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Here in Beijing there are special "un-official" taxi services that have Teslas. I was once in one of them, one the way to the airport. I was very silent, and lo

by gbog 12y ago

Here in Beijing there are special "un-official" taxi services that have Teslas. I was once in one of them, one the way to the airport. I was very silent, and looked a bit futuristic (all meters are actually screens) and kitsch ala eigthies: The whole car looks fat, plasticly cheap. I would not trust the door knob to always work for instance, and the seat are not giving this confident feeling, compared to normal European cars. It is also slightly ugly. But obviously that's just the diff between Europe and US on cars, and Tesla has nothing to do with it (but if Tesla wants to get market share in Europe, they have to make another model, or license their techno to someone else.)

rgbrenner 12y ago
that's an interesting view of teslas... anyway, they're not really having problems getting marketshare in europe: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobiles/tesla-powers-a-surge-in-electric-vehicle-sales-in-europe.html/?a=viewall http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobiles/tesla-powers-a-surge... And at least when this article was written, China just edged out Europe for Tesla's second largest market: http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2014/07/31/analysis-of-tesla-sales-by-geography/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2014/07/31/analysis-o...
robmcm 12y ago
I took a test drive with a few friends who have BMW, Mercs and they had the same impression. The cars they compete with in terms of cost in the UK (engine etc aside) the build quality and the interior is more line with a Ford at a quarter of the price.
easytiger 12y ago
> the whole car looks fat, plasticly cheap. That's every American car
- justin66 12y ago
  BMW, Mercedes, and Jaguar (among others) are all struggling right now to find a new design direction. The most recent push to really change things, Chris Bangle's tenure at BMW, didn't really lead to a decisive new direction. A lot of people WANT boring shit.
  - easytiger 12y ago
    Oh sorry the design aesthetic of the S is fine. Though when i see one I can't work out which of the large saloon car it is. I mean the cheap plasticy build quality, mainly the interior. It doesn't look nor feel like a luxury car inside.
- cbd1984 12y ago
  Every car in general, really. Everything else is marketing.
dkyc 12y ago
From what I heard, the Model S 85 with Dual-Drive has a vastly improved interior quality. I agree that the normal Model S is not on par with BMW/Mercedes/etc.

by gbog 12y ago

rgbrenner 12y ago

that's an interesting view of teslas... anyway, they're not really having problems getting marketshare in europe: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobiles/tesla-powers-a-surge-in-electric-vehicle-sales-in-europe.html/?a=viewall http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobiles/tesla-powers-a-surge... And at least when this article was written, China just edged out Europe for Tesla's second largest market: http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2014/07/31/analysis-of-tesla-sales-by-geography/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2014/07/31/analysis-o...

robmcm 12y ago

I took a test drive with a few friends who have BMW, Mercs and they had the same impression. The cars they compete with in terms of cost in the UK (engine etc aside) the build quality and the interior is more line with a Ford at a quarter of the price.

easytiger 12y ago

> the whole car looks fat, plasticly cheap. That's every American car

justin66 12y ago
BMW, Mercedes, and Jaguar (among others) are all struggling right now to find a new design direction. The most recent push to really change things, Chris Bangle's tenure at BMW, didn't really lead to a decisive new direction. A lot of people WANT boring shit.
- easytiger 12y ago
  Oh sorry the design aesthetic of the S is fine. Though when i see one I can't work out which of the large saloon car it is. I mean the cheap plasticy build quality, mainly the interior. It doesn't look nor feel like a luxury car inside.
cbd1984 12y ago
Every car in general, really. Everything else is marketing.

dkyc 12y ago

From what I heard, the Model S 85 with Dual-Drive has a vastly improved interior quality. I agree that the normal Model S is not on par with BMW/Mercedes/etc.