Pictures of Model 3... probably not but nice concept anyway

[AnxietyRanger]

We won't know for quite a while yet, so further speculation seems quite pointless, but one more thought... I guess the motor layout will also depend a lot on what the Model 3 concept is. If they do something quite other than the current skateboard+sedanhatch then who knows what could make sense for them. I'm not buying the idea FWD couldn't even technically be "best" yet, because we don't know what the layout will be.

That said, RWD is very likely too of course.

 

[Skotty]

I think the majority of consumers prefer FWD over RWD due to a perception of FWD being safer and easier to drive and better in the snow. And I think it's entirely possible that is the primary reason why auto manufacturers make FWD cars. The debate on the whole FWD vs RWD seems endless with entrenched sides. Personally, I think Tesla will just simplify the configuration options and intentionally render the whole debate moot by only offering AWD.

As to the original post renders, I think they look pretty good.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Indeed, if cost and the layout are not issues, going AWD as standard would solve all.

 

[Model 3]

Just my little 2cent... I prefers RWD over FWD any day, but when I go out to buy a car, and I find a car I like to a price that I think will give me value for my money, and don't look too closely on if it is FWD or RWD, so at the moment I have 2 FWD cars...

Next time I go out shopping for a car I hope it will be the Model 3, and I will buy it no matter if it's RWD or FWD, but I hope it is AWD (Yes, I live in a "winter wonderland" )

 

[Red Sage]

I reiterate: The Tesla Model ≡ will target the BMW 3-Series, and with good reason.

In the United States of America the 3-Series outsells each and every one of the pretenders to its throne by a wide, wide margin.

Don't believe me? Fine. Read up a bit. Compare and contrast:

GOOD CAR BAD CAR: Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - 2014 Year End

#1 BMW 3-Series, 142,232
#3 Mercedes-Benz C-Class, 75,065
#9 Lexus IS, 51, 358
#14 AUDI A4, 38,679
#15 Infiniti Q50, 36,899

Not only is the BMW 3-Series the best selling car in the BMW lineup, and the best selling car in its class... It is also the single best selling vehicle across all premium brands in the United States of America. That is why it is so important that Tesla Model ≡ be able to match and surpass its sales.

Think in terms of the magnitude of change in the automotive market this would represent. Tesla Motors went from selling less than 3,000 vehicles over the course of three years... To selling over 30,000 of the Model S last year alone. I expect that Model ≡ will crest 300,000 units during 2019, if not sooner. If only 40% of those were sold in the US, that would be 120,000 units, far more than anyone other than the current market leader. That would send a message, because whatever ends up being Generation IV will certainly aim to reach 3,000,000 units per year worldwide.

 

[djplong]

Living in New England, I infinitely prefer FWD to RWD. RWD is just plain less efficient and we've known this since Roman times - why do you think the horses were in FRONT of the chariots? Pushing a vehicle also means having to overcome the weight of the front of the car pushing into the road. If I hit a slick spot on the road, I turn the wheel in the direction I want to go - I'm not a slave to having to turn INTO the skid (which is usually towards the guard rail).

It's not often that I've had to depend on FWD to get me out of a spot, but it's nice to know it's there when I need it.

Of course, AWD is preferable to all of that. If there's an AWD option when the '3' comes out and I can even come CLOSE to affording it, I'm doing it.

 

[Tyl]

Here ya go.....

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

Those two abominations posing as renderings have their own 'dedicated' thread here:

Autoevolution Renders the Model 3...Poorly. | TMC

That thread already has some 36 posts.


Here’s an excerpt from what I wrote in that thread:

…/ Those renderings are truly hideous!

It's surreal or even unreal how someone can actually design AND publish something like that!


The only two possible explanations are:

a) Nepotism.

or

b) Someone has been making decisions with their genitals instead of their brain.


It can’t possibly be just incompetence!

 

[vinnie97]

Wow, they certainly are subjective. I think the Mazda 3 looks nice (I could see the Model 3 being like the sedan version but with a lift back) and the Kia optima looks like a totally generic boring sedan.

I'm not in love with either of them, but the Mazda 3 (at least from the photos shown in this thread) has the more attractive design to me as well.

 

[vinnie97]

Wow, that looks good! Really like it the most of all the designs people suggested. Especially the proportions are nice. Think the size would be a good fit for the Model 3, too.

Concurred, that one's the most attractive (and the car isn't half bad either ).

 

[mrdoubleb]

Here ya go.....

View attachment 81884

My eyes, my eyes!!!

 

[Red Sage]

Both Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 occupied spots on the most recent Car and Driver Ten Best List. Both share a design language that was initiated while Franz von Holzhausen was at Mazda. Curiously, a third vehicle that he penned appeared on the same list: the Tesla Model S.

I am certain that the Model ≡ will be absolutely beautiful. However, it pains me whenever someone suggests that some econobox with oversized wheels, a retouched, recycled, and regurgitated ICE concept from years gone by, or a weirdmobile of any sort represents the vehicle line that Tesla Motors will risk their entire future for. Such efforts are an insult to everything that Elon Musk strives to accomplish through Tesla Motors.

 

[igotzzoom]

Both Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 occupied spots on the most recent Car and Driver Ten Best List. Both share a design language that was initiated while Franz von Holzhausen was at Mazda. Curiously, a third vehicle that he penned appeared on the same list: the Tesla Model S.

Yes. I'm quite confident with Franz heading design, the Model 3 will be quite the looker. I hope he has a photo of an i3 in his studio, with a big red circle and slash, and the caption "NO".