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what makes a car a real car? Posted by Snowmobile [Email] ![]() ![]() ![]() In Reply to: NOT FOR ME....Re: Not for me, saabsince 93b ![]() ![]() |
I suppose that depends on your definition of "real car person". Is it about the driving response (physics) or is it about the fumes and sounds for you? I get there is some of both for many - totally cool. Personally for me, being a real car person is mainly about the physics of the driving experience, so... buying a car for personal use means it needs to have that fun component, but also it needs to meet our usage requirements, safety etc.
There are 2 main things that draws me to electric cars:
1) Heaps of low end torque. More than with a turbo. This is a *real* car feature. Coupled with battery weight down low, and one can design some seriously good driving dynamics.
2) Simpler to repair. I live in a world of salt sand slush and snow for half the year. That stuff corrodes everything. I go through an exhaust system every couple of years. Every other bolt on the car needs pb blaster and/or a torch and a massive breaker bar to crack. ICE cars are mechanically complicated - many parts. Many bolts! Sure this stuff can fun to work on (when not fighting with rust!!), but having an ee background, I'm equally comfortable dealing with electrical problems. I know that is a harder transition for those primarily mechanically inclined. Point here though is - electric cars have lower maintenance requirements.
The whole "saving the environment" thing is really not the attraction to these types of vehicles for me. I'm not too worked up about that part because it is not black and white anyway...
Downsides for me:
1) Range. Any new car we buy needs to be able to travel 15 hours in 1 day. I've got old SAABs for around town.
2) Battery wear + tear. Every other device I have had with rechargeable batteries has had them slowly degrade. So depends on how this is addressed. An 8 year infinite mile warranty on the battery is a good start... But my newest car is 12 years old now! We keep our SAABs a long time! If batteries are easily replaceable, recyclable, and not outrageously expensive, this becomes much more reasonable.
OTOH, I really have zero interest in the "American Muscle Car" syndrome. Many think of them as "real cars" - perhaps the only "real cars"... many of those historically were pretty crappy in terms of driving dynamics, but had big engines, big noise, and big smell... pretty much the antithesis of SAAB (or Porsche). I actually think that an SPG or 911 (ok maybe Panamera) is more relateable to a Tesla than to the American muscle cars many think of as "real cars"... so it's all perception...
Hopefully U2BC will chime in here re. his real world experience owning/driving a Tesla roadster. There's a big difference between what Tesla is putting out and LEAF or Prius (neither of which have any appeal to me)...
->Posting last edited on Tue, 5 Apr 2016 07:04:34.
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