Calgary is getting a service center

[green1]

Anyway, nice to Tesla expanding in Canada. If only Alberta or Federal governments would jump on the EV bandwagon.

I wouldn't hold my breath on that one, conservative governments in oil country are unlikely to give any incentives for disruptive technologies...(though I would love to be proven wrong!)

 

[Mayhemm]

I wouldn't hold my breath on that one, conservative governments in oil country are unlikely to give any incentives for disruptive technologies...(though I would love to be proven wrong!)

Sadly true. But hey, at least they aren't outright banning sales like some of our southern neighbors...

 

[Grassy Knoel]

Apologies that this is off topic but...I'm pretty sure that Alberta is still the cheapest place to purchase a Tesla. The royalties that the oil and gas industry pay to the provincial government allow for no PST. From that statement one could argue that the we receive subsidization of any purchase we make. This allows the individual to choose where the "incentive" dollars are applied. I've chosen to leverage this "subsidization" to support Tesla, a company that that aligns with my priorities.

In regards to the Service Centre delays, I'm starting to wonder if there's been less activity in Calgary than corporate might have originally assumed from a city of 1M+ citizens. I'm only seen 3 other Tesla's over the last year and would guess that there remains less than 20 throughout the city. If we were to include the rest of AB and SK, maybe less than 50? That's not a lot of presence.

 

[green1]

In regards to the Service Centre delays, I'm starting to wonder if there's been less activity in Calgary than corporate might have originally assumed from a city of 1M+ citizens. I'm only seen 3 other Tesla's over the last year and would guess that there remains less than 20 throughout the city. If we were to include the rest of AB and SK, maybe less than 50? That's not a lot of presence.

With no gallery, no advertising, and no test-drive events in Calgary, and the nearest Tesla facilities remaining in Vancouver, the lack of vehicles isn't a huge surprise. the vast majority of people I've talked to have never even heard of Tesla. There's money in Calgary (even if it isn't in my bank account...) as evidenced by a fairly large number of exotic vehicles in the city (It's not at all unusual to see a ferrari, lambourghini, or rolls royce) I think Tesla needs to hold a test drive event or two and get some local media interest (I'm sure a test-drive event for a vehicle like this could warrant a 30second spot on the local morning television shows, or nightly newscasts)

 

[Doug_G]

There are almost certainly more cars than you think. The Model S looks gorgeous when you see it, but if it's in traffic it isn't so dramatically different that it would pop right out at you. My passengers have spotted other Teslas more often than I have, because on a divided road I don't pay much attention to the oncoming traffic. And you pass far more cars going the other way!

 

[Canuck]

Apologies that this is off topic but...I'm pretty sure that Alberta is still the cheapest place to purchase a Tesla...

Very true. In BC, on a $100K car, our PST is 10% making for an additional $10K over the price in Alberta.

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With no gallery, no advertising, and no test-drive events in Calgary, and the nearest Tesla facilities remaining in Vancouver, the lack of vehicles isn't a huge surprise...

I also think that a lot of money in Alberta is acquired through oil and turning up in a Tesla at work, especially at a job in which money is derived through oil, could be frowned upon.

 

[Grassy Knoel]

Th O&G industry is mature enough to embrace anything that could improve it's environmental image.

I think the perception of limited range is the driving factor here. Most destination locations (Invermere, Jasper, Interior BC, Waterton etc...) are on the cusp of, or outside of the Model S' single charge range. Most people I'm come across have heard of Tesla and are curious for more info but the 2 biggest concerns have always been range and winter.

Sorry Mayhemm but I don't know of many destination locations in SK though I'm sure there are many!

 

[green1]

I have to admit to being in that category. My favourite destinations are right at the edge of the range of the Model S, and it's hard to know which side of the edge they're on, especially in lousy weather/road conditions in the winter. I'd really like to see a 100kw version of the S to alleviate that issue. You list a few that are actually less of an issue then where I am thinking. several of your examples would be solved with the likely future supercharger in the lake-louise area (jasper and interior BC come to mind) Invermere is right on the edge, and with the elevation, and some bad roads I'd be worried it's too far (unless the supercharger ends up at castle junction) But even the depths of Kananaskis are close to the limit of the model S, and if you stay there a couple days with vampire draw plus extra pack heating to restart after a cold night you could be in trouble. I've also been known to head up the forestry trunk to past water valley, and that might not work so well either.

Calgary is a fairly isolated city when you come to think of it, the S would make an awesome commuter car, but if you enjoy the mountains it feels like a risk.

 

[Mayhemm]

Sorry Mayhemm but I don't know of many destination locations in SK though I'm sure there are many!

