The Transportation Divide Has Started

I picked up a friend from Minnesota at the San Francisco airport. Traffic was heavy so I pulled into the "fast" lane which was bumper to bumper and max 25 mph. I hit AutoPilot, told the car to "relax" which moves my seat back and steering wheel forward (I can still reach it if I need to). He tried to grab the wheel while yelling "what are you doing?".
Really? I told him Nicki (my Tesla) is self driving and 100% trustworthy in some situations. But I think he did not realize vehicles driving themselves is a daily occurrence, has been for a while now. After a few miles he was no longer in a panic, but still in disbelief that Nicki was driving perfectly.

I am wondering if this will be a common problem - being told what will happen and not believing it.

 

You have a Tesla?......awesome man!
I would love the new model S, P100D.
Zero to 100 in 2.7 sec!

 

The transportation divide certainly has begun though, check this out!

 

I just watched a documentary on Mercedes trucks that were self-driving. They claimed to have invented it. It was amazing to say the least. Maybe someday they'll invent a car that detects a drunk driver and flattens all 4 tires.

 

Check out Audi's self-driving vehicles.
Just imagine the possibilities open innovation can bring.
https://www.iol.co.za/motoring/latest-launches/audi-reveals-smart-new-self-driving-a8-10232739
http://www.musclecarszone.com/audi-future-concept-truck/

 

If it was a self-driving car, it wouldn't matter how drunk the "driver" was.

 

Actually, Nicki did 0-60 in 2.4 as measured at Sonoma with the frunk lining out and a lot of luck. She is made to accelerate, metal roof, aftermarket wheels and rotors, etc. And she drives most of the way there.

https://www.sonomaraceway.com/track/bracket_drag_racing/

 

I'm talking about in regular cars not just self driving cars. My uncle in Colorado told me about a rancher there that takes his horse and buggy to the bar so he can fall a sleep and the horse find it's way home.

 

In my area, repeat offenders are given the option of suspension or a breathalyzer wired into their ignition circuit (at their expense).

 

Might as well as walk.

 

I would be proud of her too as this puts Nicki among the fastest accelerating production cars in the world, actually the fastest if im not mistaken?
She has the torque right from the get go.......The maximum torque is the stall torque, which is the torque at 0 RPM and continues on a 'flat-line' right through the range.

For electric motors, Torque is proportional to Current, and Speed is proportional to Voltage and the only limiting factor is how quickly the batteries (or other power source) can provide the current..... ideally its instantly, which is what Tesla have perfected.
Good stuff DOA

 

Imagine when the Tesla Touring Motorcycle comes around!

 

I'll have one of these.
https://www.pal-v.com/en/explore-pal-v

 

Tesla has competition there.
http://lightningmotorcycle.com/

 

Have a look over here.
https://silodrome.com/tesla-model-m/

I would like one of these for city use.
https://www.teslarati.com/alta-motors-electric-motorcycles-incredible-power-energy-density/

 

From the page -

That means the power fed to the batteries of an electric motorcycle can be harnessed from the sun, via solar technologies, or from the wind, or from running water, or – you get the idea. We get the idea, and we like it.

- now that's thinking!

 

That feeling of disbelief was what I felt on a test drive with autopilot. Until you've experienced it, you won't truly appreciate this statement but it is the most utterly innovative dimension to driving since driving itself.

But you can't trust it 100% since sometimes sensors miss at just the right time--like the guy who had his head cut off as his car drove under a semi. Be careful--it's still on the bleeding edge of technology and you don't want to get cut.

I was lucky enough to drive a P100D with ludicris speed. It definitely rivals my Corvette which does 0-60 in about the same time on nitrous.

 

Its interesting to note that Mclaren seem to be the only mainstream manufacturer not currently pursuing full electrics.......hybrids yes, but not fully electric as the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, Porsche etc are.
Its seems not to be interested in the 'keeping up with the jones's' mentality of modern vehicle manufacture!

Their CEO recently stated

adding that it also doesn't fit its status as a 'Super Car' manufacturer.

The main hurdle seems to be weight.......

With China now onboard in superior battery development, its my view that it wont be too long before the technology provides for both Power & Range in a low-weight friendly package!
Im not sure that they could continue to ignore the incredible success of FormulaE racing either.

 

Electric cars are great drag racers...but they're still not racing machines.

And when supercar manufacturers are taking their racing machines and basically making them streetable, an electric car absolutely doesn't make sense.

 

A valid point perhaps, however Lamborghini disagree!

http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/06/technology/lamborghini-terzo-milennio/index.html

Only once they perfect super capacitors using the carbon fibre body of the car, and they start to whoop the ass off a combustion racer, others will sit up and take notice!

 

Lamborghini has always been more about their retail operations than racing. Only a few marques are actually race machines, and I never considered Lamborghini to be one of them...but I wouldn't mind having one nevertheless!

 

As a cost effective stand point of view.I would not buy one of these car's.Due to the fact on how much parts would cost to maintain them.Just for my car part's from dealer ship cost 10 times more than buying a part off a third party.Unless you are rich and can afford it go right ahead.But economically stand point of view.They are pointless.

They have no meaning.Most states you can't even drive there top speed.So whats the point in having a car that can go 200 mph you can only do that mostly on a race track.And if you would try that in some areas they would be pulled over quickly.Depending where you live.

All these super cars are so tuned down that it's not worth even having them.You might as well buy a Hybrid lol.

 

Yes, the parts are expensive, but not just 'because', but because they serve a very specific purpose.

The front bumper cover on a Aston Martin Vanquish from about 10 years back costs $25k. Why? Because it's a single piece of structural strength carbon fibre--and that's not easy to make or break.

And as far as third party parts go--I would NEVER buy third party parts when dealer ones are available. Why? Well, I used to sell 3rd party parts and the BEST you'd see in quality is about 50% of what the dealer parts are. There is a tremendous difference between brake pads that cost $5 wholesale and those that cost $30 wholesale even when the retail price is only $15 apart.

Most who own hyper and super cars do just that--track them. You're only going to see these on the street if someone is just making a quick stop, is using it as a daily driver (usually very uncomfortable and not practical), or most commonly, is just showing off.

 

That is basically correct.All they are for is just to show off.

Now muscle cars on the other hand.They are built for street racing.They may be loud but i like loud.I like waking people up at 1 am when i am going home with my speakers teehee.

I drive past a police station just for kicks some times.

 

Obviously you've never driven or owned one of these machines. Think of them in this way, they're a muscle car that's a professional bodybuilder. You can do things with these cars that are just not possible with normal cars.

And street racing can be done with anything. I've seen built Civics spraying 150shots dust cammed C5s. I can't wait until the electrics start coming out to play.

 

My little 4 banger LT 1.8 turbo could smoke them if i injected nos into it.

 

Ummm...it would more than likely run lean and damage the engine. I wouldn't try that.

Unless you have sub 4s 0-60 times, you're going to be left in the dust.

 

We need to separate track and street. Corners are often blind and/or improperly radiused. If you want to live to race again some margin has to be allowed. But when the road straightens you can go all out. Furthermore any speed over 100 MPH is fairly meaningless, traffic and roads don't allow it.

What wins on the street is acceleration to 100 MPH. Electrics doing very well on the streets in spite of their weight. Box stock 0-60 in 2.4 seconds, no expertise required. 2.3 seconds by changing wheels, brakes, carpet covers removed and some planning.