasive?

I believe i read somewhere that there were some differences (i.e. using the concrete variety) to better handle the winter but if not i am sure it deteriorates faster because of the winters. But then again my impression could be skewed because i even think i feel a difference in the roads when i cross from the quebec side to the ontario side ...
 
now you got me thinking about the differences of asphalt surfaces and how they affect tire wear and i found this simple table (from Help and Tech Articles | Interco Tire) which shows the mileage estimate of 40000 mile rated tires when running on different surfaces ...

Surface Type Miles

Smooth Asphalt 40000
Coarse Asphalt 36000
Concrete 28000
Extra Coarse Asphalt 24000
Country Road 20000
Crushed Stone 8000

This begs the question of is there any way to find out the general surface type of asphalt in a region?
 
Heading down to Toronto tomorrow for the Model S Owner's Preview of the on Wednesday. There's a similar event for reservation holders on Thursday.

The regular display: The Model S Design Prototype Tour: Toronto, ON | Events | Tesla Motors

This will also be my first Roadster road trip. Second leg will be interesting because it is close to the range of the Roadster at Hwy 401 speeds. Sure will be a lot easier when they get that HPC installed in Kingston.
 
Just back at the hotel after the Owner's Preview. Hans, Sarah, Eli and Mark were there from Tesla. Met quite a few owners including Jaff, David, David, and Wendy (apologies for any names I forgot). I counted ten Roadsters in attendance, including the Toronto demo car - definitely the largest collection ever in Canada (there are only 50 or so). They lined up some Roadsters (including mine) on the grass at the front of the building. The demo car was doing test drives.

The Model S prototype, of course, looks gorgeous. The front grille looks very similar to the latest Alpha pictures, with a grille at the top and plastic at the bottom... I wonder if they updated it?

I asked about the charge port. The victim of my queries admitted that he knew where the port was going, but they weren't allowed to say yet. I guess they want to make a big announcement at some point. He did confirm that it was a proprietary connector, but he promised that "I would really like it". He said that J1772 doesn't support enough current for the fast charge capability. He did say the plug adapters would actually be adapter modules rather than cables -- that sounds very promising.
 
So they aren't going for a dual socket like the Leaf, but rather for a single proprietary socket. I wonder how similar it will be to the J1772 extension for DC charging.

I wonder what kind of anti-theft measures they will have for the adapter (will the adapter fit under a cover on the car, will there be locking)?