Don't know about many but I'm sure there's a few. I guess it depends on what you do at the destinations. Obviously, we don't have much in the way of skiing or sailing here but in northern SK (where I am) the fishing and hunting is apparently great. Neither interest me, but people seem to come from everywhere to partake.

No, I can't really blame Tesla for its lack of interest...but I don't have to like it either. I was kind of hoping we'd at least get some love (Supercharger, service center, etc) for being a means of getting from AB to ON.

To me, the only real noteworthy thing is that Sun Country Highway (of EV infrastructure fame) is based in Saskatoon.

 

[gpetti]

I've just started experimenting with my range around Calgary. I started with a trip to cochrane which is really no further for me than some of the further corners of Calgary. Last weekend I went to Canmore and back which is about 95 km each way and I still had about 150 km rated range; however, the return trip used about 3 KWH less as it is relatively downhill. On paper it seems I could get to Golden but there are still a few too many variables for me yet. I'm interested to know if grassy Knoel has done one of these trips and how close it was. I see that sun country has a charger in Golden. I was assuming that Tesla would eventually put one there too. I guess if they put a SC in Lake Louise that might be good for a safety stop.

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Th O&G industry is mature enough to embrace anything that could improve it's environmental image.

I think the perception of limited range is the driving factor here. Most destination locations (Invermere, Jasper, Interior BC, Waterton etc...) are on the cusp of, or outside of the Model S' single charge range. Most people I'm come across have heard of Tesla and are curious for more info but the 2 biggest concerns have always been range and winter.

Sorry Mayhemm but I don't know of many destination locations in SK though I'm sure there are many!

I find that I have to argue about the relative merits of electric versus oil more with my O&G friends, particularly wrt CO2 emissions. I have had one person suggest to me that we Albertans should use as much O&G as possible. Slightly tongue in cheek but there does seem to be more resistance here than other places where I've discussed the car. I find most of the people who are really excited by the car are in a younger age bracket and generation than myself and less likely to be able to afford a Tesla.
Anyway I originally targeted mine for city driving and I still have an ICE vehicle for trips to BC. The car is amazing for city driving and if tesla actually puts superchargers in from here to Vancouver I will seriously consider some more adventurous trips. Would love to drive to the Okanagan.

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There are almost certainly more cars than you think. The Model S looks gorgeous when you see it, but if it's in traffic it isn't so dramatically different that it would pop right out at you. My passengers have spotted other Teslas more often than I have, because on a divided road I don't pay much attention to the oncoming traffic. And you pass far more cars going the other way!

I think in another thread someone said that there were 20 Teslas in the city including roadsters. When I bought mine the didn't seem to be any in the pipeline at that point besides mine and I haven't seen any new TMC participants with recent purchases. Assuming even 20 model Ss in town that is a pretty tiny percentage of the approximately 765,000 registered vehicles. Strangely enough all of the Model Ss I've seen in Calgary have been within a very small section of the city mostly on the same street. (Im pretty sure I've seen Grassy Knoel around, besides when he was on TV )
I'm getting some work done next week so I'm going to ask the service rep if the numbers are higher now.

 

[tomanik]

We did a trip to Drumheller and back last summer in our S60, 300km round trip and had 50km ideal range left when we got home. Couple trips to Banff and back 265km with 90km ideal range left. A trip to Lake Louise just after xmas, 200km on the way out and arriving with 98km ideal range left. Depending on where you are in the city you should have no issues at all getting to Golden with your 85kWh battery. Of course how heavy your foot is really makes a big difference

Look forward to seeing your metallic blue around on a sunny day, one of the colors I have not yet seen in person

 

[gpetti]

We did a trip to Drumheller and back last summer in our S60, 300km round trip and had 50km ideal range left when we got home. Couple trips to Banff and back 265km with 90km ideal range left. A trip to Lake Louise just after xmas, 200km on the way out and arriving with 98km ideal range left. Depending on where you are in the city you should have no issues at all getting to Golden with your 85kWh battery. Of course how heavy your foot is really makes a big difference

Look forward to seeing your metallic blue around on a sunny day, one of the colors I have not yet seen in person

Wow, you are really getting some great distance out of your car. Were you doing normal speed limits? My trip to Canmore I was doing 118 KM fairly steadily and heating at about 19C (it was zero outside). I think Doug G has mentioned that speed is the biggest factor. I've seen one or more black model S around but every time on 17th avenue S.W. so I suspect its the same car. Not sure if you frequent this area or not. I'm often seen on 17th Avenue S.W as my office is at one end and my home is near the other end.

 

[gpetti]

Service in the meantime...

I was going to post this anyway but I wasn't sure where; however, as this topic is about the Calgary service center or lack thereof (and the ever moving date) I thought I'd relay a recent experience with service here in Calgary.

