Tesla test drive
by Phillip Barron
The Washington Post has an autoreview/video for the new Tesla. I saw a Tesla dealership on Santa Monica Blvd while I was out in LA this summer, and these cars really do look as sexy, sleek, and stylish in person as they do in photos.
President Obama’s announcement today that the EPA should review its previous denial of California’s request to impose stricter auto emission standards will hopefully loosen the federal restrictions against progressive states. And, if California and other states do impose stricter emissions standards, then we are likely to see more innovation along the lines of the Tesla’s all electric powertrain. I do realize that the Tesla is more a proof-of-concept, an all electric car with Ferrari-like torque, than affordable family car. Nonetheless, by proving that an all-electric car doesn’t have to look like a 1980′s vision of the future, Tesla opens the door for designers to rethink the electric car.
But as I have said before, if only some designers — at the level of auto manufacturing or road engineering — would use more of the advanced technology available today to create cars that are safer and more comfortable for the world outside the steel cage and not just inside. I mean, 43,000 deaths annually would be an epidemic (or at least a public health crisis) if those deaths were caused by anything other than the can’t-live-without automobile.
Comments
Wow! I love that car AND I love how the driver kind of giggles when he’s behind the wheel.
Mini is offering a 1 year, $800/month lease on their all-electric ride and the demand is so high that there’s a series of tests you have to pass just to qualify for it. There are even trick questions throughout some of the tests designed to weed out people that may not be a good fit! The Mini E-car isn’t a mass-produced vehicle at the moment, but it gives me hope that the stigma of the electric car as cheesy and unattractive will soon be a thing of the past. Also, having a Ferrari-esque E-car like the Tesla on the market doesn’t hurt, either. Thanks for posting this!