I want a Tesla P85D
 

0-60 in 3.2 sec a 300-mile range electric car is awesome.

But skip the f**king techno-nanny crap. Why would I want my car to move over a lane just because I flicked on the turn signal? Signalling intention to enter a lane doesn't mean I want to be there immediately. Reading speed limit signs and adjusting speed? So if I have the system off, a cop can get me for willfull reckless driving in addition to speeding, since I can't claim inattention? (System should have been on, right?)

And I'm not a cripple -- I can park my own f**king car, TYVFM.

50 years ago, Luddites were carping about the advent of those gimmicky disc brakes, because 4-wheel drums were more than good enough...

You want a technically advanced electric roadster, but you dont want the technical gizmos that come standard.

Fortunately for tesla, you are not their target market. Maybe they can produce a special one off for you. No center LCD, instead they can put a hand crank there for your manually operated wiper blades, old jeep stype

JB3 - when you said "roadster", you hit it on the head.

I'd essentially want an updated Tesla Roadster, which was a Lotus Elise with an electric drivetrain installed in it, without all of the gimcrack nanny gimmickry. Make it under 3000 lb and fun to drive, not a f**king iPad on wheels.

I like the idea of saving energy and "zero emissions" (depending on electric power source mix in a given area), but I also enjoy driving too much to want to have some cum-puker do it for me. One can have a clean powertrain without all of the other crap. In fact, the car would be actually be lighter and more efficient without the added crapola.

There's no reason why one couldn't have an efficient electric car that's also highly basic -- think of a 400 hp golf cart with Lotus-designed suspension and chassis :) Or an electric Miata.

I belive that the only reason Tesla's/EV's are as efficient as they are, is becuase of complex technology. You could built a 300kW variable resistor (yknow...that fits in a car) and use it to control the drive motor (and lose the expense/complexity of a motor controller-lawd those are expensive) but now where did your efficiency go ?
We have 6cyl motors that now get more than 30mpg, we didnt do that with SOHC, cast iron blocks and ram air, we did it with 24v VVT systems, drive-by-wire and highly precise fuel injection. Could we do better ? maybe, how much do you have to spend ?

I suspect, that by the time Tesla has purchased and asembled the batteries, motor and controller that they need for a 300mi. range, things like auto-lane change and self-parking add so little to the cost (software development only?) that they'd be foolish to leave them off. You can have a $90k tesla roadster or an $89k Tesla roadster club sport edition :)

-John

5000lbs gets you a lot of batteries too...


Sent from an abacus

Making 90%+ efficient motors and controllers isn't a new technology. Variable-frequency AC motor drives were perfected for the rail industry 20+ years ago. The drive hardware is if anything cheaper than a gasoline engine, and easier to control. The main trick/new tech is in Tesla's battery pack.

Actually, given a roadster without self-steering ability, you could leave off power steering, the ultrasonic sensors, touch screen, etc. Just have it be two motors, controller, and battery pack on wheels with a steering wheel and braking system. (You actually wouldn't need the brakes 95% of the time, since a correctly designed controller will provide "max engine braking" aka regen when the accelerator pedal is released.)

Shocking news.

I do not belive that you understand the nuance of motor controllers.

Those locomotive drives and VFD's worked well for thier purpose - big loads, big fans and big components that accelerate slowly. I've installed a number of 5-80hp VFD's industrially in the last 10 years, and they are good but they didnt have regenerative braking (that worked worth a damm) and were not intrinsically safe enough to put one in a car (a failed component could overheat the box or overheat the motor...not a fault that would be tolerable in a consumer product.)
I'm not sure what kind of regenerative braking the train controller had if any, I am sure that the train controller created more waste heat than a sbc (which makes them less efficient...and requires a big fan to keep cool...). I am also not sure if they could have been scaled down to automotive size, cost and longevity. ("sorry Hon, can't get groceries, I need to change the oil in my car's transformer tonight")

Your point is valid in than power electronics in the 1960's were simpler than those of 2010, and maybe even cheaper to produce even if you took lead and asbestos out of the process. More efficient ? I doubt it.

Good on Tesla for improving batteries, I hope they continue.

-John

Regardless, a perfected VFD has very little to do with the "rolling iPad" aspects of the car.

I want one, but that's not saying much.

691 HP! And for only $14.600 you can upgrade your S P85, in a gasoline car an upgrade by a tuner would cost you $50 to $100K.

85 years ago, it was those darned 4-wheel brakes...