Battery-powered Tesla Model S hits the streets in the US

Tesla S

The first customer cars are rolling out of the Tesla factory averaging around 10-12 cars a week. By the end of the year, California-based Tesla claims they will have delivered 5,000 of this latest vehicle.

Selected future owners are being given the opportunity to drive this new vehicle and the general opinion is that the Tesla S is a very well made luxury car, and the range is excellent. Three battery sizes are on offer: 40 kilowatt-hour, 60 kWh and 85 kWh, with base prices for the models equipped with each ranging from USD57,400-77,400; however, a fully spec’d Model S goes for over USD100,000.

The 85 kWh has a claimed range of almost 500 km, whilst the smallest (and cheapest) 40 kWh battery model should have a range around 250 km.

Charging again takes time, and it is obvious that a dedicated charging point will be needed to recharge the batteries in a reasonably short time. Some figures being bandied around range from four hours, which is very acceptable, to over 50 hours which is ridiculous.

The styling gives the Tesla S a look reminiscent of Jaguar or a Fisker but with a wide and not so attractive mouth. It does not scream “Future Electric Car”, but is a pleasant mid-size hatchback.

In some ways similar to the BMW iDrive controller, the Tesla S has a 17-inch tablet display in the center of the dash as the central controller. The only buttons turn on the hazard lights or open the glove box.

The Model S power plant is located between and just behind the driven rear wheels. The liquid cooled battery pack makes up the floorpan of the car and is encased in steel and plastic. The smooth exterior and under-floor produce a very low drag coefficient of 0.24, reputedly the lowest of any production vehicle. And with 300-400 bhp from the electric engine, it is a very rapid motor car, despite the weight from the battery pack boosting the overall weight to around 2,500 kg. Performance models are rated at 416 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque and can accelerate from 0-100 kph under five seconds.

While the Tesla Roadster sis not really take off, in the US, the Tesla S looks as if it will have a much more secure place in the US sales figures.

Want a durable car? Try the Durable Car Company

Morrie Minor

I am indebted to George Strampp who brought the Durable Car Company to my attention. This enterprising (re)manufacturer is dedicated to hand-crafting body parts that will allow Morris Minors to keep on going forever.

It was started by Dhanapala Samarasekara, a retired Sri Lankan diplomat, who said, “We cannot do away with transport. But we should use it in a meaningful way.” And for him, by keeping Morris Minors going, he breaks the cycle of ‘planned obsolescence.’ Samarasekara calls it a waste. “What a wastage of human effort it is.”

Of course, it isn’t quite that simple, as the auto industry’s planned obsolescence does employ millions of people worldwide and puts food on those millions of tables.

But the other side of the coin is by giving people in third world countries mobility, which can in turn assist them in finding employment and putting food on the aforementioned tables.

But why start a spare parts factory for a car that hasn’t been manufactured for more than 30 years? Because there are still 300,000 of these cars on the roads, and if spare parts can shore them up, these Morris Minors will go on forever.

Samarasekara has a business relationship in partnership with Charles Ware, an Englishman who has been concerned with the conservation of useful things since the early 1960s and sells the parts for the Morris Minors in the UK.

What did we learn from the Hungarian GP?

We learned that when Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) says he is “on it”, it means he is almost uncatchable. He dominated the Hungarian GP, being fastest in every session and controlled the race from the front. The “Lotus” pair of Raikkonen and Grosjean might have been looking at taking over the lead, but they were, in reality, never in the hunt.

Grosjean, who finished third has plenty of raw speed, as could be seen from the Qualifying, but has yet to turn that into race pace. When he does, he will be the next champion, but don’t expect it this year! His team mate Raikkonen continues to give good solid performances, but if the team can’t get him up on to the top step of the podium, he will get bored and take his ice cream and retire again. Or - he might go back to Ferrari to replace the underperforming Massa.

Vettel (Red Bull) was unable to give the finger the exercise, and although he is up near the top of the championship table, he does not look like being a certainty to repeat his WDC title. Adrian Newey will have to weave some more magic before that will happen, though Newey being the creative engineer that he is, might just come up with something, and which will be legal as well.

His team mate Mark Webber again disappointed his fans. Did not make the top 10 in Qualifying, but did a blistering first lap to leap to 7th from 11th but then the forward march stopped and he finished 8th, though Red Bull has said that he had a differential problem. Let us hope it was not a gearbox problem which would mean a five place grid demotion at the next meeting (Spa, September 2). Quite frankly, these penalties for changing an engine or a gearbox are ridiculous. What does the FIA hope to achieve by these, other than trying artificially to mix up the field.

While on the FIA, its much vaunted DRS system did not work in Hungary. It requires much longer straights than were available at the Hungaroring. The results of the race depended once again on the tyre lottery. Top teams are able to double-guess the degradation of their tyres and bring their drivers in at the last minute before the tyres “fall off the cliff”. But get it wrong and the driver is stuck in slower traffic and the team ends up with poor results.

Alonso (Ferrari) drove a consistent race. Not fast enough to challenge for the lead, but fast enough to keep challengers behind him. He has really become the ‘thinking’ driver. Massa did scrape into the points, but Ferrari is looking for more than that for Felipe. Word is that Ferrari has not taken up its option in Massa’s services for next year. Pack your bags now, Felipe.

Button, in the second McLaren, showed plenty of tiger in the opening laps, but then after the pit stops the fire went out and he just maintained position and “passing” became a lost art. Let us hope the holiday will sparkle Button up again.

