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Tesla Model 3 Test Drive: Car Has Bite and Simple Interior (wsj.com)
An anonymous reader shares a WSJ article: A first peek inside Tesla's new Model 3 compact car revealed a starker, cozier interior than the more spacious and luxurious Model S. But as the sedan sped off, the experience felt similar. On Friday, the Silicon Valley auto maker showed off details of the all-electric sedan's interior for the first time (Editor's note: the link could be paywalled; alternative source), allowing brief test rides with a roughly 10-minute spin around the factory. The Model 3 represents a milestone for Chief Executive Elon Musk, who has long wanted to create an electric car for the masses. He's betting the new vehicle can help fuel massive growth for his 14-year-old company, projecting Tesla will produce a half-million cars next year, after delivering about 76,000 Model S sedans and Model X sport-utility vehicles last year. The Model 3's exterior was revealed in March last year, but details about the interior have been scarce. The $35,000 sedan is noticeably bare bones inside -- gone are the displays and instrument panel behind the steering wheel and the numerous switches and buttons found in the cockpit of traditional cars. Instead, the Model 3 makes greater use of a video screen in the center dash that controls most of the car's functions.
Does anyone else find it ironic that the most popular car on Slashdot is also the most difficult to hot rod?
It really is the Apple of automobiles.
The front fascia's lack of anything resembling a grille opening makes the whole thing look like a cheap plastic Chinese R/C car.
That dashboard looks like it was stolen from a 80s-era concept car and Elon velcro'd a giant iPad to it, made more starkly out of place by the complete lack of gauge cluster.
This interior is a joke, right? Right??? Am I looking at a fucking iPad glued to an almost empty dashboard? WHAT? NO INSTRUMENT CLUSTER? IS THIS A FEVER DREAM?
Do they not have a human factors engineering dept? Or did they hire all millennial Google rejects to fill their staff?
This thing looks like a fucking engineering disaster in the making. People are going to die from distracted driving staring at this tablet in the center of the dash. Do people not realize that the Fords & GMs of the world spend $$ into human factors research trying to figure out where exactly the little buttons on the steering wheel and instrument panel go, what they feel like, etc? There is a reason for this.
Volkswagen, is that you?
I take my children to see Madonna(..), but I never for once ever thought I was in the same business.Chris Rea.
I'm not surprised that the most high tech, all electric, legacy free car is the most popular on a tech news site.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Does anyone else find it ironic that the most popular car on Slashdot is also the most difficult to hot rod?
Not at all. Many people even engineers and tinkered sometimes just prefer something well made that does not need to be touched or modified.
Mind you there are plenty of people hacking at Telsas. It's just a different skill set.
The interior designer they poached from Volvo clearly hasn't had time to improve anything yet. Since he was only hired 6 months ago, this design pre-dates him, and you can tell. It's terrible.
All the display is to the side - so you have to look sidways and down to find out anything about the vehicle, even its speed. That means you are not looking at the road for longer.
The display is high gloss - so you have to look through reflections and highlights to read the screen, it is not shaded from outside light at all. That means you are not looking at the road for longer and get more eyestrain.
Trying to adjust any functions of the car without tactile feedback means you have to not only look to find what to press, but look to confirm the action happened correctly - so you spend longer looking at the controls and less at the road.
It looks like an ergonomic failure and an unpleasant car to drive which reduces safety by increasing driver distraction.
I don't even know if the seats are any good; the Model S seats certainly aren't.
Then there is "unlock via app". So, what happens if your phone and the car are not online to the Internet? The Model S app-unlock is via the Internet, not any short range connection like Bluetooth. Let alone if your phone gets r00ted and the app key is stolen. There's a backup physical key - but if I have to remember to carry the physical key all the time what is the point of app-unlock anyway? They might as well implement having a key you have to have near the car for more reliable unlocking and better security - like every other car manufacturer. This is just more Internet of Shit Things (that spy on you).
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled"
"How many hours until the phone app is hacked?
