Actually this story has nothing to do with eats and everything to do with filler for the magazine. I'm betting a deadline was looming and other stories weren't ready in time. Why else do a page on the most boring of driving experiences, driving across the midwest? Trying to spice it up by subjecting a mildly controversial car to the use to which it is least well-suited and using overly-florid prose didn't hide the real purpose of the story. It's filler.
Chris On Mon, May 25, 2015 at 4:36 AM, brucedp5 via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/travel/features/a25736/a-supercharged-midwestern-jaunt-in-a-tesla-model-s-70d/?click=welcome-ad > A Supercharged Midwestern jaunt in a Tesla Model S 70D > By Alex Kierstein May 19, 2015 > > [image / Alex Kierstein > http://roa.h-cdn.co/assets/15/20/980x490/landscape-1431625375-img-0724.jpg > > http://roa.h-cdn.co/assets/15/20/980x653/gallery-1431625494-img-0721.jpg > > http://roa.h-cdn.co/assets/15/20/980x653/gallery-1431625595-img-0727.jpg > > http://roa.h-cdn.co/assets/15/20/980x653/gallery-1431625744-img-0741.jpg > ] > > Tesla's entry level Model S gets slightly more interesting, just like an > Applebee's parking lot with a Supercharger station in it. > > I'm crossing back over the median from a bathroom break at a desolate > Chipoltle's in the shadow of an enormous Meijer grocery store, making a > beeline for the 2016 Tesla Model S 70D plugged into the Supercharger > station. Inside it, the prize: The take-out Chick-fil-A sandwich I'd > snagged > earlier, presently off-gassing a delicious chicken grease fog into its > interior. I'm focusing intently on the future and its palatable delights as > I'm walking, while abstractly pondering the scene before me: A sexy, > futuristic EV capable of more than 250+ miles on a charge, sucking down a > vast quantity of electricity behind an Applebee's, next to a dumpster, in > Lima, Ohio. > > The spiderweb catches me totally unaware as I pass between two > Superchargers. Sheer, abject terror. I sputter and juke, pawing at my face, > stumbling towards the future as determined by Elon Musk. Focus too much on > the metaphorical novelty of the thing, in this nowhere place, and you miss > the enterprising spiders' masterpiece entirely. > > It's time to leave. I've taken on 94 miles of charge, 440 calories worth of > fried chicken sandwich, and a surfeit of spider silk. The door handles > extend as I lurch closer to the door, still tensed, waiting to feel eight > legs skittering on my neck. Inside, hopefully without an arachnid > hitchhiker, there's no cliched starter button to push, just select "Drive" > and go. The ultimate in convenience in Ohio's monument to convenience > itself: The interstate rest stop. > > The 70D is the new entry-level Model S, replacing the 60S and slotting in > below the 85D and Tesla's more manic P85D. This particular one is an odd > beigeish gold, treated with black and buttermilk leather and a stripe-y > wood > inside, but otherwise it's not significantly different than any other Model > S. Despite the dual motors, Tesla is quick to point out this is not a > performance variant. Sure, but it's not slow. Blowing past the occasional > lane-challenged Malibu Classic driver or a trailer full of hogs is a tickle > of the go-pedal away. > > Perhaps a change of tire would bring out a little more "P" in the 70D, as > the Michelins squirm and complain under anything resembling a spirited > corner. Here on the Ohio-Indiana frontier, that means off-ramps are > squirrelly affairs at enthusiastic velocities. The interstate—dead straight > to the horizon—is no problem. Cruising is effortless, passing is a laugh, > although speeds above 70 mph eat up enough juice to make a dent in the > range. Slow and steady, with spurts of electroceleration, is the ticket. > > Later: I'm parked at another Supercharger behind a La Quinta Inn in south > Indianapolis, trying to be discreet. Meanwhile, the inescapable presence of > the bizarre beige car plugged into the even more bizarre, bright red, > toroidal object heightens my paranoia. What's the man with the unusual > sedan > doing loitering behind a low-rent hotel in Beech Grove? Perhaps I'm > broadcasting my agenda too loudly without saying anything, a