For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By Colonel Panic
#1679738
I'd rather buy a smoke damaged Model S from the Tesla dealer in Crawley than buy anything from the spivs in the Audi dealership in Crawley. :wink:
Last edited by Colonel Panic on Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By stevelup
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1679747
Real world 230 motorway, 330 city. I’m not advocating it as I really don’t like Audi, I’m just pointing out that Tesla are starting to get some competition which should start driving the silly prices down. But we all know that the fit and finish of the Audi will be flawless - as it should be on a 70k+ car.

I think you’ve taken issue with my dislike of Tesla? I just think they are rubbish cars apart from the powertrain. In terms of fit and finish and overall other qualitative factors, your average Peugeot is now as good if not better. If the Tesla was an ICE, they wouldn’t sell well even in the Kia segment.

Couple that with the marketing BS surrounding the Model 3, and the gross exaggerations surrounding the real world capabilities of Autopilot, and I just don’t share the excitement.

I’m biding my time for a 40-50k Munich option. It’s coming, for sure. In the meantime, my hybrid is a reasonable compromise.

Finally, and this is of course subjective, the Tesla saloons look carp - utterly utterly dull. They look like weird generic car models that advertisers sometimes use where they want to depict a brandless car. Absolutely uninspiring.

Ps. Agree re: Audi dealers. My local place failed my ‘scruff’ test spectacularly. This is where I visit a dealer looking as much like a tramp as I can muster and see how long they manage to ignore me. They scored 100% as they ignored me for so long, I got bored and left :lol:

Pps. In other words, I dress like I normally do :lol:
By Colonel Panic
#1679785
stevelup wrote:Finally, and this is of course subjective, the Tesla saloons look carp - utterly utterly dull. They look like weird generic car models that advertisers sometimes use where they want to depict a brandless car. Absolutely uninspiring.

Interesting. The Good News is that choice is increasing by the day.

One man's bland is another man's calm; some folk love Scandinavian minimalism (me included), whilst other's hate it. What struck me about the Tesla was that it felt like it was something from the future, something that the offer from most existing makers fail to do. That feeling might not float everyone's boat, but it does mine.

If you look at much of the output from Europe, it appears that the more knobs & faux chrome you pour in to the dash the "better" it is. To me the glitz is over powering, tacky and nasty and in the way. Maybe the Russians and Middle Eastern's like it and that is where the money and buyers are? I enjoyed / appreciated the minimalist interior of the Model S, and the Model 3 is even more so.

But I agree that the build quality isn't up to the prices that Tesla are charging. You don't need (& probably won't want) to watch this video from yesterday but just look at the way the vertical rubber sits / folds / bends at the back of the driver's window. This was evident in my test drive Model S too. Not good.

Grrr - can't post a direct link, but it is the second video here.
https://drivetribe.com/p/great-car-crap ... lOnB_rJDEQ
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By KingJames
#1679797
I suspect the Korean brands will be coming along and making the mass market type cars for a sensible price. In terms of tech and production line they have got it nailed already and making cars that are technically simpler will be childs play to them in whatever size.
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By Leodisflyer
#1679807
Buying decisions used to be so much easier. If you were a company car driver then you had a Vauxhall or Ford depending on the company’s preference. Your role and pay grade then determined the model and what letters were on the boot.

For a while sales directors might make a bit of statement with a Volvo estate, which was safe enough for them to drive 2’ off the boot off the Volvo in front on the M1 (in the days when the traffic still flowed in the M1).

Things then started to get distrupted a bit. The French made good deisels that became popular as long as you could cope with the soggy seats, then along came the Germans who made firmer seats that were better suited for sitting in all day. They also pushed more aspirational brands, but the buying decision remained easy - if you wore red braces then you bought a BMW, if you were more a thinking technical type you went Audi.

The market and brands have moved on again. Few manufacturers make truly rubbish cars (if you ignore the current Merc A class) and the Koreans are starting to produce some belters. Just at the moment, especially with the way manufacturers are tooling up to sell EVs into China, I’d look East for the next successful generation.
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By stevelup
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1679925
Polestar 2 looks interesting:-



Although they're doing a 'Tesla' by quoting the price as £34k, but you'll only be able to buy a £51k one for the first twelve months...
By Colonel Panic
#1679931
Nice seatbelts, and a masterclass for to how to expand 4 minutes of information to fill a 17 minute video.

But this is a very exciting phase in automobile development. Love it.
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By nallen
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1679941
Colonel Panic wrote:Nice seatbelts …


Yes, suddenly black seatbelts seem so 20th century!

Tesla have a new supercharger on the way: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-tesla-supercharger-can-give-1000-miles-charge-hour

The "1000 miles in an hour" is pointless marketing blather, but it is pretty swift.
By Colonel Panic
#1679947
It seems that it will add range at ~1,000 mph, but only for a very short period - perhaps 15 mins - until the battery gets to ~70%, then throttle back. But it is certainly a step in the right direction.

Going back to seatbelts, I remember my brother had very cool red belts on his MG Mini Metro; I put some classy burgundy ones in a 1962 Mercedes SL recently - maybe I should pop back up to Stanmore to have some gold ones fitted to the Barge. https://www.quickfitsbs.com
By Leodisflyer
#1679984
When looking at charge times and range it’s a good idea to look at what the car can do between 20% and 80% charge. 20% because that’s around the point where you’ll top up, unless you make an earlier convenience stop, and 80% because the charge rates then drops progressively toward trickle charge.

Lowest I’ve let mine get to before arriving home is 13%. We are in a hilly area and range can drop quickly (just as you can get long range downhill or in the flat).
By Colonel Panic
#1680005
Leodisflyer wrote:... and 80% because the charge rates then drops progressively toward trickle charge.

And, I believe, routinely charging to over ~90% reduces the life expectancy of the battery pack anyway.
By Colonel Panic
#1680874
Beginning to think Chaos Rules at Tesla's HQ; a few days after announcing that 90% of sales outlets would be closed, saving the company 6% and passing that discount on to buyers, they now say that they will only close half as many but will put the price of cars back up by 3% (except for the base £35k Model 3). Not exactly Strong & Stable management.

They go on to say "To be clear, all sales worldwide will still be done online, in that potential Tesla owners coming in to stores will simply be shown how to order a Tesla on their phone in a few minutes. And the generous return policy of 1000 miles or 7 days, whichever comes first, should alleviate the need for most test drives. However, cars will still be available for test drives at stores at the potential Tesla owner’s request. Stores will also carry a small number of cars in inventory for customers who wish to drive away with a Tesla immediately."
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