What about those of us who despise cell phones and don't own one?"
Those buy a Ford 150.
Um... Did you mean Ford Focus? The Fusion's starting MSRP has been over $20k for a while now (this model year it is $22,120, Focus is $16,775).
It does have a key card that opens the door, so you don't technically need a phone. But yes, if the battery is dead, you won't be able to open the door from the outside. Last time I had a dead battery in any car was... 1994 but your mileage may vary.
I'm pretty blind on my right eye. If this thing doesn't have heads up display, finding out my current speed would probably be less than ideal for safety.
From the article: "And the best part: when I pulled into park, I asked about the key. The car doesn’t haven’t one. You control the car through the Tesla app on your phone."
So this is the best part of the Model 3, a car that costs at least $35.000? Are you kidding me?
Signature deleted by lameness filter.
That means you know fuck all about EVs. There are no EVs with this range for $17K.
Tesla Model S 0-60 2.28 seconds, Nissan Leaf 0-60 10.4 seconds. You lost all credibility on your first sentence.
Well, that was weird. I was reading the article about taxes, hit the post button, and it landed here. WTF, Slashdot?
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
> created by a nerd
Elon Musk is a cult leader like Steve Jobs, not a nerd. Please turn over your geek card.
Stick yours up your ass & light it on fire.
Musk programmed & sold a video game when he was 12 & has a B. Sc. degree in Physics. Jobs needed Wozniak to build him a circuit board that could play Pong so he could get a job at Atari.
And it's because they don't actually make that, Subaru does. The entire mechanical design is Subaru, as is most of the engine and interior. Toyota just contributed the fuel injection system, external styling and the laughably outdated, 1980s red LED clock.
Note: If you doubt the $17K price, you haven't driven a Ford Fusion lately. What they sell for $17K is impressive.
Based on the price you gave I assume you mean the Ford Focus, and Tesla is clearly targeting a more fun to drive car than a Focus. The Focus RS compares favorably to the Tesla, but it is a $37k car ($55k if you add the extra cost in fuel vs electricity between it and the Tesla).
It is very possible Tesla will eventually create a 9s 0-60 car which is closer to $20k, but that if probably a decade from now.
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
If you buy a Tesla 3, you are kinda making a bet that Tesla will be providing Level 4 autonomous capabilities very soon. Musk is claiming you will be sleeping in the driver seat by the end of 2019. I don't have much confidence in that figure but it doesn't sound outlandish. By that time the dashboard screen is just for watching the morning news on the way to work.
If you don't believe Level 4 autonomy is coming any time soon, then the design decisions behind the Tesla 3 are certainly less than ideal.
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
Ah yes, I remember when they started shipping the $17k Ford Fusion standard with 7 cameras, radar and 12 ultrasound sensors to implement automatic crash avoidance, with an optional upgrade to self driving. I remember it like yesterday: I had just told the car to preheat using an app on my phone, put my bags into the frunk, and after staring through the panoramic glass roof, I peeled out with a 5,6 second 0-60 with instantaneous torque using energy that I could refill cleanly at miniscule cost using a battery pack warrantied for 8 years, while the info ticked by on its 15" touchscreen....
Ford Fusions sure have changed.
So, apart from that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
You've never done time in the Q...
geek. lawyer.
False. The number of shorts orders is actually small. The difference is that these orders are massive. Most have been placed by oil and car companies, along with ppl like kock Bros who stand to lose 10s of billions when oil and car companies stock plummet.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
And yet, it is a superior vehicle to bmw 3/4 series, along with Audi A4s, most of MB c class, most of lexus, all of which compete against M3.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
It's plain bullshit. I'll give you one example. I live close to a major city an it has a one-way street, recently changed, which Google Maps claims is a two-way street for at least two months. Autonomize that.
Everything operated by the touchscreen is the #1 reason why I hate Tesla and will never buy one. From a usability perspective, it's the dumbest possible thing you can do and the very definition of everything wrong with getting Silicon Valley to design anything.
