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Obviously I have not sat in one as its not available to general public yet

What market are you in? Kona Electric has been out in Europe for quite a while.

Obviously I have not sat in one as its not available to general public yet but all reviewers have given it much better reviews than Model 3 as far as internal space is concerned.

Name one. I've been in in both. It's not even close.

The SUV movement in the US is more about a high driving position

No, a SUV is a large vehicle built on a truck frame. A CUV is a vehicle have a SUV-like form factor, but of any size (large or small) and with unibody construction.

I'm warning you for your own good: if you're waiting for the Kona because you're expecting it to be some "SUV", you're going to be seriously disappointed. This is the back seat.. Here's the size of the vehicle compared to a person. That doesn't mean "don't get the car". As far as non-Tesla EVs go, there's nothing "wrong" with it. But it's not an "SUV". Keep your expectations in check.

(Model 3, by contrast, is much larger inside than most people expect, particularly in the front).

BTW: If you're looking for an EV like the Kona (aka non-Tesla) whose back seat isn't cramped, I'd recommend the Kia Niro. Its front and trunk are pretty similar in size to the Kona, but its rear seat is much larger. Hyundai and Kia have a manufacturing partnership, so their vehicle lines are pretty similar.

The Aston Martin way perhaps? Behold the Cygnet. Limited numbers. I always kind of wanted one of these for the sheer silliness of it all.

Sources using exactly the search terms I gave you before

The first page of results has one link that is actually a comparison: Uber vs London cab, and it says the OPPOSITE of what you claim: Uber+GPS was faster.

One is the continuous use of spark plugs. These ignite the mixture conventionally when the engine is cold or operating at high revs but, in lean burn mode (about 80% of the time), the spark ignites a pulse of richer fuel. The resultant fireball lights the ultra-lean mixture as it’s compressed.

According to the test drive it's characteristics sound good (low end torque and high revving) but they were unable to verify fuel economy claims.

One is the continuous use of spark plugs. These ignite the mixture conventionally when the engine is cold or operating at high revs but, in lean burn mode (about 80% of the time), the spark ignites a pulse of richer fuel. The resultant fireball lights the ultra-lean mixture as it’s compressed.

According to the test drive it's characteristics sound good (low end torque and high revving) but they were unable to verify fuel economy claims.

Yeah, there's really no difference between an electrified car and one that was designed specifically as an electric car.

Honestly, I consider things like this to be a train wreck. Which one is the machine that goes "Ping!"?

If Audi, BMW and Mercedes designed smartphones they wouldn't even fit in your pocket due to all of the knobs, levers and buttons on the outside.

We don't use different peripherals for each program, we use multifunction screens and multifunction controls. It's about time the auto industry caught up (the controls in the latter case being steering wheel controls and voice commands for things you need to control while driving, and touchscreens for things that you don't, and/or things with large on-screen buttons that don't need precision presses so you don't have to take your eyes off the road).

Having a million and one controls means a million and one wiring connections (labour, weight, power draw), a million and one things that can break, and little upgradeability / patchability. Ignoring the aesthetics of clutter.

I recently had a new 300C as a rental with all sorts of the multi-function controls and touchscreen that you spoke of, it sucked.

Having to use a touchscreen to navigate through three levels of menus just to adjust the seat heater is not only retarded but utterly dangerous, meanwhile in my older cars there is simply a little thumbwheel or knob with numbers on it and a LED indicator, works great and can be safely used while driving.

I also couldn't do much of anything with the stereo outside of controlling volume without using that damn touchscreen, apparently the designers expect everyone to have a long pre-planned playlist ready for every trip or something. Also the touchscreen was positioned so that I had to take my eyes completely off the road and far enough away that I had to lean to reach it when my seat was positioned comfortably.

There's a reason why smarter companies like Audi, BMW, Toyota/Lexus, etc still use knobs and joysticks positioned on the center console to navigate a cursor instead of touchscreens.

And while I'm not OCD g'damn I hate dirty screens covered in fingerprints, another reason for my dislike of touchscreens in general.

Honestly, I consider things like this to be a train wreck. Which one is the machine that goes "Ping!"?

If Audi, BMW and Mercedes designed smartphones they wouldn't even fit in your pocket due to all of the knobs, levers and buttons on the outside.

We don't use different peripherals for each program, we use multifunction screens and multifunction controls. It's about time the auto industry caught up (the controls in the latter case being steering wheel controls and voice commands for things you need to control while driving, and touchscreens for things that you don't, and/or things with large on-screen buttons that don't need precision presses so you don't have to take your eyes off the road).

Having a million and one controls means a million and one wiring connections (labour, weight, power draw), a million and one things that can break, and little upgradeability / patchability. Ignoring the aesthetics of clutter.

