Magazine reviews! - Page 4

stopcrazypp · 02-05-2010, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobw

Tesla Motors has a blog posting about the What Up with Dat? article.

Tesla Motors looked at the car's trip log. It seems he left town at 85% SOC, drove between 70 and 80 mph, with bursts above 80 mph. The car had snow tires.

Joy. Will people be down on K.C. Colwell for shading the story, or will they condemn Tesla (Big Brother) Motors?

Tesla owns the car so the claim for privacy would be a bit harder. Data logging is standard in most cars and I think sometimes it is used for warranty disputes. Tesla is even going to add wireless eventually (truly Big Brother; don't know if the 2010 models already has this), although it requires owners to sign a release for privacy concerns.

I knew something was up with that article. I suspected the range mode vs standard mode, but I never expected the author to lie about his speed and driving style, which is very bad journalistic integrity. I didn't even really notice that he missed the cruise control, and I also wonder why he didn't simply charge when he got to his party.

DaveD · 02-07-2010, 05:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobw

Tesla Motors has a blog posting about the What Up with Dat? article.

Car and Driver's reponse to Tesla's blog posting: Tesla Roadster: The Mistakes We Made - Car and Driver Blog

Quote:

Tesla’s blog in response to our experience with its Roadster Sport is so beside the point that we feel we need to respond. The simple truth here is that we made but two mistakes: 1. Not charging the Roadster in “range” mode, and 2. Thinking we could use the Tesla like a real car.

bobw · 02-07-2010, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stopcrazypp

... I knew something was up with that article. I suspected the range mode vs standard mode, but I never expected the author to lie about his speed and driving style, which is very bad journalistic integrity.

It's quite possible the author genuinely thought he was driving gently.

I learned to drive in the '70s, and got my first car in 1981, when $1.35/gallon was much harder on the budget than today's $2.59. I hate to waste gasoline. I drive so gently most of the time, it gets on some passengers' nerves.

I also think he was thrown off by the fact that you get max range with an electric in stop-and-go traffic. He probably expected 180 highway miles to give him max range.

stopcrazypp · 02-07-2010, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobw

I also think he was thrown off by the fact that you get max range with an electric in stop-and-go traffic. He probably expected 180 highway miles to give him max range.

I find that the case with most motorheads. The intuition is that highway miles give the best efficiency, drilled in by a couple of decades of ICE driving. However, this is just a side-effect of idle losses and the limited range of rpms where the ICE stays near peak efficiency.

Once you eliminate those idle losses and the efficiency dependence on rpm (something both EVs and full hydrids do), then the aerodynamic losses from higher speeds would dominate (link below shows the relationship).

Tesla Motors - Engineering

dpeilow · 02-07-2010, 01:50 PM

Quote:

we’re not inclined to believe their assertions that he was doing 80 mph consistently. Even if the logs can show that he was going that fast, they cannot reveal how he was doing so while drafting for better aero efficiency behind large semi trucks.

Err, they can go that fast?

And (pedantic, I know), but they probably can...

vfx · 02-07-2010, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobw

It's quite possible the author genuinely thought he was driving gently.

Switching to Range and back to Standard mode is a real wake-up.

You think you are driving gently, but in R mode you are driving gently, forced to by the machine.

Say you wanted to take a road trip and fully intended to drive conservatively but wanted to stay "honest" and so you put the car in Range mode to help you not waste energy. (ICE cars could use this)
Then, when driving in R mode you find yourself at a stop light and step on the pedal and wonder where'd the power go?! Then you realize you were not driving so gently after all. Happens all the time.

Then, after you do a few days in Range mode and put it back into Standard it's another shock. Whoa!, where did all that power come from? You didn't realize how much you were on the pedal all those days in Range mode. It was limiting your leadfoot more than you ever realized. Now the car responds, transfering your thoughts to the wheels on the pavement in one unbroken stream. Amazing. Two cars for the price of one.

dpeilow · 02-08-2010, 01:22 AM

I tried to post another comment on why he couldn't find the cruise control, but I guess the moderators are letting that through. It does undermine the guy's credibility a bit...

dpeilow · 02-10-2010, 11:50 AM

More bashing from C&D: Electric Supercars: Audi E-Tron, Tesla Roadster, M-B SLS AMG eDrive Charge to Production - Feature - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver

vfx · 02-10-2010, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpeilow

More bashing from C&D: Electric Supercars: Audi E-Tron, Tesla Roadster, M-B SLS AMG eDrive Charge to Production - Feature - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver

They dance around it but it sounds like C&D has taken a position against EVs.

bobw · 02-11-2010, 09:25 AM

I should remind everyone that Aaron Robinson liked it. He likes the Roadster Sport, too.

As I said in my comment to the What Up with Dat? article, every technology involves tradeoffs. I suggest we add a tradeoffs table to the FAQ.

Along the X axis would be cars, Tesla Roadster and eventually Model S first, then others. I suggest we start with the Porsche 911 and somebody's favorite Ferrari. Other cars might include a Prius and a Honda Odyssey.

Down the Y axis I suggest Price, Range, Seating, Acceleration, Top Speed, fuel cost/mile, oil change cost, time to refuel, and so on.