Tesla roadster

[Money]

http://www.teslamotors.com/

i saw it on Fifth Gear its sweet but only thing i dont like is its SILENT, need to hear some motor :/

it looks like a cross between a lotus and a ferrari, fast as fuck too

[Fit of Rage]

I'm sure they could put a woofer and speakers in there and play the revving sound everytime you hit the gas

Especially at the price ($109k base price). Pretty kickass though (instant torque).

[Money]

i guess George Clooney already ordered his

[NaiLed]

5th gear is wank

[Money]

i know, i love Top Gear tho!

[Displaced]

youd probably hate driving it even more. electric cars suck ass to drive.

[Fluffz]

Did you even try one once? I bet not. I get a hybrid Toyota when my car is at the service and i have to tell you, its awsome. Especially in cities where you have to drive at low speed combined with the stop and go traffic the electic engine is very comfortable. Without the need of gears it accelerates very smooth up to 60 kmh and is silent at that.

[Displaced]

And a hybrid is an indicator of a fully electric car how? (it isnt)

and yes i have had the questionable pleasure of trying a fully electric car (a converted subaru elcat) and i absolutely hated driving it, no power modulation at all...

[Fluffz]

as long as it is fast enough i disagree. I think it is an improvement, the silence alone is worth it, you just have to be carefull not to run someone over.

[DankNuggets]

Yeah i've heard where advocates for the blind have come out saying that the quiet electric cars make it all the more dangerous for blind people to cross the road.

[GuruMeditation]

I want a car that pretends to be electric but actually runs on my sense of smugness for driving an elecrtic car.

[Jerome Scuggs]

youd probably hate driving it even more. electric cars suck ass to drive.

the whole selling point of the tesla roadster is it the one of the first production 'lectrics that do not suck ass to drive, but i'm with you on this one

for me at least i think that there's a cultural thing that just makes me dislike electric vehicles. they're clean and efficient and innovative, but it's... boring? gas vehicles, that's some man shit right there, creating power through carefully controlled explosions. even the most modern cars and trucks still have an element of potential danger that just isn't there with electrics. buying an electric vehicle is the equivalent of a manicure: dudes don't do it unless they are gay or euro.

besides that, i've grown up in a world where non-oil electricity as a reliable energy source has always been sub-par - batteries never last as long as claimed and electric motors are lacking in power, etc. it would take alot for me to gain enough confidence to "trust" an electric vehicle. i mean gas engines break down all the time but a kid with a wrench and some spare time could probably fix alot of things, i fear with electric vehicles you have alot of relatively delicate hardware as well as electronics that would require professional service for alot of otherwise simple problems, which totally takes away that "connection" you make with your car.

but hey, there are people who buy a car and it's just to drive. those people would probably have no issue with going electric. but if you're into car culture, electric just isn't... normal.

[Displaced]

I'll have to agree with you there, that whole "combustion engine, theres no replacement for displacement!" attitude is somewhat ingrained in my psyche aswell.

I was however talking just about the characteristics of an electric car and how it is to drive.
Personally, i absolutely hated the linear torque, couldn't get to terms with it, it didnt feel like driving at all, more like sitting in a goddamned train.

I want a car to have a peak torque curve at some point in the rev band, I want the car to have a goddamned clutch, I want to smell burnt/unburnt gasoline when i step out of the car, I want it to sound like thor gargling a hammer, I want to be emotionally connected to the car... (but maybe thats just me )

Granted, the tesla is probably an improvement over the Elcat, but the technology is basically the same, and the propulsion system is basically the same, which to me, means it will still be like sitting in a train, not a car.

[Necromotic]

i dislike it when the car is silent
i want to hear mah engine purr mayne
but not like aznricerocket levels
just some nice low groans

[Jerome Scuggs]

yeah - it's the same reason that a few gasoline-powered cars with CVT's have a computer emulate the "shifting" jerk... which is pretty hilarious but also interesting, that apparently people are so used to that feeling that they had to do it.