[ds968]

I believe they're dangerous ; on long drives it's much easier for the driver to relax to the point where they doze off at the wheel, but the real danger is backing out of a parking space without anyone that's in proximity having any kind of "warning" that a car is pulling out. Granted, people should pay closer attention now and always stay alert to that possibility when walking close by any parked cars, in addition to the driver of the car itself who should be extra attentive. but the fact is that's just not something most people are conditioned to, particularly little kids walking behind the car which the driver does not see in the review mirror, nor does the kid hear any car noise to warn him/her of the danger. At the very least, a reverse gear " beep " should be legally mandated , and I'd go as far as suggesting a countinuous audible tone of some kind should also be standard, sufficiently to allow pedestrians to be aware there is a car near by . Just my $ 0.02.

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[flash]

i don't find myself drifting off any more because of the quiet.  i do find that lowering the sound level reduces fatigue.  the constant drone of an exhaust note, and the other noises associated with a gas engine, force your mind to have to filter them out to even hear the radio, or turn it up to get over it, which in turn causes fatigue.  it's really pretty amazing.  it's not unlike the difference between having kids in the back seat arguing, and not.

 

as for the backing up issue, i agree there should be something.  while i have not yet had a single occurrence of an issue, i can see that it could happen.

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[ds968]

well, from my own experience, which may or may not mean anything since everyone is different, of the numerous times ( and it must easily be over one hundred trips over the last 30+ years ) I have driven between the Bay Area and L.A. in the 944s or the 968, as opposed to much smoother, far quieter rental cars, and I'd say almost at an even split between the two I have never felt tired or drifting away into a dozing off state while driving the Porsches, but more than often experienced that with the silent ( by comparison ) mode of the rentals. And those had an exhaust so there was some sound involved ... can't possibly imagine driving an electric car that distance, for me it would be the equivalent of taking a bottle of Sominex                 

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[MCL968]

I still think that they are dangerous to cyclists, in that we use our ears to keep track of cars advancing from the rear. I have been surprised (is shocked too punny?) by Teslas on many occasions.

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[flash]

the range is not a problem for 95% of the public.  most people commute less than 25 miles each way.  even the smallest of cars can handle that.

 

electric cars are not designed to be your only car.  they are designed to be a commuter car, and for that, they are perfect.

 

the tesla has a lot longer range, and is therefore more flexible.  there are charging stations popping up all over the place.  it's getting easier and easier for these to make sense.

 

we picked up an i3 a few months ago, and LOVE IT!!!  best decision we ever made.  it only has an 80 mile range, but it is about double what we need.  it charges overnight, and costs about $80/month to drive 700 miles.   that's about half the cost of the gasoline to run the X5 for the same number of miles, and this car puts us in the HOV lane, which buys over 20 minutes each way in saved commute time.

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[ds968]

which buys over 20 minutes each way in saved commute time.

 

yeah, huge advantage in that respect - tough to put a value on that commute time savings .  worth A LOT no matter how you slice it   

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[flash]

yeah - almost a 50% reduction in time spent frustrated creeping along in traffic.  the older i get, the more i realize that the one thing we can't buy is more time.  but, this comes close.

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[ds968]

Well this settles it ( for me..). No way am I buying a Tesla until they figure out this crap - lasts only 12 minutes at 125 mph ?! That's just PATHETIC !

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-mode...30615.html

On the other hand, The Bugatti Veyron can sustain 252 mph for only 8 minutes before it consumes all the gas in its tank :-) . And it's 20 X tne price of the Tesla model S .

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[ds968]

I wish I would have taken a snapshot of the carpool lane yesterday at one point during my after work commute but 1) I hesitate to take pictures while driving ( unless I spot a UFO ! ) and 2) there was a highway patrol car not too far behind me so not risking it. Anyway, the lane looked almost like the Tesla factory assembly line, it was uncanny ! During the approx ten minutes driving through the Palo Alto - Mountain View segment I counted over a dozenTeslas passing by, with three in a row behind one another at one point . And they're all friggin P85 models nowadays, they're outnumbering the plain vanilla S models it seems. These are $ 100, 000 cars...WTF ?!

Still not seeing any of those tiny Tesla roadsters though, the first year that model came out I saw at least one a day..

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