Interested in this? I had a look I could only find the e6 which doesn't seem to be in the same ballpark ( https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-... ), less refined, slower, smaller and similar price? Is there another model I'm missing?

Not true. And VW did not have "some of the lowest real-world NOx emissions."

They do and this is a widely known fact, confirmed by official inquiries in multiple countries and independent laboratories. Why lie about it?

It is true that, after the VW scandal, investigations revealed that six other car manufacturers used strategies in optimizing their emission controls to lower emission in testing but not in real world conditions.

Only six? Try all of them.

VW deliberately, consciously cheated, in order to make the claim that diesel was "clean" and take over the car market.

Sure. Funny how this strategy worked without people outside of engine development knowing about the defeat device or VW ever publicly claiming the affected engines were any cleaner than comparable competing engines. Or a large fraction of the car-buying public even caring about NOx emissions, for that matter.

(And to avoid paying for the Mercedes emissions-control technology).

Nobody, except for Mercedes uses the Mercedes emissions control technology. Volkswagen and Daimler employ similar emissions controls technologies (EGR, LNTs and SCR), partially developed in-house and partially bought from a number of suppliers who sell components to all of the car industry.

They cheated more, they cheated worse, they cheated more flagrantly, they cheated deliberately.

Why are you lying? What's your interest? Do you get paid to spread nonsense?

It's not my magic way. It's VW's magic way. You do know they admitted to this don't you?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/...

http://www.bbc.com/news/busine...

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/v...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-n...

The government in the UK has already announced laws to do that.

http://www.theactuary.com/news...

And the insurance industry seem to be onboard too..

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-n...

here's a better link to the car http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-n...

>While Jaguar makes some beautiful looking cars, you can barely keep them out of the shop mechanically.

See: http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-n...

"Jaguar has been named the best manufacturer in the 2013 JD Power customer satisfaction survey. Jaguar's victory came off the back of the Jaguar XF, which finished third overall in the entire survey, as owners rated it as "excellent" in every area. In particular they praised reliability, dealership service and servicing and repair work."

I have no idea what the price will be, but Tesla has had plans for years to release a new Roadster in the future.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/tesla-plans-all-new-roadster

No, you're thinking of the throttle. I'm unable to find mention of any car with a drive-by-wire clutch.

There are some, the Toyota Yaris Semi-auto, Citroens with EGS drive, and a few others.

That's shit, I can get 65 MPG on a good day in my Mitsubishi Colt Cleartek! The Prius plug-in managed 71.2MPG in a real world test: http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/green-cars/just-how-economical-prius-plug

How about a McLaren T25 instead?

You're right.

The answer to better MPG than the pitiful excuse that currently flies in the US, however, is far cheaper available. It's called "import", and it's available from just about any country that isn't the US.
Anecdote: I drove about 1300 km this weekend (800 miles), and I averaged at 5.1 l/100km. That's 46 MPG right of the bat. (and that's measured, in the magic world of fuel efficiency numbers it gets over 65 mpg...)

I think if the US can close a 20MPG gap in one day (by importing that car), then 13 years of improvement ought to suffice for the remaining 9 MPG.
Or we can settle for the magical numbers made up by the fuel efficiency measuring fairies, in which case all you need to do is get that car and you're there.

Bring back the roadster, in more of the price range of a corvette....and then I'll show an interest.

I have no idea about the price of the *next* Roadster, but there will be another one. This is the citation from the Wikipedia page.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/tesla-plans-all-new-roadster

(I went to an electric car show on Sunday.. Drove a Coda and a Think, and got a ride in a Roaster.. Wow.)

4.3L / 100km is quite a common figure these days, for example http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volvo/v70/first-drives/volvo-v70-1.6d-drive-se

Cutting subsidies to oil companies feels like a given. But taxing it at the lowest level risks damaging the economy. Subsidies probably have to be removed slowly. A tax at the pump wouldn't hurt the economy as much.

If there was a federal tax of say $4 per gallon, that would go a long way when it comes to financing medical programs (That have expenses from traffic related injuries), as well as giving incentives to buy good mpg cars (Which, by the way, are already available in the old world, even in full size models http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volvo/v70/first-drives/volvo-v70-1.6d-drive-se).

The full size Volvo V70 estate does ....wait for it... 54 miles per gallon.

Its mind blowing to sit here and watch a discussion where people question whether it is "Physically possible" to build such cars, or whether they will be around in 2025. You can buy (and many do) a full size family station wagon that does 54mpg! You don't have to get a "subcompact" or even a "compact"! http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volvo/v70/first-drives/volvo-v70-1.6d-drive-se

More importantly....

Did they start making the Tesla Roadster again!?!?!?

I thought they halted the production of the good car in their line to concentrate on 'family cars'....

