...and yet the extremely negative OpEd by Charles lane in the Washington Post, based on John Broder's retracted article of the NYT “problems with precision and judgment.” has not been retracted in any way by the WaPo, so for the vast majority of the readers of the WaPo, it still stands as the truth and opinion of higher up editors and opinion writers at the Washinton Post
--- On Tue, 2/26/13, brucedp5 <[email protected]> wrote: > From: brucedp5 <[email protected]> > Subject: [EVDL] EVLN: Confessions of a Tesla ‘fanboy’ > To: [email protected] > Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 9:55 AM > > 'sashay up to the hotel valet like a supermodel working a > catwalk' > > http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/confessions-of-a-tesla-fanboy/2013/02/21/535fc2fe-7bea-11e2-82e8-61a46c2cde3d_story.html > [image] Confessions of a Tesla ‘fanboy’ > By Vivek Wadhwa Feb 20 2012 > > [image / Paul Sakuma/AP > http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/01/03/National-Economy/Images/Auto_Sales_Forecast-03143.jpg > In this June 22, 2012 photo, Tesla workers cheer on one the > first Tesla > Model S cars sold during a rally at the Tesla factory in > Fremont, Calif. > ] > > I remember when I got my first iPod. The small, elegant, and > powerful device > changed my music-listening habits forever. There was never > any going back to > cassette tapes after this. I’ve had the same experience > with my Tesla Model > S. It isn’t just an elegant and powerful driving machine; > it is a completely > new driving experience. After owning this for a month and > clocking over > 1,000 miles, I can’t drive my Mercedes-Benz any more. It > would be like > listening to an old cassette tape. > > When you step on the pedal in the Model S you skip a few > heartbeats. The car > literally seems to fly. It is frighteningly quiet and picks > up acceleration > like a spaceship shifting into warp speed. I’ve raced > Formula Fords at Skip > Barber Racing School and have driven Porches and Ferraris > owned by my > friends. They feel like super-charged lawn mowers when > compared with the > Tesla. Internal-combustion engine technology doesn’t hold > a candle to > electric. That is probably why Motor Trend named the Model > S, car of the > year this year. They called it “truly remarkable” and > said it would “sashay > up to the valet at a luxury hotel like a supermodel working > a Paris > catwalk.” Supermodel is a good analogy for my Tesla. > > What takes the most getting used to is the regenerative > breaking system. The > car charges itself when you take your foot off the > accelerator or go > downhill. Regular automobiles coast when you lift the gas > pedal, so you have > to step on the brakes to slow down or stop. In the Tesla, > this happens as > soon as you lift your foot. I find that I hardly use the > brake anymore; I > just modulate the accelerator pedal to speed or slow. I > think this is a much > safer way of driving-you “become one” with the car and > have much more > control. > > When you sit in the car, you are impressed with its styling > and elegance. > But what catches your eye is the giant dashboard-it is like > an oversized > iPad which serves as the car’s central nervous system. > This allows you to > control everything from the firmness of the suspension, to > the lighting, > door locks, air conditioning, and the regenerative breaking > system-you can > turn this off if you want to go back to braking the > old-fashioned way. The > dashboard also has a Web browser so passengers can surf > while you drive, or > so that you can sneak a peek at your e-mails while you are > stopped at a > traffic light. > > Not only is the car Web-enabled, it is also app-enabled. > Just as you receive > new versions of software on your smart phones, you receive > updates from > Tesla. This means that the car is constantly evolving; they > are adding > features and improving on existing functions. > > My one gripe with the car is its lack of turn-by-turn > directions. To save > $3,750 from the $70,000 sticker price (before $10,000 in > rebates), I didn’t > buy the “tech package,” which includes this feature. I > assumed that since > the Web browser has Google maps, I would get the same > features I have on my > iPhone. I was wrong. Nevertheless, I complained directly to > Tesla CEO, Elon > Musk. He wrote back, “The directions come from Navigon, > which enables > complete offline navigation, not Google. We haven’t > disabled Google > directions, we just don’t have the Google directions > application on the car > infotainment computer. At some point, we will add it, but > there are many > more pressing software upgrades needed before that”. > > Fair enough. As long as I know I am going to get this app, I > will wait > patiently. After all, what other car manufacturer has ever > given me a > feature upgrade? > > There has been much debate recently over a review by New > York Times reporter > John Broder, who wrote that the car did not travel as far as > advertised. As > you can make out, I am now a “Tesla fanboy.” Yes, I’m > biased. Regardless, > I’ll say that I completely agree with what the Times’ > Public Editor Margaret > Sullivan said — that Broder had “problems with precision > and judgment.” > After all, the car has a giant display that tells you how > far it can travel, > and it provides many options to manage mileage. > > I have found the 200-mile range of my 60-KW-hr model, to be > more than enough > for day-to-day driving. On weekends, this easily takes me to > Napa Valley and > back from the Palo Alto area, where I live. If I ever decide > to drive to Los > Angeles, I know I’ll need to set aside an extra hour to > stop at a > super-charging station along the way. There are three > between San Francisco > and Los Angeles. But this is a small trade-off for enjoying > the magic of a > Model S. And it isn’t much different than what I already > do when I watch the > battery level of my smartphone. > > I am eagerly awaiting the Model S version 3, which I expect > will be > available in four or five years. By then, I expect it will > have a range of > more than 1,000 miles and I won’t have to watch the > battery level. By then, > you’ll need to drive cross-country to stall the car out. > [© 2013 The Washington Post] > > > > > For all EVLN posts use: > http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date > > Here are today's archive-only EV posts: > > EVLN: Crowdfunding a rapid-charge li-ion battery project > EVLN: People trying these cars are very, very impressed > (video) > EVLN: EVs battle for drivers' hearts & wallets > EVLN: Maine Legislators debate tax credit for electric cars > + > EVLN: BMW & Daimler Scheming a Viseo.M EV > > > > > {brucedp.150m.com} > > > > -- > View this message in context: > http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Confessions-of-a-Tesla-fanboy-tp4661546.html > Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list > archive at Nabble.com. > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA > (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
