Quote from: Rich on April 24, 2024, 08:05:54 PMThanks for the good words.  How's the service been? I've heard that the mobile service can be hit or miss.  I'm lucky that I'll have a service center 2.4 miles from work. 

One interesting thing I've learned is that the $7.5k federal credit that applies only to certain cars, if purchased, will apply to almost any lease because all fleet vehicles were included in the bill.

I had one major service when my dad had the Tesla (he drives it a bit during it's "off season").  He started an over the air update and then tried to drive off, which is a big no no.  Anyway, the update stalled halfway and bricked the car.  Mobile tech came right away but couldn't fix it, Tesla towed it to the service center to push the update manually. This was late afternoon Friday so we got a loaner Model X.  We were told the car wouldn't be ready till Monday so we planned a road trip with the Model X just to test it out and have fun with it. The car was actually ready to get picked up on Saturday morning but since we were out of town with the Model X loaner they let us pick the car up on Monday.

The only other time I went to the service center was to pick up my winter tires I ordered from Tesla and they installed them too.

While we had the Model X, I had such a good time with it that I was heavily considering getting a Model X Plaid to replace the Model Y because they just dropped the price to 90k and all colors were free.  I loved the falcon doors because they made putting the baby into the car seat super easy and were super cool, there was more space, adjustable ride height, the windshield went all the way behind your head that made for breathtaking views drivng around the Hudson Valley during our road trip, and I liked the idea of a mini van that trapped 146mph in the quarter mile.  However all the tech in the car scared me a little and I came to my senses.  One of my anesthesia colleagues has the Plaid X and he loves it though.

Quote from: Rich on April 24, 2024, 06:25:12 PM[snip]
ps. ordering a car via the Tesla app is so bananas easy.  I will never step into a dealership after that.  Ever.
[/snip]

Same here - I absolutely loathe dealers. You've touched on a subject that gets me riled up and foaming at the mouth: the dealership racket that uses state legislatures to outlaw competition and direct sales. EG No possibility of going to Costco.com specifying the exact Toyota you want, generating the build order, and having it delivered to Costco or to you a few weeks later. Banned. Can't do that direct with Toyota either,
There's whole article about it:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture

Maybe we should organise a  Tesla/EV/Hybrid themed spin get-together, "Spinsla Meet '24." Anniversary of Dave Van Vlack's death is April 27. So weave the honoring of him into the proceedings.

I really really miss him - super nice guy

Quote from: ChrisV on April 24, 2024, 02:30:23 PMYeah, because you do something completely stupid a few times a year, EVs are dumb and don't work for anyone.

Fuck off Cougs. I'm tired of your ignorance and complete lack of experience masquerading as important insight.

Here's something (not) new from ChrisV: a low status emotional outburst in the face of struggling with the subject matter. Seriously, doesn't it ever get old?

Thanks for the good words.  How's the service been? I've heard that the mobile service can be hit or miss.  I'm lucky that I'll have a service center 2.4 miles from work. 

One interesting thing I've learned is that the $7.5k federal credit that applies only to certain cars, if purchased, will apply to almost any lease because all fleet vehicles were included in the bill.

Quote from: Rich on April 24, 2024, 06:25:12 PMLeased a base Model 3 for the commute and chilly weather adventures with the lady. 

From the outside looking in, it doesn't seem like a bad deal.  I really don't like Elon, but $3k down and $320 a month for 3 years and 36k miles of use doesn't seem bad for 6 sec to 60, RWD, quiet, comfortable ride.

It should come sometime next week.  I'll report back after a while of use.

ps. ordering a car via the Tesla app is so bananas easy.  I will never step into a dealership after that.  Ever.

I hope the Rivian R3 will be out when this lease is up.  If I enjoy the electric experience, it looks fun.

I did see a lease deal for the Toyota Bz4XWTFBBQ at $179 a month and $2k (?) down.  But it looks like that was a California-only deal.  it'd have been $300 a month here in NY.

Nice!  You definitely won't regret it.

I really wasn't a Musk or Tesla fan but I needed a winter AWD car in Jan of 2023 on short notice and the Model Y just had a huge price drop. Anything else remotely fun was much more expensive or had a long wait. I had a GR Corolla on order that was nowhere in sight.

Compared to the painful allocation searching I did for the X3M and Blackwing, the Tesla website purchase was insanely easy.

The car really has exceeded all expectations and now I'm a Tesla fan, and understand why the cars have such a rabid fan base.

