I've been seeing a LOT of Teslas on the road...

[spencer60]

So, I finally made it over to Tesla today for a test drive on a Model 3. I was actually surprised they were open today, but I passed by a few regular dealerships having 4th of July sales so I guess that's just part of the car business.

The way you do a test drive with Tesla is a PITA. You have to schedule an appointment that, which sounds easy but their system is so janked-up that it took three days and three calls to them to get a 1PM appointment for today. Expect frustration there.

The folks at the 'showroom' were nice enough, but if you expect to see the full lineup, be aware it's just a small retail store with room for exactly one vehicle.

When I was there it was the new Model Y crossover. If you wanted to just drop by and see anything else, you would have been out of luck without a specific appointment.

Anyway, I tried to try the Model 3, but at 6'5" there was simply no way that was going to happen. Maybe back when I was a lot more flexible around the middle... but even then it would have been way too tight on legroom.

Bummer, there went my Tesla plans before I even got to drive the car.

I did try out the Model Y, and it's perfectly comfortable with the seat all the way down and back, and the steering wheel up a bit, but I really wanted a coupe with an enclosed trunk. In fact any car I take to the (indoor) range has to have a place for my range bag and one or two rifle cases.

Unlike most crossovers, the Y doesn't have a 'package shelf' or any kind of pull-out cover to prevent folks from looking in the back window and seeing what's in the cargo area. Kind of unbelievable but there doesn't even seem to be a 3rd party solution, which probably makes the Y a non-starter.

Too bad, but I guess I'll wait and see what Ford does with the Mach-E. That's a crossover too, but I'll bet they have a way to block off the cargo area, and from what I'm seeing the pricing is about the same and you still get the $7500 tax credit.

 

[roscoe1911]

Tint is the answer.

 

[spencer60]

It does have a pretty heavy tint already, but if I'm leaving a couple of rifle cases in it, tint ain't enough.

 

[roundhouse]

It does have a pretty heavy tint already, but if I'm leaving a couple of rifle cases in it, tint ain't enough.

Just throw a blanket over whatever you’ve got back there.
Tesla’s are cool
And I live how musk has developed a better electric car than GM Ford Benz or Toyota or VW (VW is the largest car company in the world )

and the self driving thing is light years ahead of any other company.
I likely will never be able to afford one , but I’m glad they are available .

 

[spencer60]

LOL. Yeah thieves will never figure that one out.

I lost a laptop in my Audi years ago because I tried that trick. Left it on the floor under a jacket instead of putting it in the trunk at Perimeter Mall.

What was worse was trying to get the window replaced through Audi (their service sucks) while driving around with a plastic tarp over the hole... And of course it poured down rain the whole time.

No thanks.


I do like the idea of Tesla, and what they are doing, but it's an odd company as well. They can build a battery that lasts a million miles but can't figure out how paint a car so it'll last 5000.

They can design a machine to cast the entire back end of a Model Y as a single part, but can't design a package shelf for it once it's done.

They write the most advanced self-driving software in existence, but their reservation system sucks so bad it took me 5 phone calls back and forth to finally get an appointment scheduled, and even the they didn't have my information when I got there.

This is a flaky company that gets by a lot of engineering and fanboys. I'm still interested in getting one, but right now they are making that impossible.

 

[Trailrider]

LOL. Yeah thieves will never figure that one out.

I lost a laptop in my Audi years ago because I tried that trick. Left it on the floor under a jacket instead of putting it in the trunk at Perimeter Mall.

What was worse was trying to get the window replaced through Audi (their service sucks) while driving around with a plastic tarp over the hole... And of course it poured down rain the whole time.

No thanks.


I do like the idea of Tesla, and what they are doing, but it's an odd company as well. They can build a battery that lasts a million miles but can't figure out how paint a car so it'll last 5000.

They can design a machine to cast the entire back end of a Model Y as a single part, but can't design a package shelf for it once it's done.

They write the most advanced self-driving software in existence, but their reservation system sucks so bad it took me 5 phone calls back and forth to finally get an appointment scheduled, and even the they didn't have my information when I got there.

This is a flaky company that gets by a lot of engineering and fanboys. I'm still interested in getting one, but right now they are making that impossible.

Do you use social media much like Twitter? You'd be surprised, but Musk has been known to respond to people with some of the issues you brought up about customer service or design criticism. Not saying he'd design a new car for you but he's very interested in feedback about his vehicles and service.

There was a story in the news recently about a guy who was frustrated with people leaving their Tesla's at charging stations to go run errands and having to wait on them to return. He Tweeted Musk who responded with changes he would make so that cars that were left for too long past full charge, would get billed more.

 

[spencer60]

Nope... I have no interesting in Twitter. Besides, I doubt that there's a lot of folks like me that would let this be a make-or-break decision.

I did see on the Tesla forums that a few guys were complaining about this as well. One was worried about his golf clubs. Answers ranged from the same 'throw a blanket over them' to 'give up golf'.

I am going to go back up an do another test drive though, just to see if there's any place I could make something for myself to fit there. A little wood and some carpet would be all that I'd need, assuming there's some way to attach it.

The model Y is also supposed to be getting 3rd row seats soon, so maybe they will make some changes to the cabin at that point.