Tesla Releases First Official Photos of Model S Sedan 378
Thelasko writes "After several pictures of the Model S were leaked onto the internet, Jalopnik has the first official pictures of the Model S. One of its most striking features is its massive touchscreen in place of the center console."
Re:Touchscreen in a car? (Score:3, Informative)
We'll see in 3 years time. (Score:4, Informative)
Think about any concept car you've ever seen, and then think about all of the nifty conceptual bits that weren't there 2-3 years later when the car actually went to production.
All of that said, I like the look of the car, but I'd prefer something smaller and not quite so heavy. Then again, as a single male, I'm not the target demographic for a large saloon that seats seven. I wish they'd produce something like the Roadster for the price point of this car.
Re:American cars.... (Score:5, Informative)
Don't be an idiot. There are always ways to blunder a usability invention but saying that this idea is a usability nightmare is ignorance.
Lexus has been doing pretty much the same thing for quite a while now, and the current system works really nicely (I don't know the radio technology they use though). You just walk up to the car and pull the handle -- if you have the fob in a pocket it will open, otherwise it won't. When you sit down you push a button to start the engine (naturally the car checks your personal fob and adjusts mirrors, the seat and radio channels to your settings).
Not having to dig for keys really does improve usability.
Re:American cars.... (Score:5, Informative)
The problem in making an affordable, mass-marketable electric vehicles right now is the cost of batteries. At present you have three main choices: Lead/acid, Nickel-Metal Hydride and Li-Ion/LiPoly.
Lead/acid cells are cheap (relatively) and are the prime choices for hobbiest EVs, but they would be hard to sell in a consumer EV because (1) they're large and heavy compared to the power they provide, making it difficult to make a car with much more ~100 mile range, (2) they take a long time to recharge (many hours) and (3) they wear out in a couple years. You can make a pretty affordable EV with these (indeed, there are plenty DIYers who have), most auto-buyers would not be willing to make those sacrifices: Why pay for an EV when you could get a regular car for the same amount of money (or less!) that can drive 3+ times as far without stopping, can be refueled nearly instantly rather than having to be left to charge overnight and doesn't require you to replace a $1000 worth of batteries every few years? So basically lead/acid is a non-starter. Some people might be willing to deal with their difficulties, but most will not. BTW though, if they do still sound interesting to you, look into building/buying a DIY EV conversion, it can be very fun and there are tons of nerds that will help you out.
NiMH and Li-Ion/LiPoly diminish a lot of these troubles by having better energy/weight ratios (more range) recharging faster (NiMH in a few hours, Li-Ion/LiPoly even less) and lasting longer (NiMH is better in this regard, Li-Ion/LiPoly will have to be replaced much sooner). An EV built with either of these, like Tesla's cars, can't match every feature of a regular car, but they are much more acceptable to consumers because there is less of a sacrifice and you still get the advantages of an EV (cheaper energy costs, less pollution (depending on what your source for electricity is), better energy efficiency, better source of hippy smugness, etc.). The problem is that while many consumers might drive a car like this, most of them won't buy/i> one because NiMH and Li-Ion/LiPoly batteries are expensive enough that any car based on them would (at present) cost more than most people would be able or willing to spend.
Re:Imagine buying one of those... (Score:3, Informative)
It's normal in High end cars to use voice activation and or steering wheel controwls to change the temperature, radio station, make phone calls etc. The center console is normally for a passenger use or driver use while parked.