I sat in a Model S, and I thought just that was a disaster. Operating anything other than the wheel and pedals is ridiculous. I was hoping the Model 3 would have a more traditional interior because the vehicle was designed to be a bit more mainstream, but it looks like menu navigation while trying to keep your eyes on the road is here to stay.
Almost like you'd want the car to be able to read signs...wonder if anyone is working on putting cameras in cars that can recognize signs. Maybe someone will get on that.
Well, that was weird. I was reading the article about taxes, hit the post button, and it landed here. WTF, Slashdot?
It's been a problem for years now. Yay for buggy, unmaintained web "code".
Model 3 has Level 5 autonomous hardware, it just needs the software to be completed and for governments to ratify that autonomous vehicles are allowed to operate in their countries. My guess is that this will take 2 to 5 years from now to legally use Level 5. So Tesla just needs to download the certified autonomous software over the air in a few years time.
It will be all over for fossil cars in 10 years time. You are aware that Norway is banning the sale of new fossil cars in 2025 ? That is in 8 years time! I recommend you don't sleep for 10 years because fossil cars will be on the endangered list for going extinct in 2025.
FYI. Norway is an oil producing nation in Europe that gets a high percentage of their power from clean hydro power. Norway has the biggest EV market per capita in the world. Currently 42% of new car sales in Norway are electric. This is because the Norwegian government is using big incentives for EVs and big disincentives for fossil cars in order to change their population's buying habits.
Fusions don't sell for anything close to MSRP, Tessa has to due to a lack of dealer network.
Ahh yes, the features that turn it into a $55K car...
No, that is indeed true... and the problem, gas cars are cheaper to buy and cheaper to run for the first 3-5 years which is all new car buyers care about.
No, the Fusion... an overlooked gem of a car. You can usually find mid level trim Fusions for $17k, or $250 a month on lease with nothing due at signing.
After buying gas, the Fusion is still cheaper to own.
Unlimited technology from the whole universe, and you cruise 'round in a Ford P.O.S.
Well duh, they're cheap because they don't last for shit. If you want a decent car of that class, get a Toyota Camry; it's usually priced lower and you don't have to throw it away after 5 years.
BTW you sound just like car dealer. Honestly, fuck buying new cars, otherwise you're just throwing away lots of money, just like one does when they buy a Ford (except maybe Ford trucks.)
But they are getting cheaper. The trend is for price parity in 2020. From then on EVs are cheaper.
Meanwhile, EVs are close enough in price that people that prefer them will pay extra to get one.
But really saying that the Model 3 ought to be $17K when at $35K they have a 2 year waiting list of people that all paid a deposit. It's moronic.
Says the person who hasn't driven one recently... Your loss, but they really are nice cars now...
Ahh, someone who has a badly outdated view of such things...
Toyota isn't what it once was, Ford isn't either... give Consumer Reports try, they talk about this in recent auto reviews, that the gap has closed and the old issues are largely gone...
Either way, the Model 3 is stupid over priced for $35K in terms of the actual car, putting aside the power plant. Its cost to own over 3-5 years is much higher than a similar gas car.
It isn't moronic... it is logic, but which do you know about that?
Remind me how many TOTAL cars Tesla has EVER sold? Ford sells that in a month...
A 2 year waiting list isn't hard when you are such a small company and can't make very many cars...
As for the price dropping, anything is possible, but that is highly unlikely, it would stomp all over the Model 3... but then I did say that the price was the primary problem, if they indeed get a Model 3 down to $17K (or even $20K) in 3 years, then fair enough, they could then sell millions of them...
But $35K is just way too much for what this car is beyond the "Cult of Tesla" buyers, which is all they are right now given the volumes...
Then the sign is dirty, or covered by snow/ice/graffiti, or just knocked down... or placed wrong...
Self-driving will happen soon, but not completely self-driving... you'll still have to pay attention and it will only work in 80-90% of places, the last 10-20% is where major changes to the roads, construction areas, etc. will have to happen.
