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Tesla hopes to lay to rest another male insecurity- going the distance ;)
Tesla hopes long car trip ends 'range anxiety'
David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Battery range is the Achilles' heel of electric cars.
They can only go so far before their drivers need to plug them in for hours of recharging. As a result, people tend to think of them as commuter cars, best for short hops around town.
Tesla Motors wants to change that. Come Thursday, the San Carlos company will send one of its electric sports cars on a 3,100-mile road trip from Los Angeles to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The trip will give Tesla a chance to show off its all-electric Roadster in places where the car has seldom - if ever - been seen. Tesla also hopes to strike a blow against "range anxiety" among consumers, proving that electric cars are capable of the classic cross-country trip. Or as the company's Web page devoted to the trip puts it, "range anxiety is for the weak."
"You can take it on a road trip just like you would with an everyday car," said Tesla spokeswoman Khobi Brooklyn.
Well, not quite. The trip, which an everyday car would make in about six days, will take 19 in the Tesla.
The trip's itinerary is built around the Tesla Roadster Sport's 244-mile range. On most days, the car will only travel 100 to 200 miles before stopping for the night. On others the car will go a little farther than the car's range, meaning the driver will have to stop in the middle of the day and spend several hours recharging the battery pack. The drivers, a rotating group of Tesla employees, will recharge at hotels and RV parks.
"There is a realistic way to do this," said Rik Avalos, a Tesla sales recruiter who will drive two legs of the trip. "Going across the country is something people can do. This is not a situation where it's an undue burden."
The trip could also subject the California-born car to some vicious winter weather, as the drivers wind their way through the Upper Midwest, with stops in Chicago and Grand Rapids, Mich.
"When it gets to the show, it will be filthy and road-streaked," said Jason Mendez, who is manager of power train manufacturing engineering and will be another of the drivers. "That's going to be great."
Range anxiety isn't a groundless fear. The few electric cars that have been available to date have had different ranges, but they tend to be lower than the mileage a typical car gets from a full tank of gas. And drivers low on juice can't make a five-minute stop at the gas station to refuel.
Mark Duvall, with the Electric Power Research Institute, drove an earlier generation of electric car - the EV1 from General Motors - for less than a year. Twice he needed to call a tow truck after running down the batteries.
"Having been a driver of a battery electric vehicle, I can tell you what range anxiety is," said Duvall, director of the institute's electric transportation program.
Fear of limited range is also one of the reasons automakers are designing plug-in hybrid cars, which use gas-powered motors for backup when the batteries run too low.
"The people who don't want to have range anxiety and want more flexibility, they can buy plug-in hybrids," Duvall said. "We don't try to make everyone drive the same four-door sedan."
Roland Hwang, with the Natural Resources Defense Council, agreed. He also said that range anxiety may be less of a factor in the future if gasoline prices resume their upward march.
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"As the economy recovers, it's not going to be too long before we see $4 gasoline again," said Hwang, vehicle policy director for the environmental group. "So I think when more of these cars hit the showroom, range anxiety is going to be balanced by pump anxiety."
Tesla's drivers will update their progress on Facebook and Twitter. For more information about the trip, go to www.teslamotors.com/roadtrip.
E-mail David R. Baker at dbaker@sfchronicle.com
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...BUBU1B45AM.DTL
David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Battery range is the Achilles' heel of electric cars.
They can only go so far before their drivers need to plug them in for hours of recharging. As a result, people tend to think of them as commuter cars, best for short hops around town.
Tesla Motors wants to change that. Come Thursday, the San Carlos company will send one of its electric sports cars on a 3,100-mile road trip from Los Angeles to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The trip will give Tesla a chance to show off its all-electric Roadster in places where the car has seldom - if ever - been seen. Tesla also hopes to strike a blow against "range anxiety" among consumers, proving that electric cars are capable of the classic cross-country trip. Or as the company's Web page devoted to the trip puts it, "range anxiety is for the weak."
"You can take it on a road trip just like you would with an everyday car," said Tesla spokeswoman Khobi Brooklyn.
Well, not quite. The trip, which an everyday car would make in about six days, will take 19 in the Tesla.
The trip's itinerary is built around the Tesla Roadster Sport's 244-mile range. On most days, the car will only travel 100 to 200 miles before stopping for the night. On others the car will go a little farther than the car's range, meaning the driver will have to stop in the middle of the day and spend several hours recharging the battery pack. The drivers, a rotating group of Tesla employees, will recharge at hotels and RV parks.
"There is a realistic way to do this," said Rik Avalos, a Tesla sales recruiter who will drive two legs of the trip. "Going across the country is something people can do. This is not a situation where it's an undue burden."
The trip could also subject the California-born car to some vicious winter weather, as the drivers wind their way through the Upper Midwest, with stops in Chicago and Grand Rapids, Mich.
"When it gets to the show, it will be filthy and road-streaked," said Jason Mendez, who is manager of power train manufacturing engineering and will be another of the drivers. "That's going to be great."
Range anxiety isn't a groundless fear. The few electric cars that have been available to date have had different ranges, but they tend to be lower than the mileage a typical car gets from a full tank of gas. And drivers low on juice can't make a five-minute stop at the gas station to refuel.
Mark Duvall, with the Electric Power Research Institute, drove an earlier generation of electric car - the EV1 from General Motors - for less than a year. Twice he needed to call a tow truck after running down the batteries.
"Having been a driver of a battery electric vehicle, I can tell you what range anxiety is," said Duvall, director of the institute's electric transportation program.
Fear of limited range is also one of the reasons automakers are designing plug-in hybrid cars, which use gas-powered motors for backup when the batteries run too low.
"The people who don't want to have range anxiety and want more flexibility, they can buy plug-in hybrids," Duvall said. "We don't try to make everyone drive the same four-door sedan."
Roland Hwang, with the Natural Resources Defense Council, agreed. He also said that range anxiety may be less of a factor in the future if gasoline prices resume their upward march.
all he needs is the girl
"As the economy recovers, it's not going to be too long before we see $4 gasoline again," said Hwang, vehicle policy director for the environmental group. "So I think when more of these cars hit the showroom, range anxiety is going to be balanced by pump anxiety."
Tesla's drivers will update their progress on Facebook and Twitter. For more information about the trip, go to www.teslamotors.com/roadtrip.
E-mail David R. Baker at dbaker@sfchronicle.com
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...BUBU1B45AM.DTL
I was just going to mention this company as well... I was able to meet with them... They are hyped about their product.... Very determined team, i just wonder how quickly it will catch on... It seems like it could work.... Its essentially a disruptive technology....
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