http://valleywag.com/349226/tesla-mo...nto-the-market


Tesla Motors has taken a huge step closer to reaching the top of the gigantic mountain that is building an electric car in America. The Tesla Roadster has emerged victorious after undergoing dozens of federally mandated tests, including the crash and safety tests that are required for automobiles. Big Oil execs certainly aren’t shaking in their Egyptian cotton undies quite yet, but production of the Tesla Roadster will mark a big victory for alternative-energy autos here in the US.

The electric beauty is six times more efficient than a standard sports car and produces 90 percent less pollution. Tesla’s reusable battery takes about 3.5 hours to charge and gives the Roadster a range of approximately 220 miles on a single charge. With a shelf-life of about 100,000 miles, Tesla’s battery technology represents huge steps in the auto industry as we all know. With a hefty price tag up over $100K however, the type of buyer who can afford this sporty car is going to be looking for performance that an electric could never deliver, right?

In terms of acceleration, the Tesla Roadster trumps the $180K Lamborghini Gallardo and even creeps up on the $315K+ Murcielago, which by the way touts a horrific fuel economy of 9 mpg. Under four seconds from 0-60; not too shabby for a green-friendly electric sportster. Of course in the grand scheme of things, we’d like to see some more accessible options out of the Silicon Valley automaker, but the Roadster looks to be right on schedule to go into production on March 17th as promised. Fingers crossed, a few successful runs of the Roadster should help Tesla step up the pace on some lower-end models.

 

First heard about this car a couple years ago. Good to see they're making an effort to bring it to north america.

Back in the day I never liked electric cars because they're performance was always pathetic. I knew electric power had the potential to be fast, but they never had the technology or drive to create a car that would be environmentally friendly and super-car quick. Until now that is...

Can't wait to see it get tested and put through it's paces on the track to see how good it really is.

 

I like it, super car performance and green, and a respectable/usable distance...sounds great to me...

Now come up with an economy car and we have the new ultimate commuter car...

 

http://www.cbc.ca/video/popup.html?h...car-071025.wmv

 

that can hit real speeds and range...

then Zen cars are only good for city running, not as a real commuter car...I'm sure they are coming along

 

...one small problem with these "plug-in" hybrids...

We already almost over load the power grid as it is, especially in the summer (remember the huge blackout). So when everyone starts to plug in their cars to charge over night....going to be drawing that much more energy from the system....hence we'll be putting an even greater strain on the power grid.

Just something to think about.

 

What if they sell transformers with the car? Like huge step up transformers. would that still cause a huge drain on the grid?

Or maybe a timer that starts changing the car in the middle of the night when power demand is lower.

 

but you'll be A) saving the environment and B) not using our prescious un-renewable fossile fuels....there are always compromises in life.
Besides with the cost of that car, there won't be too many people with them.

 

Well, the saving fossil fuels implies getting power from green sources....but thankfully our provincial government is taking steps, moving our power from coal (some of the dirtiest in the continent) to green sources (like nuclear, hydro, etc)...oh wait, Dalton didn't do that...

 

I'm not just talking about the tesla. There are many other 'plug-ins' in the works.

Maybe the change over will be gradual for both people buying these cars and the country changing over to more green energy sources, and it will not be a problem. However if there is a huge boom in 'plug-in' sales and all of a sudden you have thousands of cars charging up during the night...I don't know if the system could handle it.