Tesla Dealership

Topic: Cars

I was at the Tesla dealership in Menlo Park the other day to check out their Roadster. One of their mechanics was testing out the car in the back parking lot. It was fun to watch him blast down the lane and not make any noise while doing it.

In case your not familiar with the Tesla Motors or their car: it's an all electric (no gas engine) plug-in sports car that can go 220 miles between charges, has performance capabilities similar to top-end exotics (Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, etc.), and cost $110,000.

Getting back to my dealership experience, they had several customers car in various colors in the showroom and in the garage. If I had to choose, I'd say black or silver are the best color for that shape. I read Tesla wanted the dealership to look like an Apple store; which I translated into a minimalist design showroom staffed by some goofy sales kids dress in black shirt and jeans. Maybe I'm too stuffy but for a 110 grand, shouldn't they be wearing a suit- like an adult? Frankly, Spanky and the other little rascals at the dealership looked like they should be working at a comic book store. I do appreciate that they didn't mind me looking around, even after I told him that I couldn't afford one but just wanted to see it. I'll have to bring them candy next time :-)

I was right!

Topic: Cars

I just read an article about the Tesla Roadster in Fortune magazine. A few weeks ago, I was reading how Telsa decided to switch to a one-speed tranny instead of the original two speeder. I figured it wasn't because they perfected the one speeder but they couldn't get the two speeder to work. I don't want to sound smug but it's good to be right. I guess its my experience with businessman trying to b.s. me... or me tying to b.s. them.

The Ultimate Battery Operated Car

Topic: Cars

The car above is the new Tesla Roadster. It's an all electric (no gasoline engine) vehicle that has a 200 mile range between re-charge. Go to Jay Leno's Garage for the info and video about the Tesla. I went by their headquarters in San Carlos, CA and fortunately there was one in the parking lot. Elon Musk in the video says it has little in common with the Lotus Elise, but I'm highly skeptical since I saw it up close. The main drawback is that it's real low and the seats are practically on the floor of the car. You'd better practice your yoga if your planning on buying one of these. At a price tag of $110k, they should provide you with your own guru. What I like about this is that, with the Ford Escape Hybrid, you'll not only be very green but you'll be the only kid on your block with these cars. I know what you're thinking, but I'm not a real environmentalist, more of a gadget freak. Or am I both?