Since the driver took over, we just don’t know whether autopilot would have failed to pull the exact same evasive maneuver.
Musk needs to learn to wait for the tests to be officially done and published before declaring something the safest car in the world; after all the hype about the Model S, it ended up unable to get a good rating in the IIHS small overlap test and its roof turned out to be not unusually strong.Lots of rear headroom. They took the pano windshield on the X & put it on the back of the 3.
Haha, Musk just dissed Volvo. 5-star side-impact test on an S60 vs. the 3. Ouch. Wow lol. "The Volvo is the 2nd safest car in the world" hahaha.
i don't like that it's mounted like a aftermarket accessory.am i the only person who kinda really hates that everything is controlled by that giant tablet? i like knobs and not having a giant light source inside the car at night
I'm guessing it dims a lot at night, but it's definitely something many people are skeptical about.am i the only person who kinda really hates that everything is controlled by that giant tablet? i like knobs and not having a giant light source inside the car at night
I'm guessing it dims a lot at night, but it's definitely something many people are skeptical about.
am i the only person who kinda really hates that everything is controlled by that giant tablet? i like knobs and not having a giant light source inside the car at night
Personally I hate the giant touchscreen in the X & S. Would much rather have knobs & pushbuttons that don't require looking at it. I'm not much of a steering wheel controls guy other than to flip channels or whatever...for stuff like volume control, I'd rather have a nice big dial to spin quickly than to click through the rocker on the wheel. Although the 3 is supposed to have some kind of clicky scrollwheel, so maybe it'll be fine...
am i the only person who kinda really hates that everything is controlled by that giant tablet? i like knobs and not having a giant light source inside the car at night
You are not. Does it have a hud - I think looking to the right for all info sucks. Plus, like you and Kaido, I prefer analog controls for commonly used controls.
am i the only person who kinda really hates that everything is controlled by that giant tablet? i like knobs and not having a giant light source inside the car at night
No HUD.
Thanks, geez that pretty much sucks. No backlit LCD dash, no hud, nada. Sad.
The HUD on the BMW i8 is awesome. I wish more companies were into them.
I was just reading that they aren't going to make any money until after they've delivered 300,000 Model 3's. The X & S have enough markup to generate revenue, but I don't think Tesla can afford to retool the designs of either one for a refresh, unlike the big boys who can retool every 2 years for a new design.
No one does a new design every 2 years. It looks like the average is 4 or 5 years on high volume models. It is usually longer on low volume ones:
Corvette:
Sorry, I meant not new, entirely overhauled designs, but design refreshes in terms of things like sheetmetal adjustments to keep up with styling changes. The only thing the S has really done is change the nose:
Internally there are a bunch of changes, but overall, your 2012 Model S looks pretty much the same as your 2017 Model S, except for the buttoned-up front grill. Even the rims have stayed more or less the same.
Here's a good writeup on Ars about the interior of the Model 3. I didn't like the interior but after reading the article, it started to change my mind a bit (although I'm not 100% sold on it). I have no intention of buying one so it doesn't really matter anyways.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/0...ates-about-the-tesla-model-3-have-me-excited/
As expected, the Model 3 is available with a choice of two different battery packs...the bigger battery isn't just a software-unlock away. Unlike the Model S and Model X, the 3 will use Tesla's 2170 cells. The 2170s are larger than the 18650 cells even though they cost less to produce and have almost double the energy density (6,000mA compared to 3,000mA, according to InsideEVs). But just what the battery specs are for the Model 3 variants remains unknown. The event and Tesla's press kit simply describe them by range: 220 miles or 310 miles.
Tesla says it wants us to talk about range and not kilowatt-hours (kWh), but I just can't see the logic. For one thing, as several of us on staff have found out, an EV's specified range and the actual number of miles we can drive it before reaching empty are often quite different. EVs are great in urban traffic at low speeds with plenty of stop-and-go; on the freeway, you quickly discover that drag increases in a non-linear function, and cruising at even 80mph will deplete those cells much faster than at 70mph.
For another, Tesla isn't playing in this space alone. Using kWh as a way to quickly and easily gauge the size of a car's battery has now become the accepted way of knowing how much juice a given EV has in its (lithium-ion) tank. But a gripe about the language the company uses to describe its battery capacity isn't much of a gripe at all.
I am sensing a double standard here. 97 vs 2004 Corvette, More years less change:
In general, new cars are fully redesigned every four to six years. Occasionally, the model cycle for a specific car or truck will last more than six years. In between redesigns, every three years or so, cars are given a face-lift to help keep them looking fresh. This is what's called the automotive "model cycle," and it exists, without fail, for virtually every single car company.
So they just released the Model 3, which is amazing & pretty much better in every way than the Model S, except for (primarily) Ludicrous mode...the question is, are they going to retool to do a major refresh on the Model S? Can they? With their budget, available equipment, and being pressed for time to pump out 500,000 Model 3's in the next 2 years? Because if I had $60k to spend on an EV, I would definitely buy a fully-loaded Model 3 over the entry-level Model S.
So that's what I'm curious about...are they going to beef up the higher-end models to reflect their price, in terms of luxury & not just performance? New exterior designs? Markedly improved interior designs using their Volvo guy? I mean, their interiors aren't terrible now, but they definitely don't feel like $100,000 interiors by any means.
So Tesla is still within the norm easily, especially for it's volume. Also the refresh that some models get before a redesign is typically just like what Tesla did, changing the plastic front and leave the sheet metal alone. Also you seem to focus an lot on the superficial. Who care when they change the external styling? you can barely tell one Audi from any other Audi in the last decade. As long as the styling isn't really bad, this is the least important issue.
That out of the way, onto (IMO) more important stuff.
Making Model S/X more attractive in light of what appears to be a very good Model 3.
I do think they should have a serious luxury interior at least as an option, possible as part of interior design refresh. I think this is the main knock against the Tesla S/X when compared to luxury car competitors. It's a great car otherwise and that should be enough to soldier on until a full redesign, which maybe be even a bit bigger now that the Model 3 exists.