Not Your Daddy's Electric Car
From the Green Files: Tesla Motors has rolled out its first 100 all-Electric vehicles and is quickly approaching the 200th. Thank goodness someone with engineering know-how is taking a stab at the archaic petroleum based automotive business model. Treehuggers have known for years that electric cars have been a viable reality in spite of sabotaging efforts from Detroit and petroleum companies worldwide. (Google the 2006 Documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car?")
Enter California based Tesla Motors' (teslamotors.com) all-electric sports car that goes from 0-to-60 in 4 seconds with a top speed of around 130 MPH. (That 0-60 stat beats a Lamborghini..) It's a 2-seat, open-top, rear drive roadster. It puts those aardvark looking Priuses to shame. The car is designed & engineered in the USA, but built by Lotus Motors (under a contract agreement w/ Tesla) in the UK.
Quoting from the website,
"Because it has no clutch and a very wide, flat torque curve, the acceleration of the Tesla Roadster is much more available to enjoy: just step on the accelerator and go - no matter what speed you are driving, no matter what gear you are in, the acceleration is instantaneous."
Other Tesla highlights include:
- 248 HP; 13,500 RPM
- Zero Foreign oil requirements; Zero Emissions
- Goes 250 miles on a charge
- 2 Speed Transmission; 4-wheel Disk Brakes w/ ABS
- Has a Solar Panel option (for charging), Neat !
- Soft or hardtop option
- Has a port for your iPod (it better at that price !)
- available in 12 colors
- the car can't be hot-wired (so they say..)
- Lots of standard features like Heated Seats & AC, Alloy wheels; Air Bags, Cruise Control, etc.
- Meets Federal DOT requirements for Insurance & Registration
Tesla Motors Service Centers/Showrooms include: San Carlos, CA (corporate headquarters), New York, Chicago, Miami. If anyone sees one around Chicago, email me !
The Downside: These cars go for about $100,000 USD (or about 1-7/8 Hummers). Hey, but remember when the basic calulator back in the 1970s set you back about $250 and only added, subtracted, divided and multiplied?
Time to go get a lottery ticket..
Topic keywords: Green Issues; Design; Electric Cars.
©2006 ShantyWorld.com
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