Had my first ride in a Tesla this week. Once you factor in tyre noise it's not as quiet inside as you'd have thought.
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The Car Thread ... !
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Well, since driving/riding in a Tesla requires you to have your head up on your own a**, that helps to mute the road noise a bit ...
Some of the incessant fanboys are incredibly annoying. Lobotomies all around I say. Yesterday's thread was a joke.Well, since driving/riding in a Tesla requires you to have your head up on your own a**, that helps to mute the road noise a bit ...
..... People who drive a Tesla had a choice between a BMW M5 or a Porsche with far more horsepower, but they opted for a more environmentally friendly vehicle that gets off the line and accelerates like a bat out of hell. I think it’s smarter to opt for a Tesla — it’s the car of the future (or at least one of them) and the more people that buy them the more that other companies shift to the environmentally friendly electric cars. I know you said that in jest, but I think Tesla drivers are more moral than the BMW drivers that think they own the road with their combustion enginesWell, since driving/riding in a Tesla requires you to have your head up on your own a**, that helps to mute the road noise a bit ...
..... People who drive a Tesla had a choice between a BMW M5 or a Porsche with far more horsepower, but they opted for a more environmentally friendly vehicle that gets off the line and accelerates like a bat out of hell. I think it’s smarter to opt for a Tesla — it’s the car of the future (or at least one of them) and the more people that buy them the more that other companies shift to the environmentally friendly electric cars. I know you said that in jest, but I think Tesla drivers are more moral than the BMW drivers that think they own the road with their combustion engines
Electric vehicles of today are just as dirty as ICE powered vehicles. Going to an electric car for environmental issues is a false sense of morality due to how dirty mining for the materials, shipping, processing, etc is for the batteries. Plus most of electricity charging them is from coal plants.
If you want to go electric today, it is due to wanting to reduce the operating cost of a vehicle( electricity is cheaper than gasoline) and in case of Tesla's the sheer off the line acceleration they provide( but they will run out of gas and lose against said Porsche as the speed increases as electric motors lose their oomph the faster you go).
Don't get me wrong, I would love a Model S P100D and I love what Tesla is doing. Faster dealers die/get more competitive the better. Absolutely support their efforts in direct sales.
Yes, I doubt our government would allow unsafe planes to by flying passengers around. Brazilian Aerospace just sounds like an oxymoron.
Connecticut has a lot of aerospace companies- from GE (well, had GE), Sikorsky, Kaman, Pratt & Whitney, Hamilton Sundstrand/United Technologies Aerospace, large segments of Honeywell and Westinghouse and a whole slew of other smaller companies. My dad's company does a lot with energy and aerospace and was a personal friend of Charlie Kaman- a really interesting guy. Kaman makes helicopters but has made a number of innovations that have carried over to other industries. For example Kaman Music aka Ovaition Guitars was started from using the composite material Kaman invented to replace wood and metal helicopter blades.
I have traveled on small regional jets and a couple times privately- I believe a LearJet and a Golfstream. I've also been on a number of small prop planes for relatively short trips.
Gulfstreams are great. Very spacious even in the most convoluted of setups. The Citation line of jets are also great. Not as roomy, but they can be operated by one pilot. Technically, all aircraft can, but for duty purposes and regulation, most jets require 2 pilots. We have a client who owns a couple of the smaller ones. Flies himself and his family all over. I believe he bought them both second hand a couple years after they were made. Not a lot of flight time on the hulls. Much like luxury vehicles, private jets go down in initial value and then bottom out at various value stages.
Cessna's TT/TTX is a very attractive four seater turbo prop. They didn't make it themselves. They bought out a company, the name of which escapes me at the moment, and kept making them. It used to be called the Corvallis, but Cessna renamed it into something simpler. Very nice interior with options, plus it flies high and has a dedicated oxygen mask system for the four.
Unless you have money to burn like our client, it's easier to charter a flight. And there's these new chartering services that are ferry rides. You pay a fraction of the cost, the flight company pockets some money other than a total loss. Everyone's happy. No extra fees or luggage, fully stocked snacks and drinks, including alcoholic beverages. Meals included on longer flights.
