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“The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

news.consumerreports.org

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Re: “The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

#141

Post by dalke »

dublinben wrote: post #128
cbr wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Model S is "Cool", perhaps, but not even vaguely innovative. It doesn't change any business models, it doesn't bypass anything or make any real changes , it's just a new kind of car that doesn't use gas (really, a big golf cart). It won't "change the automotive industry." It's introducing a new line of the same products we had before. With the Model S you still have roads, parking, large upfront costs, a driver,…

That's not true. Tesla is significantly disrupting the archaic dealership model. They sell their cars directly, over the internet, and from corporate-owned showrooms.

In that case, the Apple Store significantly disrupted the archaic music and retail software product sales model.

Re: “The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

#142

Post by i2oc »

As a Model S owner I can attest to the awesomeness of the car. Will hit 20,000km in the next few weeks.

Moreover I'm hoping that Tesla will challenge others in the industry to rethink their business model from the ground up. In 2013 why are we still replacing mufflers, why are using timing belts and not timing chains, and why is it that every time I walk into the dealership for a regular service I end up walking out with an even bigger bill than I expected? I get there is always wear and tear on a mechanical component but how many components are there in a typical car that are designed to fail to support an after market industry? I want a car built right and will pay more for that to avoid getting hooked into an industry that has become addicted to model year turnover revenue.

Re: “The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

#143

Post by enraged_camel »

jfb wrote: post #112
enraged_camel wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you are confused. Disruptive technologies can either start at the bottom of the market, or the top of the market. What makes them disruptive is that they serve the needs of a market segment that is currently not served very well by the incumbents.

Oh, no doubt I'm confused. But what market isn't being served that the Model S can waltz in on? It's an M5 with a linear torque curve that you can't take on long trips.

>>But what market isn't being served that the Model S can waltz in on? It's an M5 with a linear torque curve that you can't take on long trips.

Yeah, except unlike an M5, it is a high-tech and environmentally friendly vehicle.

Re: “The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

#144

Post by Spooky23 »

I think the Tesla is amazing, but Consumer Reports is bizarre. I've never been able to grok Consumer Reports car reviews... I remember one year (2003-2004 i think) where they punished Hyundai for some minor cosmetic issue, but white-washed an issue where plastic body panels were falling off a Honda, and gave that car their highest rating.

You could literally buy a similar BMW or Audi and all of the gas that you would ever consume for a price much less than that of the Tesla. And without the limitations of an electric car. Is the driving experience that much better than the other high end luxury cars?

Re: “The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

#145

Post by jfb »

dublinben wrote: post #128
cbr wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Model S is "Cool", perhaps, but not even vaguely innovative. It doesn't change any business models, it doesn't bypass anything or make any real changes , it's just a new kind of car that doesn't use gas (really, a big golf cart). It won't "change the automotive industry." It's introducing a new line of the same products we had before. With the Model S you still have roads, parking, large upfront costs, a driver,…

That's not true. Tesla is significantly disrupting the archaic dealership model. They sell their cars directly, over the internet, and from corporate-owned showrooms.

They're trying to do this. I doubt they'll succeed.

Re: “The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

#146

Post by arh68 »

aviswanathan wrote: post #3

I can attest to this. Initially, I was extremely skeptical that the Tesla was anything great (electric cars haven't been the highlight of the automotive industry despite repeated attempts by established manufacturers). A few weeks ago, however, I had the chance to drive a family friend's Tesla and I was stunned. The Model S seems like a car from the future. Forget the fact that it's completely electric and charges vi…

> Moreover, it's every geek's dream. You can remotely control the car with a smartphone app, monitor the car's efficiency and performance via beautiful graphs, and even have presets for charging cycles.

Yuck. If that's a geek dream, I'll take the nightmare. Smartphone app? Beautiful graphs? I want raw data over RS-232, csv, text/plain, not opaque layers of App Stores and flashy (unreusable) charts.

Re: “The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

#147

Post by mindcrime »

joezydeco wrote: post #88
newbie12 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus no autoworkers' union, and no inefficient dealer network.

He's still got an uphill battle on the dealer network thing. North Carolina being the latest problem: http://insideevs.com/hearing-on-tesla-selling-cars-in-north-...

Sometimes I am embarrassed to be from North Carolina. sigh

For the record, not all of North Carolina is so backwards.

Re: “The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

#148

Post by corresation »

Groxx wrote: post #140
corresation wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't the existing industry do this? Why all the mediocre product that's the tail end of pumping billions of dollars into R&D staffed by largely the same folks Tesla has been hiring? The car being reviewed is $90,000. Are competitively priced vehicles really "mediocre"? The Tesla was not built independently. Most of its components come from the auto industry. Most of its innovations are auto-industry innovations.…

Probably. from the video: "This car performs better than anything we've ever tested before. Let me repeat that: not just the best electric car, but the best car. It does just about everything really really well."

They specifically state that their love of the vehicle is because it's an electric car -- that side effects of being an electric car yield a result that they enjoy (e.g. low battery packs helping weight distribution, etc). Does that really make every other car "mediocre"?

Re: “The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

#149

Post by revelation »

crikli wrote: post #108
slantyyz wrote: post #43

It's definitely a nice car, but it will interesting how much they will adjust the score (if at all) when they revisit it for their long-term use review.

This is my thought: this car has no history, period. I'm unclear as to how Consumer Reports can reliably put out a report on a vehicle that's so new to market with such (relatively) few examples on the road. I think people really really really want the Tesla to be for real. And I hope it is. But that judgement can't be made until a few years down the road.

They have built ten thousand of them, what are you talking about?

Re: “The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car”

#150

Post by corresation »

bfe wrote: post #120
corresation wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't the existing industry do this? Why all the mediocre product that's the tail end of pumping billions of dollars into R&D staffed by largely the same folks Tesla has been hiring? The car being reviewed is $90,000. Are competitively priced vehicles really "mediocre"? The Tesla was not built independently. Most of its components come from the auto industry. Most of its innovations are auto-industry innovations.…

"Most of its components come from the auto industry" is incorrect. Tesla makes most of its components from scratch.

Aside from the many vendors that Tesla engages, do you really thing the in-house components were invented "from scratch"? Of course they weren't. Like every other automaker, they look at what everyone else is doing and individualize. Outside of being electric, there is nothing about the Tesla that is truly revolutionary -- most of its components are minor variations on what everyone else is doing.
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