Tesla California sales beat Chrysler, Volvo, Cadillac, other big names.

[JeffHead]

*snip*

In June 2013, Tesla sold more vehicles in California than ten big-name brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mitsubishi, Porsche, and Volvo.

The news comes in the same week that Tesla's flagship Model S achieved a five-star, across-the-board safety rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (a result so high that, in Wired's words, it "broke the crash-testing gear&quot . Consumer Reports loves the Model S, too, noting that it "outscores every other car" in their rating system.

*snip*

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/08/tesla-california-sales-beat-chrysler-volvo-cadillac-other-big-names/

If I had the extra scratch I'd jump on one these babies in a heartbeat. They have plans for a reasonably priced model due to roll out in a couple of years, maybe then.

[longship]

1. Volvo hasn't been Volvo for many years.

Since they killed the company by selling to Ford.

I own one the last great Volvos, a 1995 940, which sadly was not available with a stick -- all previous models were. That damned manual transmission was totally unbreakable. It was my seventh Volvo, all bought used; all bought very old. All four cylinder engines and sticks, except for this last one, bought last October. It had 200,000 miles on it. Drives like a dream, but it wasn't maintained like I would like.

The reason why the European car makers aren't doing well is because they sold out to US marketing. The Volvo indestructable and safe utilitarian brick has given way to sleek style and luxury. They aren't the same easy-to-fix, ultra safe, reliable and comfortable rides.

Likewise, the other marks. (Although I would never buy a Cadillac and I grew up in the city of Detroit.)

I wish Elon Musk and Tesla would become the next Volvo. Apparently they are built like brick shit houses, just like my Volvo bricks have been. If only I had the money and didn't live in a place with cold winters and 15 miles each way to the nearest town.

[flvegan]

3. (facepalm)

Oh dear.

[longship]

4. (Facepalm) (Facepalm)

Oh dear dear.

Huh?

[Kennah]

2. Speculation that the trademarked Model E stands for Economy or Everyone

[madrchsod]

5. they are stating a 35-40,000 dollar car coming in 16

the trouble is who is going to fix them and at what cost?

the first all electric car built in the usa went from colorado to the new york. the biggest problem that faced the driver was finding an electrical plug to charge the lead batteries.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

6. When Japanese cars first started selling there were mechanics who refused to buy metric tools...

To this day you still see mechanics bragging that they do "imports".

[bhikkhu]

8. I knew some of those guys

...and I knew a couple who left the business in disgust over the industry switch to fuel injection over carburators, and electronic ignitions that never needed adjustment.

Personally, even at 50 I would love to re-train for electrics.

[tinrobot]

7. Tesla will fix them...

Here's a list of their repair centers:

http://www.teslamotors.com/findus

At what cost? If the car is out of warranty.... probably not cheap. But electric cars have fewer things to go wrong, so they tend to have fewer repairs.

[MurrayDelph]

9. And there's one of the problems

the nearest repair center is 100 miles away from me.

And while they have great range for an electric car, driving 100 miles north of Portland all the way to LA (which I have to do frequently) will take too long to recharge at this point (although I can do it in my Prius with two gasoline stops of less than 10 gallons each).

But it is still progress and hope.

[tinrobot]

11. They're still a relatively small company. Give it time.

Ford didn't have coast to coast service centers in 1910. Apple didn't have Genius Bars in 1980.

Eventually, Tesla's prices will drop and networks will expand. In 5-10 years, it will be a different story.

[Rhiannon12866]

10. I read this yesterday, Elon Musk thinks it can be made affordable in three to four years:

Tesla CEO: Affordable electric car in three to four years
http://blog.gasbuddy.com/posts/Tesla-CEO-Affordable-electric-car-in-three-to-four-years/1715-548707-1966.aspx

[Johonny]

12. It isn't a good sign when you walk through his company and see only 1 Tesla in the lot

If the people that work for him can't afford them then he has a problem. But I still want one if they ever become affordable.