It's a hot little secret.
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It seems like the media is, for the first time in what seems like ever, starting to expose what Tesla is. Tesla is an electric car company. The Model 3 is not a BMW or an Audi, it's just not as luxurious or well equipped. Tesla has a ton of work left to do before its cars are close to the quality of the Germans or Lexus.
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The Accord is better equipped with a better looking and more functional interior. The Model 3 is where ergonomics go to die. Speedometer on a touch screen? Until you can put the car in Level 4 autopilot (which the Model 3 will never have), you need an instrument cluster.
Car of the future? The future isn't now. You buy a Tesla Model 3, you get no dashboard in a car you have to drive because autonomous cars are about a decade away. Add to that, the absurd premium you pay is such that you will never make up the purchase price in gas savings.
Other things to consider
Yes, I know it is fun to drive. It had better be with all that torque and power to the rear wheels, but at the ridiculous price tag you have to pay (probably $45,000), do yourself a favor and go with a better car with a better interior and an easy to fix engine.
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Give me one way it's smarter to buy a Tesla over a Honda Accord? One...... People who drive a Tesla had a choice between a BMW M5 or a Porsche with far more horsepower, but they opted for a more environmentally friendly vehicle that gets off the line and accelerates like a bat out of hell. I think it’s smarter to opt for a Tesla — it’s the car of the future (or at least one of them) and the more people that buy them the more that other companies shift to the environmentally friendly electric cars. I know you said that in jest, but I think Tesla drivers are more moral than the BMW drivers that think they own the road with their combustion engines
The Accord is better equipped with a better looking and more functional interior. The Model 3 is where ergonomics go to die. Speedometer on a touch screen? Until you can put the car in Level 4 autopilot (which the Model 3 will never have), you need an instrument cluster.
Car of the future? The future isn't now. You buy a Tesla Model 3, you get no dashboard in a car you have to drive because autonomous cars are about a decade away. Add to that, the absurd premium you pay is such that you will never make up the purchase price in gas savings.
Other things to consider
- No one can fix a Tesla except the Dealers. There won't be enough infrastructure to support the massive number of 3s on the road
- To order one now is a joke. You need a five year plan
- They still can't go further than 250 miles in one charge
- If you have an apartment, good luck charging the thing
Yes, I know it is fun to drive. It had better be with all that torque and power to the rear wheels, but at the ridiculous price tag you have to pay (probably $45,000), do yourself a favor and go with a better car with a better interior and an easy to fix engine.
But AUSTIN, it's fast! It's instant torque! It's one of the fastest vehicles from a dig!
Not remotely serious just in case anyone assumes I am. Anyway, not related but in terms of repair, the situation is more dire when it comes to Teslas in accidents. Panels are supremely pricey and not many bodyshops know how to refinish the exterior like factory. Then again, even the factory can't finish the cars well. LOL Tesla Model Ss cost a princely sum to insure in SoCal.
Edit: What media are you talking about? All the focus is on DJT.
Not remotely serious just in case anyone assumes I am. Anyway, not related but in terms of repair, the situation is more dire when it comes to Teslas in accidents. Panels are supremely pricey and not many bodyshops know how to refinish the exterior like factory. Then again, even the factory can't finish the cars well. LOL Tesla Model Ss cost a princely sum to insure in SoCal.
Edit: What media are you talking about? All the focus is on DJT.
It was an uber.Well, since driving/riding in a Tesla requires you to have your head up on your own a**, that helps to mute the road noise a bit ...
they opted for a more environmentally friendly vehicle
Tesla drivers are more moral than the BMW drivers that think they own the road with their combustion engines
I know a _ton_ of folks on both coasts with Teslas, their 2nd and 3rd cars are gas guzzling SUVs, 9-12MPG sports cars (one guy's other ride is an F-GT, TT conversion, 7-8MPG, no cats), they own boats, they're not particularly environmentally conscious (outside of one friend who's in the solar industry and has one almost for marketing ...) - I think the whole positioning of the owner as some kind of green warrior is bogus, ni may cases, it's more of a I've-got-the-latest-toy
[doublepost=1501944369][/doublepost]Picked up a new 50mm prime (F1.8), beautiful DOF for car photogs, will be shooting some new ones when the weather clears up (... if ever ...)
