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Tesla Roadster Breaks Distance Record For Electric Car
An anonymous reader writes "The CEO of an Australian ISP has driven his Tesla Roadster into the record books, completing 501km on a single electric charge in the 2009 Global Green Challenge — beating the Roadster's official specifications, which rate the all-electric sports car as being capable of a maximum of 390km per charge. The previous record was held by another Roadster in the 387km Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives in April this year. In a race specifically designed for alternative energy vehicles (such as hydrogen and electricity), the Roadster was the only vehicle to complete the entire course. Though to be fair, that race course was a mixture of twists, turns and hills."
What? 55 kph is decent? That's only 33 mph (the 501 km is 300 miles). Who takes a long trip at 30 mph? I want to see how far it will go at 65 mph (100 kph).
When I first saw the summary it looked good, as sometimes I drive to St Louis, 100 miles from here (166 km). A 300 mile distance would work -- but NOT at 30 mph. In the first place, it's illegal to drive slower than 45 mph on the interstate, and in the second place it would take three hours to get there. Might as well ride a horse.
You're only going to do 30 in the city, where you're not going to drive 300 miles in a day and recharging isn't a problem. In short, this "milestone" is completely meaningless for any real-world use.
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when I do [long-distance highway travel], I rent a car rather than putting the miles on mine anyhow.
Highway miles are easy on your auto; it's city driving the ruins your car. That extra 1000 km from your trip isn't going to make your car's resale value any lower, and renting a car isn't going to make your car last any longer.
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Don't you have to have insurance on the rented car?
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