Showing posts with label tesla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tesla. Show all posts
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
I was quoted!
I had a fun conversation with Patrick May of the San Jose Mercury News about Tesla's Model S. And he quoted me!
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15460745?nclick_check=1
Rock on with the Tesla coverage, Pat!
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15460745?nclick_check=1
Rock on with the Tesla coverage, Pat!
-- Pixi says
Monday, June 28, 2010
Concerns from behind
I love the track because you rip your mirrors off and you give the asphalt in front of you all you got. It's simple (though difficult). We're all out there trying to do exactly the same thing, so predictability is on our side. And we don't have to be concerned with what's going on behind us.
If only the street was the same way. But it's not, and the safest drivers, in my opinion, are 360-degree aware. Concerned with who, if anyone, is tail-gaiting; sure of what's behind when considering an unpredictable maneuver, etc. And particularly on the motorcycle, considering the rear view before chopping the throttle or braking hard.
That last point is worth expanding-upon. Chopping the throttle and braking. I'm sure I'm the billionth person to recognize that throttling-off on a motorcycle can often take the place of braking. There is a relatively violent deceleration on most of the motorcycles I've ridden. It's nice because you can spend less time on the brake and use one input control to regulate your speed - both for corner entry and exit in addition to simply managing your speed. However, in traffic you may slow from 15 MPH to 5 just by cutting the throttle (in a very short amount of time). Most vehicles would require the driver to apply the brakes to achieve such rapid decel. And they'd advertise that action with bright red lights for all behind them to see. But the motorcycle that shed 10 MPH just by cutting the throttle did no such thing - lets hope the driver behind has kick-@$$ depth-perception! Or lets just hope they're paying attention at all.
But like I said, I'm the billionth person to recognize this. I'm pretty sure I was told at my MSF course, some 10 years ago, to apply the brake lever when "engine-braking." Just so that the drivers behind are aware that you're slowing down. In the interest of minimizing risk, it's probably a good idea. Maybe not always convenient, but putting on this show for the cars behind you scores you extra visibility points. I consider this every time I'm on the road. I don't always employ it, but I consider it almost every time I slow down for a red light.
It takes thought - split seconds of thought that could go somewhere else. And while I never cared about those lost brain cycles before, I'm contemplating them now because I recently learned that the Tesla Roadster fires the brake lights on throttle-off.
Wha?
Yep. Weird, right? My initial reaction was that it's a bad idea, that it misrepresents what's really going on, and that I don't like it. But after I shook-off the self-imposed insult to my person, I reconsidered the whole idea with a bit more of an open mind. Think about not having to think about that brake lever when you chop the throttle on a motorcycle. I kinda dig it. One control to accelerate, slow down (even violently), and notify your tailgaiters that you're decelerating. I think that would be a nice feature.
However, there appear to be negative sides to this feature of the Tesla Roadster, as described by VFX on teslamotorsclub.com:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showpost.php?p=46373&postcount=143
I think his points are valid, and they center around the fact that many drivers assume that a vehicle is decelerating significantly when the brake lights fire. Now how do we define significantly? I think we can do it with a value. And if we can determine a value at which deceleration becomes significant, then we can simply employ an accelerometer to turn the brake lights on and off, right?
I like the idea of linking brake lights to more than just the brake pedal. I think it can be done smartly, safely, and it can afford me one less thing to think about while slowing down. What do you think?
If only the street was the same way. But it's not, and the safest drivers, in my opinion, are 360-degree aware. Concerned with who, if anyone, is tail-gaiting; sure of what's behind when considering an unpredictable maneuver, etc. And particularly on the motorcycle, considering the rear view before chopping the throttle or braking hard.
That last point is worth expanding-upon. Chopping the throttle and braking. I'm sure I'm the billionth person to recognize that throttling-off on a motorcycle can often take the place of braking. There is a relatively violent deceleration on most of the motorcycles I've ridden. It's nice because you can spend less time on the brake and use one input control to regulate your speed - both for corner entry and exit in addition to simply managing your speed. However, in traffic you may slow from 15 MPH to 5 just by cutting the throttle (in a very short amount of time). Most vehicles would require the driver to apply the brakes to achieve such rapid decel. And they'd advertise that action with bright red lights for all behind them to see. But the motorcycle that shed 10 MPH just by cutting the throttle did no such thing - lets hope the driver behind has kick-@$$ depth-perception! Or lets just hope they're paying attention at all.
But like I said, I'm the billionth person to recognize this. I'm pretty sure I was told at my MSF course, some 10 years ago, to apply the brake lever when "engine-braking." Just so that the drivers behind are aware that you're slowing down. In the interest of minimizing risk, it's probably a good idea. Maybe not always convenient, but putting on this show for the cars behind you scores you extra visibility points. I consider this every time I'm on the road. I don't always employ it, but I consider it almost every time I slow down for a red light.
It takes thought - split seconds of thought that could go somewhere else. And while I never cared about those lost brain cycles before, I'm contemplating them now because I recently learned that the Tesla Roadster fires the brake lights on throttle-off.
Wha?