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Tech journalism in particular. Tech journalism gets in this rut where the "next big thing" is that and the rest is screwed. Call it the "iPhone effect"
Nice! My 18-55mm original kit lens is actually "bad", has some light leak, it's not metering correctly (white levels are all blown out unless there's no direct light), I've got a 200mm zoom which I love, but not what I was wanting for shooting my car. I'd been interested in an inexpensive prime (that maintained AF), that had nice DOF like I see on so many car photos, this seemed to be a terrific option and already I'm getting some great shots.
I forgot you're into photography, I would've asked you, but I hit up a guy on the S550 group that's a pro photographer, ran this lens past him, he gave it the thumbs up for my use cases (beyond just shooting some car pics).
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In all honesty, every photographer SHOULD have a fast 50mm for 35mm/APS-c use. For a 35mm frame, it's easy to make a good one inexpensively, and they tend to be among the best lenses you can get. If you really want to have fun with DOF, though, get a 1.2
. Not too long ago, I picked up a Nikon 35mm f/1.8. Optically, it's not as good as a 50mm 1.8 with sort of crummy "donut" bokeh, but on a crop sensor camera is a more practical "one lens, all day" focal length. At least for a crop sensor camera, I think it's a great little $200 lens although I'd still prefer a 50mm if I have enough room to use it. I actually debated for a while about whether I wanted the 1.8 or the twice as expensive 35mm f/2 that covers film/full frame sensors. I settled on the 1.8 because I'm honestly not wild about 35mm lenses for full frame.
I should also qualify the above by saying it was taken on 4x5 film. The 135mm focal length is roughly equivalent to about 40mm on 35mm. If you want to go nutty over resolution, you normally will end up in the 5.6-11 range depending on the specific lens as you run into diffraction limits beyond that. The physics of it all translate into large formats having so little DOF that small apertures are often necessary, and aside from that you generally have plenty of resolution to spare. It's really common for a large format lens to go down to f/64 or smaller. In the above, I really didn't have enough DOF at f/22, so I used a bit of forward tilt to keep the car in focus.
In any case, have fun with the new lens.
To address the electricity point, Tesla’s idea is that people will charge their electric cars with the solar panels on their roofs.
is that yours? Gosh I love it. I’m a sucker for those MGs and the old Jaguar E Types. Something about those classy black cars I can’t resist. There’s this company in California that refurbishes E Types and they’re called Eagle Speedsters. If I ever win the lottery it’ll be the first thing I buy
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Read back through the thread if you have time and you'll find my agonizing about buying the car in the first place and the work-both repair and upgrades-I've put into it since then. The car is my baby.
BTW, take a closer look at the color also (and bonus points for anyone who wants to guess at the film stock used)
BTW, take a closer look at the color also
(and bonus points for anyone who wants to guess at the film stock used)
BTW, just as an additional thought for @D.T.-
Just remember that most cameras now have a focusing screen ground for brightness with f/4 and slower lenses. As a consequence of that, you DO NOT see the DOF that well with fast lenses. I've been bit in the butt by this more than once. You really need to be conscious of your AF point placement-I tend to mostly use the center point and make heavy use of AF lock. With manual focus lenses(or when manually focusing) I've had to train myself to use the AF points and look for the focus confirmation indicator rather than rely on my eye.
Even the standard matte screen in my F4 "pops" pretty nicely in and out of focus with an F/2.8 lens, and I got a nice bonus of getting an "L" screen(45º split image) with my F5. Even on MF cameras, though, I either need a focus aide or a special focusing screen(they do exist) to focus accurately with fast lenses. At close distances with larger apertures, you don't have a lot of margin for error.