The cars have so much extra usable space between the frunk and the under trunk compartment.  The wireless charging pads are placed perfectly and there are two of them. The supercharging experience is seamless and the user interface is polished.  The tech is great, you will love the autopark feature (included in FSD trial) and the Tesla Vision function that renders your surroundings in 3D without the distortion of 360 cameras.

When the GR Corolla order finally came, I drove the Tesla to test drive it to see if I should dump the Tesla for the GR.  I didn't buy the GR.

The Tesla was meant to be the winter car but Tesla season has just been getting longer and longer and other cars season has been getting shorter and shorter.  The X3M we've had since Feb 2022 and it has 16k miles, the Blackwing we've had since April 2022 and it has 14.5k miles, the Model Y we've had since Jan 2023 and it just passed 20k miles.

The Tesla experience is much better from the inside looking out than the outside looking in.

Quote from: Rich on April 24, 2024, 06:25:12 PMToyota Bz4XWTFBBQ

Leased a base Model 3 for the commute and chilly weather adventures with the lady. 

From the outside looking in, it doesn't seem like a bad deal.  I really don't like Elon, but $3k down and $320 a month for 3 years and 36k miles of use doesn't seem bad for 6 sec to 60, RWD, quiet, comfortable ride.

It should come sometime next week.  I'll report back after a while of use.

ps. ordering a car via the Tesla app is so bananas easy.  I will never step into a dealership after that.  Ever.

I hope the Rivian R3 will be out when this lease is up.  If I enjoy the electric experience, it looks fun.

I did see a lease deal for the Toyota Bz4XWTFBBQ at $179 a month and $2k (?) down.  But it looks like that was a California-only deal.  it'd have been $300 a month here in NY.

Hey watch the personal attacks. I'm on the side that the world is better for Tesla, SpaceX, X & Musk but the 'SPIN has suffered from venting on others who have opposite views on this and lots of other subjects.

Quote from: GoCougs on April 24, 2024, 12:51:10 PMOn my road trips, loaded up with 400-500 lbs of stuff, I can average 100-110 mph in the heat (up to 90F) at elevation (up to 9000') sometimes on a mountain pass grade, out in the middle of nowhere, for as long as 18.5 gallons will allow (~45-60 minutes). Never a problem. An EV wouldn't last 5 minutes. Granted, I only do that a few times a year but it matters to me.

Yeah, because you do something completely stupid a few times a year, EVs are dumb and don't work for anyone.

Fuck off Cougs. I'm tired of your ignorance and complete lack of experience masquerading as important insight.

Quote from: 565 on April 24, 2024, 08:28:48 AMNo cheetah mode or anything on the Y or 3.  You don't even need to press the brake to brake torque. Best results are from just flooring the pedal.  I've done it repeatedly on the Y and never noticed any reduction for cooling in my driving.

The X3M is just the opposite.  You have to put the AWD system to MDM to sport, everything on the harshest setting and the transmission to manual fastest setting.  You have to try to push the brake pedal through the firewall or else the motor will overwhelm the brakes.  The system needs a few seconds to build boost, and will only hold it for a few seconds so it is just about impossible to time for a spotlight.  If you even get it a little bit wrong the system doesn't count it as a real launch control.  Only in launch control mode does the transmission shift automatically while in a manual setting, so if you don't get it then you will bounce into the rev limiter in first. Afterwards launch control will be unavailable for about 2 minutes for cool down.  First time I used it it took me about 3 tries to actually make it happen. 

The Y is so much more real world fast than the X3m that it's not even funny. 

No Cheetah Mode on the current Y or 3, but what of this new 3? Tesla touting the 1.9s 0-60 for the Plaid turns at afterward required the use of said (and even more real world useless) Cheetah Mode launch control. It's not been mentioned AFAIK but whatevers.

Audi's launch control is better but still some work. The aftermarket has answered with a ZF8 tune that allows for the selection of brake torque RPM (for my setup = 3,500 RPM) and then torque limitation in 1st gear. Lets a full weight stage 1 91 octane SQ5 hit 0-60 in a legit 3.8-3.9 s with determinism and repeatability. I imagine BMW tuners have done the same.

On my road trips, loaded up with 400-500 lbs of stuff, I can average 100-110 mph in the heat (up to 90F) at elevation (up to 9000') sometimes on a mountain pass grade, out in the middle of nowhere, for as long as 18.5 gallons will allow (~45-60 minutes). Never a problem. An EV wouldn't last 5 minutes. Granted, I only do that a few times a year but it matters to me.