
Jay Leno loves his Tesla: ‘There’s almost no reason to have a gas car’ - rmason
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/jay-leno-on-tesla-electric-cars-are-the-future.html
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Zanni
I used to own an Audi TTS, which is a fantastic little car, very fun to drive.
Then I bought a Model S, which my girlfriend ended up driving. Great
acceleration, but between the size and the air suspension, not sporty enough
for me. I stuck to the Audi. But every time I drove the Model S (if we went
out together, or to keep the battery in condition if she was away), switching
back to the Audi felt like traveling back in time. The car shook at idle, it
was noisy, it always needed some fluid or other topped off. I took to calling
it the clackety-bang machine (hyperbole, it ran great). Eventually I traded it
in for a Model 3 Performance. The TTS was the finest internal-combustion
engine car I've ever owned, but it felt like a relic. I'll never buy another
gas vehicle again.

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JaceLightning
Yeah except I don't own my own home so I can't install a car chargers or live
in a city with chargers and electric cars can't drive half as far as a gas car
and cost twice as much as a gas car...

But almost no reason. #sarcasm

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Zanni
Yeah, those are the three pain points, for sure. Public charging
infrastructure is unevenly distributed and mostly terrible. Level 1 chargers
for (14-20 mph of charging) are completely inadequate for public use and yet
we keep adding more of them (every Level 1 charger is a wasted
space/opportunity to install an actually useful Level 2/3 charger). But range
is improving rapidly. The new Model S is up to nearly 400 miles of range. Even
the long range Model 3 gets 300 miles. And prices are _approaching_ reasonable
when you factor in total cost of ownership. We're still in the early adopter
part of the growth curve, but rapidly approaching the tipping point.

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WorldMaker
Level 1 charging is traditional wall plug / electrical outlet. The chargers
you are complaining about are always Level 2 or higher, and most people are
ignoring the opportunities in Level 1 charger build outs, because 7-10 miles
per hour charged for every hour a car is sitting in a parking lot can still be
a big deal for a lot of use cases (for instance, the 8 hours you should be
parked at work, that's 56-80 miles added during the average work day).

We really could add Level 1 charging everywhere, because almost everywhere has
power. It's Level 2+ chargers that require all the extra new infrastructure,
higher amperage circuits, and fancy charging hardware. (Level 2 itself is the
next most potentially ubiquitous as it is "just" dryer plug, though I've never
seen a dryer plug Level 2 charger like you can find Level 1 chargers with
traditional plugs. Level 3+ is where you start to leave the range of ordinary
homes and businesses.)

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Zanni
My mistake. Apparently there are stratifications within Level 2, and I've
mostly encountered 240V 3.8KW chargers, which are about 12 mph, but there are
also 240V 7.6KW chargers at about 26 mph.

Level 1 charging makes sense at an office park if it's nearly ubiquitous. If
it's a crap shoot whether you'll get a space or not, it becomes much less
valuable. And it's still useless for public charging (mostly confined to mall
and store parking lots) because you can't leave your car there for the 8+
hours it takes to get a decent charge. BTW, my research says 4.5mph for Level
1 which makes even 8 hours of charging underwhelming.

For any space where you can only park for a few hours (3 hours is a commonly
enforced limit), then anything less than Level 2 7.6KW is a waste of space.

Level 3 chargers are huge and expensive, as you point out, and will probably
be limited to dedicated charging stations for the foreseeable future.

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Kaibeezy
No manual transmission = dealbreaker. And I mean a stick, not paddles.

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e1ven
I insist on a manual, and have declined to buy cars I otherwise liked because
they didn't make a manual transmission model.

I don't have a lot of experience with fully electric cars, but I've always
read that the torque on electric cars makes the transmission unnecessary.

Is that not so? Have you had a bad experience?

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Kaibeezy
I only want to drive a stick. It’s about being involved and engaged in the
experience.

Might go look at a Toyota GT86. RWD, normally aspirated, supposedly
underpowered, all good! A slow car driven fast is way more fun than a fast car
driven slow.

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kube-system
Don’t Teslas have a few fluid systems, like coolant and brake fluid?

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toomuchtodo
Coolant for the powertrain, yes. Electromechanical brakes on Model S and X
(since 2014), Model 3 does have a hydraulic brake system though (suggestion is
to replace brake fluid every 2 years [1]). Coolant is to be replaced as
needed, no interval specified. Tire rotations, air filters/air conditioner
system, lubricate calipers ever 12 months in cold climates. That's it.

[1] [https://www.tesla.com/support/car-
maintenance](https://www.tesla.com/support/car-maintenance)

Disclaimer: Model S/X owner.

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sytelus
A subcompact car with a 10-gallon gas tank can store the energy equivalent of
7 Teslas, 15 Nissan Leafs or 23 Chevy Volts.

[http://www.menloenergy.com/?p=535](http://www.menloenergy.com/?p=535)

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lljk_kennedy
Jay Leno paid to say: ‘There’s almost no reason to have a gas car’

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dangus
That's fine to be cynical about it, but Jay is a well known Electric car fan
(owns a Baker Electric).

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beatgammit
Well, he's a well known car fan and has an impressive collection of all
varieties of car. He's also fabulously wealthy, so I doubt he's interested in
being paid to say things.