Basically I've seen a warning a couple of times over the past month or so that said 12V battery was low and that I needed service. Very worrying but the first time I had the car plugged in and fully charged so I rebooted both screens and the problem went away. The second time I was out of town (in Canmore as per related topic) but had plenty of battery. I rebooted again and the problem cleared. I came home and waited to see if the problem would reoccur or not. I haven't seen the problem since but yesterday I reported the problem. Today I got an email to say that they had downloaded my logs, diagnosed an intermittent problem with my cabin heater (PTC heater) that causes the battery to go into Safe Mode. Although this problem has only been a nuisance so far, they have asked to perform some repairs and subject to my agreement, they are shipping parts to my home for Monday and a technician will arrive at my home for Tuesday where he will install the necessary parts. The speed of remote diagnostics and their swift reaction (even though it involves air travel) basically makes this more convenient for me than if they had a service center. I guess it remains to be seen if their diagnostics are accurate but for me this definitely relieves any misgivings I had about service time. Some of this story is about the cars ability to log faults and their ability to remotely diagnose it. My prior ICE experience with this type of issue is months of trying to re-create the problem, bringing it in, No Trouble Found, etc. I guess to point out a negative, its unlikely that they will install the Titanium battery protection as they will be doing the work in my driveway and I'm assuming they would need a proper hoist.

 

[green1]

I saw a roadster on 16th near the W city limit last year, and I've seen one black MS on deerfoot turning off on to 16th ave a couple months ago. So far that's it.
Good to hear that a 60 can do Banff and back... my hope is that an 85 can do a return trip to Lake Louise without charging (seems to be right at the limit) (and without doing 20km/hr under the speed limit to extend range)

 

[gpetti]

I saw a roadster on 16th near the W city limit last year, and I've seen one black MS on deerfoot turning off on to 16th ave a couple months ago. So far that's it.
Good to hear that a 60 can do Banff and back... my hope is that an 85 can do a return trip to Lake Louise without charging (seems to be right at the limit) (and without doing 20km/hr under the speed limit to extend range)

Well lake Louise might be my next experiment

 

[tomanik]

Wow, you are really getting some great distance out of your car. Were you doing normal speed limits? My trip to Canmore I was doing 118 KM fairly steadily and heating at about 19C (it was zero outside). I think Doug G has mentioned that speed is the biggest factor. I've seen one or more black model S around but every time on 17th avenue S.W. so I suspect its the same car. Not sure if you frequent this area or not. I'm often seen on 17th Avenue S.W as my office is at one end and my home is near the other end.

Drumheller I stuck to the speed limit the whole way. For the Banff trips we took the 1A out which is a little slower and took the highway 1 home which is downhill and usually has a tail wind, easily keeping with traffic ;-)

If its 17th then it is one of the other black model s' in town. The one turning off from deerfoot onto 16th ave however is likely me, Stoney trail has quickly become my friend.

If you get really stuck fairmount lake louise has a 14-50 plug in the valet section of their parking and were very accommodating to us when we stayed there however I don't think you'll need it with the spring weather.

Also thanks for sharing your service experience, I have found the Vancouver team to be fantastic. Will need to do my annual inspection soon, anyone in Calgary already completed this and if so did they use a local service center for it or was it just done at your home?

 

[Footbag]

I called into Tesla today, getting closer to pulling the trigger, and wanted to discuss some questions/concerns. During the conversation, it was stated that the Calgary service center was 'opening real soon'. Actually, he was a bit more specific, saying it will be open in November, and they are arranging an event in advance. Now, no idea how reliable this actually is, but it seemed genuine, as it would be a bit odd to invite me to an event that wasn't going to occur... Mind you, it is certainly possible they could hold the event even without the center opening. Anyway, thought I'd pass along this bit of information.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Excellent news! I have not seen any sevice centre jobs on the website though, you would think those would be out by now. Maybe they send in a transition team and hire after they are in place?

 

[Footbag]

Well that was (likely) short lived excitement. I made a follow up call to the Vancouver service centre (my original call was to the main Tesla number). Spoke to a very helpful individual there, and when the topic of the Calgary service centre came up, he laughed that I was told 1 month. His response was along the lines of "head office isn't always plugged into reality". Spring was the timeline he provided. I heard someone in the background laugh and say "I wish we could open it tomorrow" which was amusing. It sounded like a few Albertans have called them asking that same question.

 

[PoweredByRain]

"head office isn't always plugged into reality"

I for one am getting tired of all the promises that are not kept. Exhibit A:

(Not that I actually want a CHAdeMO adapter, but to have it listed on the web site as "Coming Soon" - in a small font, no less - for a year, is just ridiculous.)