Quote:
Originally Posted by JST
http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/t...alkaround.html
Ed, the Tesla is pretty far along this path already. Look at this suspension walk-around; check out the lengths they've gone to even in the suspension to save weight. The rest of the car *is* light, being made primarily of aluminium. Yes, it could be lighter if they used carbon fiber or something, but then it would also be so expensive that even Silicon Valley tech mavens would think twice. And besides, it can only be so light, given that the battery weighs as much as it does.
Criticizing the Tesla for not weighing half as much as it does is like criticizing the Boeing 707 for not being able to go Mach 3. I mean, it's a quantum leap past everything that's come before, and you're pissed that it doesn't leap far enough forward?
In any event, the real problem with range isn't weight--it's drag. A car that weighed half as much as the Tesla probably would have slightly better range, but it wouldn't be as much better as you are thinking.
|
Im not "pissed" about it at all - I just don't get the appeal given the amount of planning one must engage in to drive 135 miles from home - I drive 160 miles a day to NJ and back, twice a week, to teach classes. There's no supercharged charger of any kind at the college. I'm not sure how I'd feel about driving a car like this given those limitations - especially after having spent considerably to obtain one.
I'd also be concerned, being here in the NE, that extreme cold weather would compromise output while simultaneously expecting heating and defrosting elements to do their work.
Perhaps if there were a real infrastructure in place for recharging, I'd feel differently.