Smart phone App for Ford Focus Electric car

Tesla Model S is epitome of state-of-the-art electric car.

Sunline Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus similar to that to be deployed in Connecticut.

Solar energy has now surpassed 100 GW globally.

NEWS

THU

14-Feb-2013

PHOTO CAPTION:

Driving Tesla's Model S In the Real World

Chris Ziegler borrows a Model S for road trip around the California and finds its a very special car that convinced him this might be the future of transportation.

It’s difficult to get comfortable in the driver’s seat of a $100,000 car that isn’t yours.

The particular Model S I flew to Los Angeles to sample last week was a Signature Performance model. That means that it was one of the first 1,000 to roll off the assembly line (indicated by the “Signature” designation) and is fitted with a high-output electric inverter that can propel the car from 0 to 60 in just 4.4 seconds, a key metric that slots it in with some of the fastest production sedans in the world. It’s a stat I would come to test on numerous occasions over the following 36 hours — within the bounds of the “no street racing” clause I agreed to upon taking delivery, of course.

But I arrived in LA fully expecting to hate this modern marvel of a car. I was raised in Detroit, the son of a woman who has worked at General Motors for nearly half a century. Tesla’s emergence was, perhaps, a little uncomfortable for someone who’d grown up surrounded by the infallible Big Three. I felt a little bit like former Palm CEO Ed Colligan in his infamous (and ill-fated) takedown of the iPhone: “they’re not just going to walk in,” I thought. The regulatory and financial hurdles are enormous just to make a single terrible car, let alone a good one that people will actually want to buy.

Article Views: 760

READ COMPLETE ARTICLE >>

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To read this The Verge news story, click the READ COMPLETE ARTICLE link above. This will launch a separate window to the original news source. To comment on this story use the Reader's Comment form below.

RELATED NEWS ITEMS

Tesla Reports $40M in Model X Pre-Orders

Tesla to Develop Electric Powertrain for Mercedes

Tesla's 'Brick' Problem

READER COMMENTS

ADD YOUR COMMENTS BELOW

Posting comments is restricted to our FREE and PREMIUM subscribers. Once you log in, allowing us to implant a security cookie on your browser, the comment form will appear. To become a free BASIC subscriber, sign up here. We will not spam you or sell your email, and you'll receive our Weekly Brief email newsletter. You then will be permitted to post comments.