Jay Leno has done a review of the Tesla Roadster, a vehicle that doesn’t have an internal combustion engine. One thing about this type of vehicle is that current battery technology cannot compete with the range that an internal combustion engine can provide. If you read Jay’s column in Popular Mechanics you would know that he already has a battery powered vehicle which was manufactured early in the 20th century (if I remember correctly).
Tesla Roadster – TimesOnline.co.uk: People think that if you’re a car enthusiast you have something against electric cars. Not in the least. To me the nice thing about electric vehicles is, if nothing else, they free up the gasoline for our other cars.
I think many car enthusiasts see the future as one where they will use some kind of electric car or hydrogen car during the week and will save their sports cars for the weekend, just as you would play golf or football at the weekend.
Tesla is quite smart in that it is reaching the enthusiasts of the market. If you like sports cars and you want to be green, this is the only way to go. The Tesla is a car that you can live with, drive and enjoy as a sports car. I had a brief drive in the car and it was quite impressive. This is an electric car that is fun to drive. Prior to this, most electric cars were driven by people with earth shoes.
dude that’s awesome — push the smog off onto the power plants and give them the tax incentives they need to clean up their smokestack emisisons, have cool cars, and quit the petro-habit once and for all
just gotta quit being afraid of change
bada bing — maybe we can put all the conservatives into amish-type communities to live out their days in obsolescence.
I would love to have one… now, if I can just convince my wife…
I hear they are also planning a sedan. I’m a bit more practically minded than this. But, this shows some really amazing capabilities. I’ve been watching it for a while. Perhaps sexy sports-car marketing like this will help people to realize the benefits of electric cars. GM did a great job on the EV1 also … too bad they threw it away.
So, a sedan version and a Manhattan garage that will charge me to charge it and I’m ready.
Most NYC power is at least cleaner than a gasoline engine. (Niagara, gas, some tidal on the increase, and a large-scale effort to improve on that.) I think NYC electricity would already be a huge win over gasoline.
#1 – grog,
maybe we can put all the conservatives into amish-type communities to live out their days in obsolescence.
LOL!
3. GM may have their Chevy Volt out in 2009 / 2010. Should be hella cheaper than the Tesla, but not as fast either. It’s a tradeoff.
#3 – http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=9899
#2 Jägermeister For all the flak I received in that Vegan post…
My wife is all for this car !!!
When I inquired, they weren’t shipping just yet to Canada.
Had to settle for the Prius and will upgrade that to full electric + plug-in.
At less than half the price of this Tesla – and about the same price as the Whitestar – with a gas engine to boot. (125 Mpg here I come)
#4 I must correct your misinformation Guyver.
Only 1,000 units will be built by GM by the end of 2010, as working prototypes. To gather Real World data to (possibly) improve the cars.
THEN GM, if they can get at least 1,000,000 Pre-Orders will mass produce the Volt. Without a million confirmed orders – the Volt dies right there.
It’s sad that the companies with the means to mass produce electric cars cheaply, don’t, and startups like Tesla and Zap! go out on a limb.
The Prius finally sold 1 million after five years – around the world…
Tesla will beat figure in the US alone in less time, just because it’s a US of A company instead of a Jap company.
Bummer about the Volt. That would lead me to believe that GM intentionally killed the EV1, which everyone loved, but couldn’t own, no matter how much they offered to pay.
I am glad that Tesla and Zap! are around to get electrics out there. If I won the lottery, I would buy a Tesla Roadster. It is such a cool car. I sure hope that someone comes out with a more reasonably priced AMERICAN electric car. Cheap to me means Chinese made, but reasonable is good enough.
Good story in the WSJ today about a guy who took an old datson and took out the gas engine put in to two electric fork truck engines and was spanking the local gas dragsters. Also with Al gore jr.s bust going a hundred in his I am starting to get excited about this technology.
I’d like to clear up a misconception about electric cars. While it’s possible that the emissions will be “pushed off” onto dirty power plants (which are probably more cleaner and efficient than the many individual gas engines they will replace), there are many sources of electricity–nuclear, wind, solar and hydroelectric being the most common alternatives to a power source based on fossil fuels. So it’s very possible now (and increasingly likely in the future) that electric cars will be powered by energy that is entirely free of harmful emissions.
I plan on buying an electric car within a few years (possibly the Tesla sedan when it comes out), and shortly after that I’d like to power it with solar panels on the garage.
6. DAMN!!!! 🙁 Well, I suppose I’ll just go off on the total opposite end of the spectrum and consider getting one of those new Camaros coming out maybe next year. They are making those, aren’t they? Please don’t spoil it for me. 🙂
It makes me wonder if the Oil companies will either buy Tesla and bury it or make a viral campaign calling EVs “Perfect for limp wristed nerds.”
#6 – Mark Derail
The price tag is what’s keeping me from convincing my wife about getting a Tesla Roadster. Anyway, we’ve also looked into the Prius + plug-in package. Too bad about the relatively high cost for the plug-in packages, but I hope they’ll drop in price.
I’m hoping that new developments in Lithium tech (valence, LiFEPo4, A123, etc) and possibly other future advances will allow batteries to have something closer to the energy density of fossils. Most people won’t convert until they can have their cake and eat it, too. They want fast/powerful and large with the range to go as far as a tank of gas can get them…batteries just can’t do that yet.
I ride a recumbent trike at least once a week to work, and have in the shop getting an electric assist motor put on it so I can ride every day (to help with steeper hills), unless it’s icy/snowing. Not the best solution for most, but I live about 8 miles from work, and they have a gym (i.e. showers and lockers) on-site.
what would be cool,
Is an AIR ION transfer charger…
What a beautiful car.
Nichola Tesla lives on yet again
It is hard to be practical when we’re talking sexy sports cars.
Come to Manitoba where we have tons of exportable hydro electric power.
Can you imagine doing driving lessons in this? I would certainly attract the boy racers!!!! ha ha