OT: Tesla S getting great reviews so far...

Video review WOT/MotorTrend

The Model S indeed, high-performance electric vehicles in general-will take some getting used to, even a new vocabulary. We currently don't have a good term for EVs' distinctive concentration of mass, with batteries slung low as possible and centroid to the vehicle. While traction batteries are heavy, and mass is bad for acceleration and agility, the lower center-of-gravity often compensates with higher levels of cornering, especially when a car wears rubber like the Signature Performance edition's sticky 21-inch summer tires. How about "corner-levering mass"?

Whatever, the Tesla's got it in spades. The car's flat, floorpan-mounted battery pack (85 kWh) accounts for about 30% of the significant total vehicle weight, 4,642 pounds. And yet, with a C-of-G comparable to that of a Ford GT supercar, the Tesla corners like it's tethered with magic. What do you call that?

Wall Street Journal, of all places...

Both reviews emphasize that it's a great car, not a great electric gimmick in a fair/middling car. Exactly the kind of metric I'm sure BMW will try for. After they've let Tesla lead the way/Fisker take the falls.

I really hope that Tesla stays afloat. If the infrastructure gets developed for rapid charge options throughout the country, my next purchase will be a Tesla or BMW (provided they make an equivalent of the Model S).

Yesterday BMW sent me a survey on my 7, and there were a lot of questions about what I would want in an all electric vehicle. I hope they get on board as well. All manufacturers together could easily provide the needed infrastructure for rapid recharging. Currently, where I live, I could not do more than my work commute with electric. I'm not willing to spend 80-100K on an electric car until I can travel unfettered throughout the country. I'm willing for hour breaks every 4-5 hrs to charge.

Here's to the future!

An electric vehicle makes sense as a second car when the car's range is about twice what the person would normally drive (and not just the daily commute). For me, I frequently go about 65 miles from home and therefore need a 130 mile real world range at highway speeds. I wouldn't consider a car with less than a 200 mile range and would prefer a 250 mile range for comfort. For longer trips, renting is always an option.

Long term, the best solution for pure electric cars I see is easily swappable batteries (and maybe lease the batteries or something like that).

Originally Posted by cwsqbm

Long term, the best solution for pure electric cars I see is easily swappable batteries (and maybe lease the batteries or something like that).

The Fluence has swappable batteries, but the car has not sold well. The Kangoo Z.E. was supposed to have swappable batteries. I'm not sure if that went into the production van. Both have 22kWH packs from the same manufacturer, but they are physically incompatible. Not the same shape or size.

Only Renault sells the shell and leases the battery pack. All other manufacturers sell the pack and the car together. That, a complete lack of standards, costs and not enough cars is going to kill swapping stations before they reach critical mass. Better Place is going to fail.




The UK has a handful of public high speed CHAdeMO DC chargers. Those will force feed a Leaf to full in about 30 minutes. California has more of them -- 20 or 30 I think. But a Leaf's real range is well under 100 miles. It drops to 50 or 60 if you are using the heater.

A Renault Zoe will manage 100+ miles if you drive carefully. The Zoe will fast charge, but the Zoe's on-board charger is probably not compatible with CHAdeMO.

At the moment only Tesla's super charger + a model S is up to true Cross country driving.