A tank of Gas burns the hottest.

"Why don't they just strap on a CVS transmission from a regular car? I cant imagine it requires anything magical to drive one of those."

They tried and the EV drive train is too much for a regular tranny to handle.

"so the 1.5 gearbox is like the one that they wanted at the begining but without regenerative breaking? or does it change the acceleration"

Still has regen, but with all the nice new acceleration! What they did not say is that the 1.5 drive train has better overall acceleration across the entire range.

Here is a short reply for a change!!

The EPA distance test are done in a lab with a dynometer. (I believe that is the right term.) Tesla has done ice driving and desert testing to ensure drive ability under extreme conditions. I heard that the car has already passed durability testing, which was why they reduced the range in the first place.

Their blog has been updated with more info:

http://www.teslamotors.com/blogs.php

On a side note, I looked up hybrid accidents due to their silent operation, and I did not see anything of value. A lot of talk, but nothing that actually proves that they are more dangerous than normal cars. But I will repeat what I said. Nothing can replace a good driver in terms of safety.

Here I am commenting on your questions the best that I can from what I have learned about the car.


"The mileage claims achieved appears to be based on steady state motoring, not the more normal stop and go in traffic where the Tesla would normally be driven (longer road trips don't make sense based on recharge times). While some energy would be recovered, there is always a loss with each "exchange". I wonder if it includes running the a/c or heat, and the stereo as most folks would do in normal commuting?"

The mileage is based on EPA tests. The same tests that is used for ant car to determine the sticker MPG. These test try to average all driving conditions, including city and freeway. Of course your driving habits will determine what you would get yourself.

"What is the range of very hot or very cold days seeing as the car has both heaters and cooling system for the batteries that will draw down the charge? Can you leave it outside unplugged all day near freezing?"

Not sure about this one, but since the batteries are maintained to keep their proper operating temperatures, I suspect that it will be a lot better than you would think.

"Sure it goes 0-60 in about 4 seconds. How many 0-60 runs can you make before needing a recharge?"

I have heard that if you could possibly maintain the power draw that maximum acceleration takes, you would get about a half to a full hour out of the battery. you can do the math on how many 0-60 runs you can make with that.

"Home charging appears to take 3.5 to 4 hours on 220volt. How about 110volt in the outside world?"

Again I have heard estimates as long as 8 hours from dead to full.

"It appears that Tesla assumes a car is worn out at 100,000 miles. The batteries will need replaced by then if not sooner, and the electric motors that drive the car typically are finished about then if other hybrid car makers are to be used as benchmarks (although those motors are assisted by gas engines under high stress situations)."

The batteries are not dead, but they just do not hold the same amount of charge as before. Your range will just be affected. As for the hybrids, most of them use a fixed magnet motor. The magnets in these do wear out over time, and the motor becomes less efficient. Tesla is using a phase induction motor (I think that is the correct term) meaning that there are no magnets in the motor to wear out, and thus last far longer than a hybrid's motor.

"Given that many US communities face future power shortages, more power plants are unpopular, the importation of electricity or natural gas from Canada and Mexico already, and emissions standards for coal fired plants in use are sometimes being reduced, not to mention transmission losses before the power reaches the car socket, the larger implications are not quite so rosy IMHO."

True, but electricity is available everywhere. Also the we can always add more capacity as the demand hits, or technology improves. As for alternative energies, I think that electricity is our best option for a while. Imagine how much energy it would take to build a support infrastructure to support fuel cells. Especially to the availability of electricity or gas.

I believe that as the demand increases, the market for better, cheaper, and cleaner electricity will increase. As it is, what incentives does our government have to improve our electricity? If it works, they wont fix it.

"Finally, since the car is essentially silent, what safety systems will they incorporate to prevent pedestrians from coming to harm when they otherwise might not hear the car approaching?"

How about good driving. All the safety systems in the world would not make up for a good driver. Besides, I have not heard a whole lot about the hybrids owners since the firs couple of miles tend to be silent also.