Retractable Door Handles - Is It Practical?

[SByer]

My 2 cents:

I carefully played with the handles on #65 (so, not sure if they are representative of the final product), but they were definitely capacitive for extension and motion sensing/IR for open. Lightest touch would extend the handles, didn't have to touch anything (like playing Doctor!) to hear the latch go (but required a pull to really open the door).

For me, the timing like this (thus, without the electronics package) was just the slightest smidge slower than I would like - but really, not slower than the Roadsters tap-and-pause buttons.

With the electronics package, I would be so diggin' on them. I'm pretty convinced they'll be darned slick.

(Where's my AWD Model W with all this stuff?!?)

[cinergi]

Can someone test with gloves on (ones without special capacitive fingertips)?

[vfx]

Last Sunday we were told that Tesla has dropped that capacitance version of the door handles.

[smorgasbord]

Here's a video I shot this morning of the Aston Martin Vantage door handles that are on the first Model S Alpha prototype:



I think these make a lot more sense than the electronic gizmos Tesla is apparently still wrestling with. The engineering effort that's gone into the Model S door handles could have been better used in so many other places, IMHO.

[AnOutsider]

True, but I like they stuck to their guns. Similar to them not needing the falcon wing doors on the X, but it's a staple of the design at this point. They did seemingly step down on the mirrors though, so they at least have some degree of understanding of when to stop.

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Yeah, I love the handles; one of the things that really got me hooked early on when the original prototype was unveiled. I had specifically posed that question when Tesla was soliciting questions last year for Franz to answer:

Model S: Designing the Perfect Endurance Athlete | Blog | Tesla Motors

Are you keeping the awesome door handles?

Franz: Yes! Door handles will be flush to the body of the car on every Model S. The handles are people’s first point of contact with the car. They should feel solid and inspire confidence, but they should also lend to the aerodynamics of the vehicle. That’s why I wanted the handles to be more of an accent, appearing when needed. As planned, they will only present themselves when passengers approach the car. Making the handles flush to the body improves airflow down the body’s sides, reducing the drag coefficient and extending range.

If they hadn't panned out, I'd have been fine with regular pull handles (and the probably very minor increase in drag and loss of range) - the Aston Martin-style ones look cheap IMO.

[raptorweb]

If they hadn't panned out, I'd have been fine with regular pull handles (and the probably very minor increase in drag and loss of range) - the Aston Martin-style ones look cheap IMO.

I would agree plus i wouldn't want to explain to everyone how to open the door. ... Push the side ... no the other side

[vfx]

) - the Aston Martin-style ones look cheap IMO.

That summed it up for me. Much like a shipping or packing crate from the military in the 60's.

[smorgasbord]

They look all beat up on the S Alpha-1, but in real life I think they look very cool:



Here's a review gushing over them: http://jalopnik.com/5556819/whats-th...ar-door-handle

Note the bars to identify where your thumbs go.

This reminds me of NASA figuring out how Astronauts would write in space. They spent a ton of time and money coming up with a pressurized pen. The Russians simply used pencils.

I love technology, but it has to be applied appropriately to the problem at hand. Given that Tesla is still tweaking how the handles work, and given that the handles mostly don't work on the Beta models, I'm predicting troubles for owners, especially Sig owners.

Maybe the first iPhone app I'll write is one that lowers the driver's side window so you can reach in and open the door after you've unlocked it, but don't have an exposed handle to grab on the outside.

[jerry33]

This reminds me of NASA figuring out how Astronauts would write in space. They spent a ton of time and money coming up with a pressurized pen. The Russians simply used pencils.

Most of the expense for the pen (and the toilet seat) was because each Congressman and Senator had to have their input which caused the designs to be changed again and again.