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Tesla Model S

PIR4TE

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Wow! There is absolutely no need to be racist!

What?! Where / how does racism come into this? I was talking about vehicle origin and attitude vs nationality, perhaps you are the one to explain the racist card on your shoulder?
I have no idea what race you are, I assume you are a first generation Australian from Indian parentage from previous posts, and your forum handle is a character spoof of a ridiculous (and offensive) Indian stereotype on a US TV show isn't it?
Understandably I read your unpatriotic comments with a bit of a comedic tone to suit, an Anglo-Indian accent like that guy from 'Ain't Half Hot Mum", but seriously Raj, seems hypocritical calling the race card in a discussion in this forum. National identity and vehicle comparisons has nothing to do with race now does it?
 

Grennan

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Didnt realise Raj was such a good fisherman. Caught himself a Pirate.

The Tesla is a great feat. It was built to disprove that Electric meant slow. Think of it as the LSA version of the Commodore. Its not meant to be economical its meant to push the limits. Saying its an alternate for petrol is a bit of a far fetch because of how much juice it uses.

Electric has a long way to go though, I do often wonder how it would work here. What happens when you want to drive interstate? I cant see there being a huge number of electric stations along the hume any time soon.
 

Decicrate

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What criteria are you using in the comparison? Probably not high on most member's lists I suspect.

Good for you, I am pleased you are fortunate enough in this economy to afford a plethora of some of the most expensive cars on the market, yet still choose to look for the cheapest bargain. Some Australians who could otherwise afford marked-up and/or subsidised imported junk buy our local product not just because it happens to be less expensive at the time, but because they support Australian industry, jobs, and take pride in a sense of national achievement. I suppose it comes from a sense of being a part of the country you are born in, as if I were residing in say India right now I wouldn't give one flying f%*k about the impact of my car choice on the locals or the local economy, just how much I could rape the situation for my personal benefit.

Sure, most members have had / currently own cars other than Holden, but the fact we participate in a community which is Commodore-centric actually speaks volumes about owning a Holden that perhaps you are missing... indeed I fear most Australia will miss over coming years. That's my point, don't expect to naively declare our cars are junk compared to overseas without establishing one rational criterion, thanks.
Regarding the Tesla S: Trap speeds tell the story. The instant torque of the Tesla will beat A LOT of cars off the line. But then, the Vette catches up. Although impressive, hardly a game changer in 2014.
Weighs 10% more than a sportwagon, less than a second quicker 0-100k & 0-400m, uses 10kw x 6-8 hours every day to charge. To give some perspective that's twice what a typical six person household uses. At 25¢ per kWh off-peak that's $25/day, so using electricity over petrol is not about saving money, will actually cost $2,250 more on your power bill.
Plus apart from the wank value, the investment amortized over the serviceable life is outrageous - a relatively unproven, expensive niche vehicle the warranty is hardly adequate - 80,000k, and game is over at 160,000k when your battery is not covered, needs replacing.
Bottom line is that at more than 500% the retail price of a VF V8, imagining the potential of exotic electric cars to replace similarly-priced renewable-fuelled equivalents in the real world here in Australia in 2014... the comparison is drawing an extremely long bow, ridiculous in fact. Hell, the deposit to get a place in the queue for one of these frivolous fancy cars in Australian is more than the total cost of a similarly specced Commodore.
Glad you like our cars, I hope you keep buying Australian product on other criteria than price.
BTW calling your own car junk is bad karma!


10Kw a day x 25c = $2.50 a day.........

It costs me more than that to drive to the servo and back!
 

PIR4TE

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That's one hour, not kWh x 10 hours. 10kW needs overnight @ 240v, there is an expensive three phase 20kW option to quick charge but overall energy requirement is same.
However you add it up 10kWh input is not going to get you far nor fast in a 2100kg car.
 
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r_i_d_a_h

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Husky

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Why does the OP remind me of the Top Gear episode where they paint each others cars with slogans such as "Man love rules ok", "NASCAR sucks" and "Hilary for president", then get nearly murdered driving through Alabama?

Anyway, the biggest downfall with electricity is that we live in a BIG country. I can drive 500km straight, spend 3 minutes fueling up then do it over again, with electricity all off a sudden the 4 hour trip I take from Melbourne to Bright becomes a 3 day trip, with over night stops to recharge.
 
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Anyway, the biggest downfall with electricity is that we live in a BIG country. I can drive 500km straight, spend 3 minutes fueling up then do it over again, with electricity all off a sudden the 4 hour trip I take from Melbourne to Bright becomes a 3 day trip, with over night stops to recharge.

Agreed! Distance is the enemy in Australia. Drive 500km in Europe and you've driven across countries! Drive 500km in the USA and you've driven through 10 cities! The long distance road trip is not common in Europe at all whereas in Australia I've driven three hours to have lunch with family and then driven home.

Improvements in efficiency in terms of both usage and recharging will come with time. And who's to say other things couldn't also happen. Like a battery swap n go station instead of a petrol station. It could even be fully automated - pull up at a station, swipe your card and the station drops the empty battery out of the bottom of your car and inserts a new one... Speculation obviously but not impossible. My point is the technology is functionally viable NOW. And any improvements will only make it better. I find it fascinating.
 

PIR4TE

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Improvements in efficiency in terms of both usage and recharging will come with time. And who's to say other things couldn't also happen. Like a battery swap n go station instead of a petrol station. It could even be fully automated - pull up at a station, swipe your card and the station drops the empty battery out of the bottom of your car and inserts a new one... Speculation obviously but not impossible. My point is the technology is functionally viable NOW. And any improvements will only make it better. I find it fascinating.

Um, no it isn't! My point is that the present technology is not viable for the common man, and a disgusting waste of resources only for rich metrosexual wankers.

the biggest downfall with electricity is that we live in a BIG country. I can drive 500km straight, spend 3 minutes fueling up then do it over again, with electricity all off a sudden the 4 hour trip I take from Melbourne to Bright becomes a 3 day trip, with over night stops to recharge.

Agreed full electric is unforeseeable outside the established metro novelty, and although range can be indefinite with a hybrid in-built recharging system like the Volt, it is totally impractical to carry a normal load at decent speed across badly / unsealed roads with a high degree of confidence backed by factory guarantee.
A Viable alternative:
Viable means capable of working successfully (yes), but inferred is feasible i.e. subject to cost / benefit to the target market (yes, a fragment of the total available market due to cost).
GM does have a Two-Mode Hybrid system developed in conjunction with BMW and Mercedes Benz now called the 2ML70, been in production and use for seven years, which is a direct replacement for the 6L80/90 in our V8s. It incorporates 2 x 96kW motors built into the transmission and uses regenerative braking in a similar way to Toyota's Synergy Drive to recharge / boost on the fly. Given the potential for over-volting for increased performance, or poncing around with no noise / emissions in the city and better fuel economy, its low cost makes it a viable candidate for a drivetrain variant before close. Factory optioned with cheap cells and ESC the price hike is about $5000 in the US.
If one was to do it using the best available components and a reasonable budget, the main challenge is finding a practical place to mount the 300v battery pac, which in terms of viability the 60kg lithium setup (about twice weight of heavy duty AGM) is $9000, the tranny itself is $4500 in crate, ESC and custom loom ~ $3000, tuning $2000 = lightweight high power adder / hybrid V8 for less than $20k.
Agreed many things are possible right now like silver brushless motors, LiPO, UltraCapacitors, AC Plasma drives... it's whether the Australian public would pay an extra $5-$25k for a decent, reliable machine that doesn't rack up the electricity bill. Perhaps we'll find out :yarr:
 
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