4 ms·

Pretty smart looking car. Doesn't ape the Model S' look too much, clearly looks a little more compact, and the roofline makes it look both roomy and a little s

by Mikeb85 11y ago

Pretty smart looking car. Doesn't ape the Model S' look too much, clearly looks a little more compact, and the roofline makes it look both roomy and a little space-agey. From the front it almost has a Porsche Panamera look going on... Nice looking car. I wish Tesla good luck, though I don't think they'll need it.

rokhayakebe 11y ago
Yeah, I was thinking Panamera.
dgritsko 11y ago
They announced during the livestream that they already have 115k preorders. Pretty crazy considering that they were all made site-unseen (I guess barring Tesla employees that placed their preorder and knew what the car looked like).
- Mikeb85 11y ago
  True. But based on previous models which are all pretty smart-looking, I'd say it was a safe enough bet that this model would be as well. It's funny too, I never thought about the price point they're actually selling it for. I can afford one, and might just get one for my wife (my car is still new-ish, and efficient enough).
TickleSteve 11y ago
The panamera is quite possibly the most ugly and awkward looking luxury car out there... (even Porsches CEO admits it! http://jalopnik.com/even-porsches-ceo-admits-the-panamera-is-kind-of-fugly-1645633158 http://jalopnik.com/even-porsches-ceo-admits-the-panamera-is...) This, on the other hand is genuinely good looking.
- rconti 11y ago
  The panamera is a very awkward car, I agree. But I get where the parent is coming from. I expected the 3 to look like a scaled down S, and a Tesla employee friend said to expect something between an S and an X (yes, he had seen it.. and no, comparison to the X is not a compliment). I was pleasantly surprised to see the video footage of it, though I don't think it translates well to the stills/screen grabs we've seen. The headlights-above-the-beltline look reminds me of the Roadster and the Panamera and maybe a touch like the Dodge Razor concept. it's very much not an S, while somehow being attractive in many of the ways the S is (and ugly in none of the ways that the X is). Overall I'm quite pleased with the looks.
- ethanbond 11y ago
  I love that the Panamera looks so off the wall. I can never decide if I love or hate it, but I always love looking at it to figure that out.
brusch64 11y ago
different strokes for different folks. Can't stand the front. Looks more like a Toyota than like a "premium car". But I don't like the Porsche Panamera too. I don't think we have the same taste in cars.
- chiph 11y ago
  That's just a plastic part, so it's easy to change without a huge expense. As opposed to a metal stamping, where the dies are super expensive to make. Most manufacturers change the look of the bumpers during their mid-model refresh, just to make an older car look attractive again. What I found interesting was how smooth all the panels are. Obviously for aerodynamics, but I suspect it also lowers their costs, as lots of ridges and dips mean more chance for a panel to be stamped wrong, or to not align with an adjacent panel. Same with the interior - no gauge cluster means a cleaner look and lower costs. Not sure what the DOT and NHTSA is going to say about it... http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/750x422/quality/95/http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/384/812/2/S3848122/slug/l/p4010533-1.jpg http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/...

by Mikeb85 11y ago

rokhayakebe 11y ago

Yeah, I was thinking Panamera.

dgritsko 11y ago

They announced during the livestream that they already have 115k preorders. Pretty crazy considering that they were all made site-unseen (I guess barring Tesla employees that placed their preorder and knew what the car looked like).

Mikeb85 11y ago
True. But based on previous models which are all pretty smart-looking, I'd say it was a safe enough bet that this model would be as well. It's funny too, I never thought about the price point they're actually selling it for. I can afford one, and might just get one for my wife (my car is still new-ish, and efficient enough).

TickleSteve 11y ago

The panamera is quite possibly the most ugly and awkward looking luxury car out there... (even Porsches CEO admits it! http://jalopnik.com/even-porsches-ceo-admits-the-panamera-is-kind-of-fugly-1645633158 http://jalopnik.com/even-porsches-ceo-admits-the-panamera-is...) This, on the other hand is genuinely good looking.

rconti 11y ago
The panamera is a very awkward car, I agree. But I get where the parent is coming from. I expected the 3 to look like a scaled down S, and a Tesla employee friend said to expect something between an S and an X (yes, he had seen it.. and no, comparison to the X is not a compliment). I was pleasantly surprised to see the video footage of it, though I don't think it translates well to the stills/screen grabs we've seen. The headlights-above-the-beltline look reminds me of the Roadster and the Panamera and maybe a touch like the Dodge Razor concept. it's very much not an S, while somehow being attractive in many of the ways the S is (and ugly in none of the ways that the X is). Overall I'm quite pleased with the looks.
ethanbond 11y ago
I love that the Panamera looks so off the wall. I can never decide if I love or hate it, but I always love looking at it to figure that out.

brusch64 11y ago

different strokes for different folks. Can't stand the front. Looks more like a Toyota than like a "premium car". But I don't like the Porsche Panamera too. I don't think we have the same taste in cars.

chiph 11y ago
That's just a plastic part, so it's easy to change without a huge expense. As opposed to a metal stamping, where the dies are super expensive to make. Most manufacturers change the look of the bumpers during their mid-model refresh, just to make an older car look attractive again. What I found interesting was how smooth all the panels are. Obviously for aerodynamics, but I suspect it also lowers their costs, as lots of ridges and dips mean more chance for a panel to be stamped wrong, or to not align with an adjacent panel. Same with the interior - no gauge cluster means a cleaner look and lower costs. Not sure what the DOT and NHTSA is going to say about it... http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/750x422/quality/95/http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/384/812/2/S3848122/slug/l/p4010533-1.jpg http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/...