Those can all happen, and probably will, but not in the useful life of this car...
Not that hard? Show me another manufacturer that makes thousands of cars per month and has a 2 year waiting list of people that have paid deposits.
Of course Ford are bigger. But Ford isn't growing like Tesla. There was a time when IBM was bigger than Microsoft and Apple. Things change. And it's obvious to anyone that's paying attention than things are changing big time in the car industry.
Again your price target of $17,000 for a car like the Model 3 is moronic. The Model 3 will continue to sell like hot cakes at the price it is. It's other EVs that will fill the space below the Model 3.
Go on then. Show us a deal where you can get a new Ford Fusion for $17,000.
Actually, all the features he mentioned are in the $35,000 base model.
You're not very informed are you.
Then the sign is dirty, or covered by snow/ice/graffiti, or just knocked down... or placed wrong...
Then wouldn't you miss it as well? OTOH, if it IS missing, but IS in the database, then the human is the one who is more likely to be heading the wrong way.
Toyota isn't what it once was, Ford isn't either... give Consumer Reports try, they talk about this in recent auto reviews, that the gap has closed and the old issues are largely gone...
I'll just leave this here.
https://www.consumerreports.or...
Yeah, I have actually, my aunt happens to own a Ford Fusion. Hers is a 2015, and my Camry is 2013. I got my car the same year she got hers (I paid $10k cash for mine, salvaged.) Hers drives ok from my experience, but it's already having transmission problems. The only problem mine technically had was the result of its previous owner being involved in a wreck that damaged the front right wheel well, which was easily fixed, but that wasn't inherent in its build quality at all.
Every mechanic I know (and there are many in my family) hates Ford because they break often and suffer from designs that are very anti-mechanic, even to this day. This is why I say you have to throw it out after 5 years. There's a reason you don't see as many people drive around in older Fords as you do other brands, except for Ford trucks. The only reason you think otherwise is because the dealer did this to you:
http://livingstingy.blogspot.c...
My car: 2006 Ford Fiesta, bought new. 208,000 kms on the clock, no breakdowns--ever. One anecdote to your nothing....
Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis
The sign database is never going to be that accurate... humans and all...
As for missing it, yes... but I can look at the road and figure things out in a way that the computer cannot.
Again, self driving for 80-90% of driving is doable and quickly, probably in the next 5 years... that last 10% will take a complete rethink and overhaul of the road system...
You bought a written-off, salvaged 2015 Ford and use that to claim Ford sucks?
I've been driving them for decades, cars and trucks, they are no more or less reliable than any other major car brand...
Neither are you, because they are not...
Yes, they are. And now you've looked it up and feel like the fool you are.
OOOH! Touchy much? LOL
PlaynBass
I'm waiting for enough idiots to short Tesla to bring down the price basis to where I first bought in. That's only because I don't have an accounting degree to keep up with all the rules on when I can spend my Roth IRA investment account. Just lazy, I suppose, but I am hoping the shares will eventually increase to the point that I will be able to afford at least a used Tesla 3... or that the price will come down enough so that I can afford to buy one. I personally never liked working on cars, even when they were repairable by shade-tree mechanics like me...
PlaynBass
You bought a written-off, salvaged 2015 Ford and use that to claim Ford sucks?
I've been driving them for decades, cars and trucks, they are no more or less reliable than any other major car brand...
False. My 2013 Camry is salvaged, and it has no problems at all, vs the brand new 2015 Ford that is already having problems in its very short lifespan.
Here's an actual compiled report with data to back it up, vs your nothing:
https://www.consumerreports.or...
I think the only way this will work is with smart-signs that communicate where they're placed.
The sign database is never going to be that accurate... humans and all...
The sign database will become more and more accurate... machines and all. The first car to encounter an unexpected sign reports it. Other cars in the area could be updated in real time. CarCrowdSourcing.
Why? The car can read the sign as it is.
That works in science fiction, it falls apart in the world we live in now...
Real time updating seems to work for Waze - what makes this science fictiony?