Todd Burch
14-Year Member
That's exactly the point. It's perceived quality--not necessarily quality. Of course, there is a difference.
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That's exactly the point. It's perceived quality--not necessarily quality. Of course, there is a difference.
I will second this motion. I have driven VWs for the last 9 years. And my parents were 100% VW/Audi for about 10 years. And I will be the first to admit that VW isn't the best (I don't think they are the worst either) in terms of quality builds. But their door feel and 'thunk' are the most solid out there. My 2007 VW GTI has much better door feel than my moms 2011 BMW 528i. And my fiancee's Civic is just awful in comparison. If you look the VW door hinges are about twice the size of the Civic's and about 50% bigger than my moms BMW.
But it is almost 100% perception. I bet my doors are a bit harder to rip off the car.
Vws are also known for being very safe. Wonder if it has anything to do with side impact protection?
When I worked at a VW dealership one of the salesmen that was pushing about 350lbs would hang from the doors of the car as an example of how well the hinges were. When he offered to try it out on the potential buyers current car all declined :smile:
It doesn't really matter if the underlying quality is there or not. What will matter ultimately is when the reviews start coming in and if any of them (or multiple) make comments about the "clunky" doors, or the "solid" feel getting in and out, etc. THAT is what can potentially affect buyer and analyst impressions, regardless of the "true" quality. Will it be enough to sway a potential buyer one way or the other, or the analysts to under or over value the stock? Well, we'll just have to leave that to be seen once the more thorough reviews start filtering in.
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
There are some manufacturers who add weight to kitchen countertop appliances (like a blender, for instance), because to many people, weight = quality in those size appliances. Purely a perception. Same with door thunk. (Anyone here close a Roadster trunk? It's a carbon fiber deck so the car feels 'plasticky' if you're not aware of the cf. And it's bendy.)
my current Rover 820 from 1994 is "sealed" to prevent unwanted sounds. Instead it have a AIR presiure vent back near the rear wheels - it's just a opening aprox 5x10 cm sealed with a rubber flap - allowing air to go out the car and preventing water to go in.
This also helps the general ventilation of the windows/cabin, when you have selected to draw fresh air in, if air needs to go in the car, some air also need to go out.
I asume any car must have a spot/place where air(presiure) is allowed to go out.
It should be easy to test if Model S is lacking a air presuire vent. - just open the panoroof slightly (e.g. 1 inch) and test if the doors closes more easy and/or have improved the sound - anyone to confirm/bust this
This also helps the general ventilation of the windows/cabin, when you have selected to draw fresh air in, if air needs to go in the car, some air also need to go out.
I asume any car must have a spot/place where air(presiure) is allowed to go out.
It should be easy to test if Model S is lacking a air presuire vent. - just open the panoroof slightly (e.g. 1 inch) and test if the doors closes more easy and/or have improved the sound - anyone to confirm/bust this
I was annoyed to find that they do this with vacuum cleaners too...
Mercedes was considred the classic benchmark on door "thunks". I think the term frequently used was "bank vault solid".
Other manufacturers spent time studying how their doors closed in an effort to replicate the sound and feel.
roblab
Active Member
KNOWN for being very safe? That's another perception. The ones who KNOW are the insurance actuary tables.
Volvo has for years touted its cars as being "safe", yet the Saab, also from Sweden, gets better marks from the insurance companies.
So I guess it's perception --- and marketing.
DrComputer
TeslaClubLA President
Per my expectations from a car with frameless windows, the S does have very poor "door thunk" qualities. This is another example of form over function. Fully framed doors give more support to the windows and give the door a much heavier "feel" thereby giving the door better door thunk qualities.
Johan
Ex got M3 in the divorce, waiting for EU Model Y!
mknox
Well-Known Member
Door "thunk" sound aside, I am still curious as to why Tesla decided to go with frameless glass. They're not alone... I see frameless glass on certain other high end cars as well. My last car had framed glass where the glass slid into a padded recess in the frame, then the whole door was triple sealed and very tight. It closed like a vault and was very, very quiet and free of any drafts. Frameless glass seems a little "cheap" by comparison, and surely can't result in as good of a seal with the car. Is it just a "style thing"?
1. Cost.
2. Fit. There is fewer panels to match. (remember all the panel gap complaints early on?)
3. Ease of manufacture.
4. Weight.
There are probably some more that I haven't thought of.
mknox
Well-Known Member
Weight is a good point. The fact is, I've seen some higher end M-B and Audi models with frameless glass as well, and was thinking Tesla may have gone this route for "style" purposes.
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