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Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

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Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#261
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you say the other makers are passive? BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, VW, Ford and Fiat all have fully electric cars. Sure none of them get near the range the Model S does, but they are getting involved in this. A Nissan Leaf offers roughly one third the specs of a Model S, but also at one third the price. Seems like progress to me.

With the exception of the Leaf, all those fully electric cars seem more like tests or prototypes than serious attempts to win the market. Nissan is anything but passive when it comes to fully electric cars, but all the other major car makers are being, in my opinion, overly cautious.

The VW e-Golf and BMW i3 are no less cars than the Leaf is. The e-Golf in particular competes directly with the Leaf, offering similar features and price. The i3 is pretty pricy, but it is a BMW after all.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#262
post #125
post #76

One thing I don't understand is the position of the big car makers(BMW, MB, AUDI) being a passive observer in this field. Tesla is getting so much, that if any automaker that can deliver a car with half the specs of a model S, and keeping their model's prices as a mass produced car, would deliver a big punch to Tesla, and would greatly move the market forward. Is it the investment necessary for building a network of…

Why do you say the other makers are passive? BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, VW, Ford and Fiat all have fully electric cars. Sure none of them get near the range the Model S does, but they are getting involved in this. A Nissan Leaf offers roughly one third the specs of a Model S, but also at one third the price. Seems like progress to me.

"Why do you say the other makers are passive? BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, VW, Ford and Fiat all have fully electric cars."

BMW has an i3 that is basically an Onion article parody version of an electric car. If you had to draw a comic of an electric car, that's what you'd draw.

They also have an absolutely ridiculous "electric" i8 that has a lawnmower engine shoehorned in it somewhere and you can listen to that fire off every now and then while you drive your luxury car around. And oh, yeah, it goes 0-60 in 4.4 seconds and they actually advertise that fact.

Mercedes also has a lame little clown car (the B-class, or whatever it is) and a bunch of "luxury" models with little chainsaw engines hidden somewhere inside. Good thing they do all that sound dampening since who wants to hear a chuggy little 3 or 4-banger fire up at every stoplight.

It's stupefying. It's flabbergasting. It defies all logic.

And it's not like it's 2002 or something and they're all reacting to the prius ... they've all had 15 fucking years to come up with something, anything that doesn't make them a joke. And they have nothing.

I don't particularly like the styling of the model S, and I really don't like the interior, and I really, really don't like a big styling void in the middle of the dash where that 17" monitor sits, but I put down a deposit and am taking delivery.

It is a spite purchase. I refuse to pay an incumbent one more cent for the privilege of enabling their anachronistic product model.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but honestly making it faster is about the opposite I want to see as an improvement. It is a near admission, we can't do jack about range so lets wave our dicks around at the stop light. I was so hoping the D would have stood for distance/double/ etc before speculation ruined that idea. Now it seems their only news is, look its faster which runs counter to the conservation idea of EVs

This is such an insanely nitty complaint I can't even believe it. They are limited by batter technology and are doing the best they can. While conservation is certainly the idea of EVs, they need to have certain performance characteristics before they are widely accepted. PR stunts like this get people more interested in a great thing. But I suppose this is the internet so we just need to slam everything and insult e…

The fuse to make this work is an extra $10K. What battery pack or technology could be purchased for that?

"they need to have certain performance characteristics before they are widely accepted"

EVs need to be able to do 0-60 in 2.8s to be widely accepted??

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#264
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The GTR is 2.9 seconds, so the tesla is faster- Its also faster in the 1/4 mile as well, so this is kind of a big deal. I believe this is the fastest production car under 300k that you can buy.

>I believe this is the fastest production car under 300k that you can buy. The 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S was tested by Car and Driver at 2.5 seconds 0-60, and it's ~$200K, depending on options: http://www.caranddriver.com/porsche/911-turbo-turbo-s I suspect the 2015 Turbo S might be a bit quicker.

[deleted]

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is such an insanely nitty complaint I can't even believe it. They are limited by batter technology and are doing the best they can. While conservation is certainly the idea of EVs, they need to have certain performance characteristics before they are widely accepted. PR stunts like this get people more interested in a great thing. But I suppose this is the internet so we just need to slam everything and insult e…

The fuse to make this work is an extra $10K. What battery pack or technology could be purchased for that? "they need to have certain performance characteristics before they are widely accepted" EVs need to be able to do 0-60 in 2.8s to be widely accepted??

> EVs need to be able to do 0-60 in 2.8s to be widely accepted??

ryguytilidie's comment, in context, included this explanation: "PR stunts like this get people more interested in a great thing."

And yes, products which are new and different generally need good PR in order to be accepted by consumers. Quite a lot of the press is talking about this today, which is what Tesla hoped to achieve.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#266
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a fantastic read! I wonder if they get any tech or materials from SpaceX?

Well, SpaceX uses inconel. They also must have a quite good understanding of pyrotechnics, as they need to use that in a lot of places, eg. stage separation. So I'd say yes, at least on the tech transfer part.

I don't think so. At least, it hasn't been publicly reported as far as I know. So although I'm not saying it's impossible, I'd be very interested to know the source for your statement?

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#267
post #39

No-one needs this, I predict accidents. I hope insurance companies can determine which models have this and inexperienced drivers should pay more. Just hope no-one kills anyone.

Surely less accidents. A common metric with road cars is 'TED' or Time Exposed to Danger, measuring how quickly you can accelerate to overtake a vehicle - the less time you are in the other lane, facing oncoming traffic, the better. Obviously very low 0-60 and 60-100 acceleration times are better, and make for lower TEDs.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#268
post #89

Even if not a software update, I still find Tesla's way of thinking of a car as an actual (continuously update/upgrade-able) product fascinating. Very rare for hardware. It gives an amazing user experience, "Hey restart your car and it's now got X and Y". Respect. Edit: clarifying the term "product".

Agreed. The 2015 Mazda3 we just bought has a horrible info/nav system that crashes and frequently stops responding. I'm guessing the actual chance of it ever being fixed at 0%. Tesla's get an automatic OTA update that would fix that kind of thing and it wouldn't be something you'd have to 'deal' with for the rest of your ownership of the vehicle.

I have had the mazda3 model since it first came out in 2014. They actually do release updates from time to time. The only unfortunate thing is you have to go to the dealer to update. (However the system is completely hackable, and you can update it yourself and even add your own apps http://www.mazda3hacks.com/) Mazda has said that in 2016 all cars with this infotainment system will get an upgrade to android auto/apple equivalent.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#269
post #88
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well that's a pretty silly way to look at this. No one needs a car that can go faster than 85mph, but pretty much every car on the market can break that limit. What makes this different?

It takes a lot more effort to go more than 85mph (and the engine has to work differently depending on the environment). Someone stepping on the pedal and being where a pedestrian is in 2 seconds could be very fatal for inexperienced drivers.

> Someone stepping on the pedal and being where a pedestrian is in 2 seconds could be very fatal for inexperienced drivers.

Probably far more likely to be fatal for the pedestrian

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#270
post #56
post #39

No-one needs this, I predict accidents. I hope insurance companies can determine which models have this and inexperienced drivers should pay more. Just hope no-one kills anyone.

Well that's a pretty silly way to look at this. No one needs a car that can go faster than 85mph, but pretty much every car on the market can break that limit. What makes this different?

> No one needs a car that can go faster than 85mph

... until they REALLY do.

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