Yep. Weird, right? My initial reaction was that it's a bad idea, that it misrepresents what's really going on, and that I don't like it. But after I shook-off the self-imposed insult to my person, I reconsidered the whole idea with a bit more of an open mind. Think about not having to think about that brake lever when you chop the throttle on a motorcycle. I kinda dig it. One control to accelerate, slow down (even violently), and notify your tailgaiters that you're decelerating. I think that would be a nice feature.
However, there appear to be negative sides to this feature of the Tesla Roadster, as described by VFX on teslamotorsclub.com:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showpost.php?p=46373&postcount=143
I think his points are valid, and they center around the fact that many drivers assume that a vehicle is decelerating significantly when the brake lights fire. Now how do we define significantly? I think we can do it with a value. And if we can determine a value at which deceleration becomes significant, then we can simply employ an accelerometer to turn the brake lights on and off, right?
I like the idea of linking brake lights to more than just the brake pedal. I think it can be done smartly, safely, and it can afford me one less thing to think about while slowing down. What do you think?
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Up to NY to see the Model S
Still drunk on voltage from our test ride in February, Megan and I jumped at the chance to attend a private viewing of the Tesla Motors Model S sedan in Manhattan.
I mean seriously - "invited" by Tesla to a "private viewing" of their new model? How could we pass on that? Even the reality that the event was 4 hours away on a Wednesday night couldn't deter us! Oh how I payed for that decision today running on only a few hours of sleep...
...but back to the subject. Tesla seems to do everything with style, as this event was in the IAC Building, which was like nothing I'd ever walked into before (thanks to Ankur for helping us get to the building). Slick lighting, Tesla decorations, brochures on tables, and motion pictures all over the walls. High class stuff!
As for the goods they had to show: a Roadster, a fake Model S, and a Teslafied Smart Car (the last of which I got no pictures of). My father, who met us along with my sister, finally got to sit in a Roadster!
They had a Model S on display, but it was a dud. There was no interior (the windows were highly-tinted to keep you from noticing), and some of the components appeared to be fake (the brake rotors and calipers were curious).
And then there was the Smart Car. I'm not a fan of the Smart Car, but I respect it and think it would prove a much more respectable EV than the moronic version they brought to the US that runs on high-test gasoline. It appeared that they were seriously tinkering with the one we got to sit in.
Finally, at 11:30pm we got our text message telling us that our ride was ready! So we dashed across the street where they were giving extremely short demo rides of the Roadster and real, drivable Model S. We jumped in the S with another couple, and a Tesla driver took us for a spin. He figures the machine we were riding in, all things considered, was 50% representative of what will roll off the assembly line in 2011.
Five thousand to reserve an S, huh? Hmmm...
I mean seriously - "invited" by Tesla to a "private viewing" of their new model? How could we pass on that? Even the reality that the event was 4 hours away on a Wednesday night couldn't deter us! Oh how I payed for that decision today running on only a few hours of sleep...
...but back to the subject. Tesla seems to do everything with style, as this event was in the IAC Building, which was like nothing I'd ever walked into before (thanks to Ankur for helping us get to the building). Slick lighting, Tesla decorations, brochures on tables, and motion pictures all over the walls. High class stuff!
As for the goods they had to show: a Roadster, a fake Model S, and a Teslafied Smart Car (the last of which I got no pictures of). My father, who met us along with my sister, finally got to sit in a Roadster!
They had a Model S on display, but it was a dud. There was no interior (the windows were highly-tinted to keep you from noticing), and some of the components appeared to be fake (the brake rotors and calipers were curious).
And then there was the Smart Car. I'm not a fan of the Smart Car, but I respect it and think it would prove a much more respectable EV than the moronic version they brought to the US that runs on high-test gasoline. It appeared that they were seriously tinkering with the one we got to sit in.
Finally, at 11:30pm we got our text message telling us that our ride was ready! So we dashed across the street where they were giving extremely short demo rides of the Roadster and real, drivable Model S. We jumped in the S with another couple, and a Tesla driver took us for a spin. He figures the machine we were riding in, all things considered, was 50% representative of what will roll off the assembly line in 2011.
Five thousand to reserve an S, huh? Hmmm...
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Unconventional performance
We were left speechless after a recent visit to the Tesla Motors store on Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles. Aside from a small arsenal of stunning American machines with carbon fiber bodies, this store had knowledge to share.
Our genuine interest resulted in a pummeling of questions for an apparently well-prepared Tesla employee. She answered questions of all kinds - from financials and company structure to drive train and voltage conversion. Taylor floated the possibility of a demo, and our generous host offered the unimaginable.
The ride is like no other I've ever experienced. Megan pointed out that the Roadster's acceleration resembles that of a linear-induction roller coaster. She was spot-on. The quiet, but high-pitched whine and the subtle sound of the air rushing over the windshield was all your ears had to report. When not accelerating to 70 MPH in the blink of an eye, there was little sound aside from the ambient noise of traffic that you'd here if you were standing on the sidewalk.
It's way out of most people's price ranges, it can't get me to my parents' house in a single charge, and they recommend against taking the car to the track because of heat-related issues (according to our Tesla driver).
Minor shortcomings aside, I can't help but feel misguided by automotive convention. The Tesla Roadster has a transmission with a single gear, and a motor that spins in both directions. Is this the necessary simplification of a tool that has been over-complicated for too many years?
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