[rolls eyes]

AFAIK, the original roadster appears to have a couple strikes against it that made continued production problematic. First, since Lotus and Tesla didn't agree to extend the production contract, apparently, Lotus decided to schedule to retool the factory after the intial production run. Second, being a limited production car, they were able to get a temporary exemption from US rules requiring advanced airbags, but that expired at the end of 2011, so they could only sell new production outside the US. Also, it appears that tesla lost money with each roadster sold (too much manual assembly and rework). With these three strikes, it just wasn't worth it to continue with the original roadster.

They still seem to be planning for a new roadster based on a shorten S body... Sadly, an updated roadster does not appear to be scheduled for production before 2014.

Top Gear already did it. http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/top-gear-car-official-press-release

Yes, that's why the world depends on New Zealand's opinion.

The US of course depends on its automotive industry to drive our entire manufacturing industry, the core of the US economy. Our manufacturing that is still by far the largest in the world, about 20% of global output. Manufacturing employs about 20% of American workers. We invent most of the world's manufacturing techniques, materials and responses like recycling; most of the rest of global manufacturing uses American machinery and feeds America's manufacturing supply chain.

The US automotive industry is the epitome of all that. New Zealanders bought more Ford Rangers last month than any other model car; 5 other Fords were in the NZ Top 25. GM isn't as popular in NZ, but it's the world's biggest car company again, over 10% larger than Toyota. Meanwhile my wife has 2000s Toyota that should have been recalled, and we've watched the later model years of them turn to crap we'd never buy.

And then there's all the great cars made in Germany, which evidently you've never heard of. America might indeed be in pretty deep trouble. But you better hope not. Because if America's manufacturing does collapse around a cratered car industry, we'll stop spending the money shooting movies Americans drive to see. Then your Top 25 will be dominated by classic 1980s Yugos.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/autocarlive/archive/2010/03/03/let-s-have-more-cars-like-the-audi-a1-e-tron.aspx Ask Audi.

I don't think I buy your reasoning here.

Do you have any evidence that the car is unsafe? It seems to have done pretty well in EuroNCAP type test. It also probably handles as well if not better than most Toyotas and has better steering feedback as well. It's also rear engined and RWD, so it's just like a Porsche! I'm sure it will suck for hammering down the Autobahn at 250 km/h but then so will a Prius and in any case it's not its intended primary use anyway.

Basically, it seems to be as "good" as a Smart car, but with a reasonable price tag. If you still think it's too dangerous, how safe do you want to make it? S-class safe? If that's good enough, how did you come to the conclusion? Why not make it WRC-car safe? GT-car safe?

Why would you be glad if India decided it's not safe enough? Didn't you state at the beginning that the Nano was good enough for that society? The only thing banning it will achieve now is that fewer people will have access to a reasonably safe four-wheel vehicle. I don't even see how this would create more total deaths as most people would simply be switching from shittier methods of transport instead of just going out and buying a brand new car as their first vehicle.

Yeah, fuck everyone who can't afford to live closer to where they work. That'll show 'em!

Or just exchange the Hummer with a Prius or a Volkswagen Passat Blue Motion with 57.6 MPG.... Of course, if someone lives 100 kms from work, relocating og getting a new job wouldn't be a bad idea either.

I can buy a 3 year old Camry with much better metrics all around
Um, how about NO or hell no ?
So how much do you pay to drive 10 000 miles with a 3 year old Camry ? With MiEV, you pay £50
I guess if we discuss the price of the things, then price paid per mile is relevant.
Then, you might be surprised to hear about the little thing called "congestion charge" in a few places in the world, like London. Thats £8 saved every day when commuting to work. Guess what, MiEV would be exempt from that. It would also be able to drive in US HOV lanes.
Now, i havent driven MiEV myself, but everybody who has say that it performs actually better than the gas-powered counterpart. The reasons for that are: ideal weight distribution with low placed batteries, and instant torque without any gearbox available that is the inherent characteristic of eletric motors. I havent driven a Camry on track myself, but if feels kinda heavy to drive, i would not be surprised if it got its ass handed to it by something like MiEV.
If you add this all together, and throw in the fact that its a zero ( tailpipe ) emissions* vehicle, the metrics wont exactly be all around better.

* An electric vehicle powered by the electricity from coal plants is still roughly 75% cleaner per mile than modern gas engine.

What's the problem? You will get compensation for the value of the seized car as the Constitution says. If it is a rusty Geo Metro you will get pocket money. If it is a Ferrari 250GTO, you will be 15million USD richer.

BTW, the new generation Geo Metro (a.k.a. Suzuki Swift) looks and runs quite good, it is a thoroughly impressive all-rounder:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/RoadTest_Summary.asp?RT=2 15548

plus, occasionally,
Guardian Weekend (who don't seem to have a specific site)
Esquire

Fundamentally, though, I want well-written, beautifully illustrated stories about fast cars and I'm happy! I don't ask for much :-)