One of the best drives of the day came from Senna in the Williams. Stayed out of trouble, drove sensible and was rewarded with 7th place, in front of Webber, Massa and Rosberg (Mercedes). His team mate Maldonado repeated his barging style of driving and the stewards repeated the drive through penalty. When will he ever learn?

Schumacher (Mercedes) had the weekend from Hell. Overheated on the grid, turned the engine off but could not restart. Then hit for speeding in the pit lane in his hurry to join the race, a subsequent drive-through penalty and then a puncture.

A break of four weeks now until Spa. What will we do?

What did we learn from the German GP?

Well, we learned that even in Germany, a German World Champion can be beaten by the stewards at the German Grand Prix. The “passing maneuver” on Button (McLaren) in second place carried out by Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) could only be done by using the run-off area, because Button had the apex (and was ahead of Vettel at that point - watch TV re-runs if you don’t believe me). If Vettel had immediately handed back second place to Button, no further action would have been necessary. However, he did not, was obviously in the wrong, and not only lost his unfairly gained podium position but had a 20 second penalty applied as well, relegating him to fifth. As they say in Thailand ‘som nam na!’

What can you say about Alonso (Ferrari) and his win, other than faultless? He is looking true championship material and will become the new world champion if he keeps up this standard of driving (and calculating). What can you say about his team mate Felipe Massa? It really is time Felipe fell on his sword. His driving just is not good enough, in a car that wins races in his team mate’s hands. But to be down the back of the grid with the wobblers is not where Ferrari expects of him. Ferrari may put up with this till the end of the year, but you can forget about 2013, Felipe.

We also learned that McLaren’s updates do work, and it was a rejuvenated Jenson Button who (eventually) was given his second place back. Lewis Hamilton also showed the speed in the new McLaren package, and after his unfortunate puncture on the second lap drove well to unlap himself getting fairly past Vettel (who was still whining about it after the race) and Alonso (who was quite happy to see Hamilton between himself and Vettel). However, Alonso is older than Vettel, who still does revert to thumb-sucking at times.

Raikkonen (“Lotus”) was elevated to third after Vettel’s demotion, and drove a solid, if uninspiring, race. The TV directors thought so too, as we rarely got to see him. His team mate never got out of the back markers and reverted to hitting people again. Ah well, he’s still young too.

Krasher Ken Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) belied his nickname and drove an excellent race to eventually finish fourth and five seconds in front of team mate Perez.

After Perez came Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) who despite his 3rd place after Qualifying, could not maintain position and slipped backwards during the race eventually 7th. An old driver getting tired? Actually I think not. On lap 57 he set the fastest lap of the race. Schumacher knows how to pace himself, and finished well in front of his younger team mate Rosberg. I think the sad part is that Brawn’s Mercedes is just not quick enough.

In eighth came the second Red Bull of Mark Webber, who drove like an old tart all day, but is a big enough man to admit it. “I had no pace today and wasn’t quick. I couldn’t stay with people that I normally can. This is a completely different track (to Silverstone where he won), but we have to be quick in all conditions and today we weren’t for whatever reason.” Despite this bad weekend, I expect him to feature strongly in Hungary this weekend.

As for the rest, just make-weights, I am afraid. Even the TV cameras couldn’t be bothered with the likes of Marussia, HRT and Caterham and Williams were nowhere, though Maldonado avoided crashing into people.

A Pugyota? Or even a Toyotroen?

A Jumpy Citroen.

The motor industry has long been known to be incestuous. But look at just how incestuous. Toyota Motor Europe and PSA Peugeot Citro๋n have announced a new agreement on light commercial vehicles for the European market. Under the plan, PSA Peugeot Citro๋n is to supply Toyota with light commercial vehicles for sale in Europe under the Toyota brand.

PSA Peugeot Citro๋n will supply medium size vans derived from its existing vehicles Peugeot Expert and Citro๋n Jumpy. The supply of vehicles will commence from mid 2013. The agreement also includes collaboration on next generation vehicles which are to be produced by PSA Peugeot Citro๋n. The collaboration is expected to last beyond 2020.

Toyota Motor Europe will participate in the development and industrial investment costs for the next generation product. There are no plans for the two companies to enter into capital tie-ups or joint production.

“The Light Commercial Vehicle segment is an important one for us in many markets throughout Europe,” said Toyota Motor Europe President and CEO Didier Leroy. “By joining forces with PSA Peugeot Citro๋n, we have found a good solution for our loyal customers following the recent discontinuation of our own Hiace model. We already enjoy a successful joint-venture partnership with PSA Peugeot Citro๋n in the small car segment and they are a leader in the European light commercial vehicle market, with a solid reputation for quality and versatility.”

“We are delighted to announce today the enlargement of the scope of our successful cooperation with Toyota. This agreement launches the development of a new generation of mid-size Light Commercial Vehicle offering both companies a competitive product for the European market,” quoted Jean-Christophe Qu้mard, PSA Peugeot Citro๋n programs executive vice president.

However, while PSA Peugeot Citroen may be pleased, the auto unions in France are not so overjoyed as they fear more job cuts may be in the offing.

Autotrivia quiz

Last week I asked which car, in 1996, was the first to wear the manufacturer’s nameplate, instead of one of its brands? Clue: think left hand side of the Atlantic Ocean. I wanted the car, not the manufacturer. It was the General Motors EV1 which was an electric car produced and leased by the General Motors Corporation from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker, and the first GM car designed to be an electric vehicle from the outset, and it was the first to be sold as a GM, rather than one of the GM brands.

So to this week. Who was this? He was almost 60 when he drove his last race, winning it. During his sporting career he competed in more than 350 races (bike and car), won 105, had 77 class wins, and 100 fastest laps. Who was he?

For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected]