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| The 125mph Electric Car You Will Not Hear |
| Friday, August 22, 2008 at 12:39 by Mark Benson |
It may have been literally decades in the making, we may have had many a false dawn but it now seems as though the electric car is finally with us, but there is one problem. You will never hear it coming towards you!
News that the £92,000 Tesla Roadster is now available on the roads has attracted the attention of the masses from car enthusiasts to the celebrity crowd looking to be greener than green. The car has a top speed of 125mph, can go from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and will travel over 200 miles on one charge, which is mighty impressive. But will it receive universal acceptance or will it literally crash and burn?
The fact the car is of such a high spec as to be priced close to £100,000 shows that Tesla Motors have done their homework and spotted an ideal entry level point for their ground breaking car. It is hoped that the vehicle will appeal to those with an interest in Aston Martins, Porsches and Ferraris, i.e. the high value end of the market.
However, there is one note of caution from road safety campaigners which is centred on the fact the car is so quiet. There are concerns that other road users and the public will not hear these cars coming towards them which could possibly increase the risk of accidents. There was talk of Tesla adding a recording of a more traditional engine noise to the vehicle for safety reasons but this has been shelved for the moment. |
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| Don't you just love it when the media shills for an impractical overpriced vehicle? A "impressive" 200 mile driving range means a not-so-impressive driving radius of less than 100 miles. The Fisker plug-in looks a whole lot better than the Tesla, is a 2+2 plug-in hybrid that can take its owner anywhere he wants to go, anytime he wantsto go there, which the Tesla cannot. As for "silent electric cars" they are no more silent than 4 and 6 cylinder Japanese cars. |
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| And while your at it, you can insist that all bicycles should be made to sound like motorbikes.
Roads are always going to be potentially dangerous places. Ordinary cars, let alone hybrids and EVs like the Tesla are all becoming quieter. Good news for reducing noise pollution at long last. People need to take care ANYWAY and make use of ALL/ANY of the senses they have.
We are talking about grown-ups here aren't we? |
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| I believe the car is available for 109,000 USD($) rather than 100,000 GBP (£). kinda a HUDGE difference |
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| Instead of making the electric cars sound like ordinary cars why don't the car manufacturers work with the Government so that registered blind get a free hearing aid that emits a signal or a sound that tells them when a car is approaching or even mimics the sound of a petrol car. That way it addresses the safety concerns about noise while allowing everyone to finally enjoy a massive reduction in noise pollution |
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| OFFS, most noise emitted by modern cars comes from the tyres, besides what's wrong with the "green cross code". Roads are dangerous places for peds. |
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| So Anonymous,cars are becoming more quiet are they? Well maybe and maybe not judging by all the noisy little cretins around here in their 1200cc Mickey Mouse Motors with exhausts on that make more noise than a formula 1 car going past.
Ron, North Lincs,UK. |
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| The big promise of pure EVs like the Tesla is reduced maintenance costs and energy bills. Mechanically, the car is far simpler than any conventional car, especially hybrids.
If you assume an average of £1:15 per litre for petrol, 100,000 miles of motoring in a 35mpg car will cost around £14,900 in fuel. The same distance in a Roadster would be around £1,500 in electricity costs. Obviously the battery degrades. After 100,000 miles it would be down to about 80% capacity - think of it like a shrinking petrol tank. Same acceleration. Same mileage rate. Shorter maximum range. If this doesn't match your needs you can choose to replace it. Tesla have yet to set prices but the above sums show that they could charge £13,000 for a new pack and customers would still be ahead.
Roadster gets the equivalent of around 130mpg and can do 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds if required and will be cheaper on maintenance. Tesla's next cheaper model will be announced shortly.
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