Just remember that most cameras now have a focusing screen ground for brightness with f/4 and slower lenses. As a consequence of that, you DO NOT see the DOF that well with fast lenses. I've been bit in the butt by this more than once. You really need to be conscious of your AF point placement-I tend to mostly use the center point and make heavy use of AF lock. With manual focus lenses(or when manually focusing) I've had to train myself to use the AF points and look for the focus confirmation indicator rather than rely on my eye.
Even the standard matte screen in my F4 "pops" pretty nicely in and out of focus with an F/2.8 lens, and I got a nice bonus of getting an "L" screen(45º split image) with my F5. Even on MF cameras, though, I either need a focus aide or a special focusing screen(they do exist) to focus accurately with fast lenses. At close distances with larger apertures, you don't have a lot of margin for error.
I think for a lot of owners Teslas are a eco-conscious status symbol. Kinda like Priuses in the later 2000's- I own a Prius but also have two full size luxury SUVs, a boat, and a mid-life crisis sports car. Most people I know that own them have other vehicles in their fleet. The reality is the charging infrastructure / battery technology really isn't yet up to snuff to make it practical to own as your sole vehicle.
Living in the city, I have no idea how I'd convince my landlord to install a charger in the garage- and it would be a waste assuming I eventually move. My work doesn't have chargers either and as far as I know, most of the eParking spots don't offer particularly efficient chargers for Teslas.
If you lived in a rural area, access to Superchargers is limited, as are repair shops. Tesla appointments are already relatively difficult to get in many places. I hope Tesla has big plans for expanding their repair shops... it'll be a problem if they rapidly throw tens of thousands of Model 3s onto the road. And the fact that only Tesla dealers can fix them, doesn't help. Growing pains for sure, but problematic for owners.
Beautiful!
Thanks Ari!
As far as Teslas go-regardless of cost I don't really see any practical way that I could own one, cost aside. My work DOES have a few charging stations, but I don't know what's required to even be able to use one. They're tucked into a corner of the big parking garage on campus and in an area that's mostly reserved for campus police vehicles. I suspect that a "big environmentally conscious" university would make the accessible to faculty/staff/students but there again I've never heard just what that involves.
It would be impossible in my condo. I was able to pay the property management to put a single 110V outlet at one of my spots in the car port, but as part of the agreement the breaker is some silly small amount(I think 5A) so that I can't do anything much more than plug in a light and a small power tool. The reason for that is it comes off the same panel that provides exterior lighting rather than my own panel, and thus the HOA pays the bills on it. There's no way I could swing installing EV chargers unless everyone else also wanted one(and wanted to pay the electric bills that would come with it) and my own meter is too far removed from the parking area to run it off that. We have one Supercharger in town, one of exactly two in the state.
The nearest dealer is in Indianapolis, so I have no idea what service would involve.
I once read about this affluent neighborhood in Cali, where there was a much higher installation rate of solar in some sections vs. others - it wound up not having anything to do with cost, sun/aiming, but, how visible the panels were.
Not unlike a study that was done where the sales for hybrids were directly related to how hybrid _looking_ the car was. People didn't want to drive an RX300 Hybrid with a tiny little badge, they wanted a Prius-like design so it was clear to everything they were driving a hybrid.
Makes sense. I remember a certain college's campus security had a Toyota Highland hybrid. So in addition to a POLICE decal there was a nearly as large decal that said HYBRID.
Remember the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid? Some of them had some extra decals just to clarify if there was any question about it being a hybrid...
Is anyone impressed with the looks or performance of:
It looks kind of round to me, and no back seat/ledge!
2017 Audi TT Convertible Roadster srarts at $48k
This Mazda MX5 looks better and is less expensive:
I drove them both and bought an Abarth 124 instead. I was leaning towards the 124 from the start though.
Here's a POV of my 124 with a bit bigger turbo in it sitting around 220 whp.
https://wheelwell.com/eddie-clark/1w5r/2017-fiat-124-spider