street > preacher > of sorts, barking the Silicon Valley gospel at a hostile heartland. A man > approaches. > > Oh no. > > Despite the RealTree outerwear, he's all smiles. "That electric? How long's > it take to charge?" I wait for the other hunting boot to drop, but I > indulge > his questions. Curiosity satisfied, he thanks me and saunters off. > > A closer look reveals less glaring hostility among the natives whizzing in > and out of the surprisingly busy La Quinta and surrounding chain stores, > and > considerably more rush-hour-induced tunnel vision. No one gives a whit that > I'm assaulting their Heartland values with this Bay Area > alternative-lifestyle-mobile. So much for my delusional freak flag—I'm the > only one who sees that Bear Republic standard snapping in the stiff breeze > above this little patch of Musklandia. > > And what's more, traveling via Tesla in the great Midwestern expanses—prime > real estate for traditional "you have to pee again? Hold it in!" American > road trips—is bracingly refreshing . No, you can't be in too much of a > hurry, but isn't it really ego and pride that cause us to steam through the > flyover states? Fuel nozzle goes in, a sprint to the can, hop in the car, > and you're back on the road, perhaps one-handing a fried chicken sandwich. > As the greasy crumbs sprinkle onto your shirt like saturated snow, you're > making good but uninspired time. There's probably a merit badge in it for > you. > > Back to the present: I'm at a Supercharger station. It's behind an > Applebee's, next to a dumpster, in Lima Ohio. I've got cobwebs on my face > and 20 minutes to burn while the Tesla gets an electron infusion. I'm > dropping crumbs on the grass. The Tesla and I are making truly crappy time, > but it gives me the headspace to contemplate the trip ahead, the gaggle of > chain restaurant signs sprouting behind the Applebee's, and the delicious > chicken grease. Thinking, just like time, it's a rare luxury that I hardly > ever experience in a car. > > Much like time, or thought, the Tesla itself is still a luxury item. > Traveling this way, with enforced stops well under iron-butt certified > distances, is a luxury, too. There are plenty of things I wouldn't do with > the Model S—catching another spiderweb with my beard being first on the > list. It's stiffly sprung and squirmy, but it covers the long straight > paths > from nowhere to some other nowhere pretty nicely. I'd choose a different > steed for plucking the winding strings over the Continental Divide, but > it's > not a bad way to meander down the central plains, content in the fried > chicken afterglow. > [© roadandtrack.com] > ... > http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-eat.html > n. (eats) inf. food or snacks: people would stop for soft drinks or eats. > > > > > For EVLN posts use: > http://evdl.org/evln/ > > > http://www.ibtimes.com.au/tesla-unveils-retail-store-richmond-third-australia-1449154 > Third Tesla Retail Store In Australia, In Richmond.au > > > http://www.turnto23.com/news/8-million-penthouse-comes-with-free-brand-new-electric-car-051815 > $8M downtown San Diego penthouse comes with brand-new Tesla EV > > http://phys.org/news/2015-05-e-bikes.html > More cycling smiles with e-bike miles > > http://www.eeherald.com/section/new-products/owns201505210001n.html > 1200V hi-power SCR thyristor TN5050H-12WY 4automotive,EV,PV,RE,+ > > > http://ktar.com/22/1833755/First-universal-electric-car-charging-route-between-PhoenixTucson > 1st universal EVSE route between Phoenix-Tucson AZ > > > http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/local-news/20150518/tesla-supercharger-coming-to-wildhorse > Tesla supercharger coming to Wildhorse Resort & Casino Pendleton-OR > + > EVLN: Time Lapse of Tesla-S EV Getting A Bosch Aton-Tech Fitting (v) > > > {brucedp.150m.com} > > > > -- > View this message in context: > http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-R-T-more-interested-in-their-eats-than-the-Tesla-S70D-tp4675755.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) > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20150525/bd6b9174/attachment.htm> _______________________________________________ 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)
