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Capt Slow
Capt Slow New Reader
9/23/08 1:26 p.m.

this looks pretty cool

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
9/23/08 1:57 p.m.

Looks like Lotus is going to clean up in the electric sportscar market.

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
9/23/08 1:57 p.m.

Looks like Lotus is going to clean up in the electric sportscar market.

DirtyBird222
DirtyBird222 Reader
9/23/08 2:19 p.m.
Dr. Hess wrote: Looks like Lotus is going to clean up in the electric sportscar market.

looks like you still use 56k which causes you to double post.

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
9/23/08 2:25 p.m.
DirtyBird222 wrote:
Dr. Hess wrote: Looks like Lotus is going to clean up in the electric sportscar market.
looks like you still use 56k which causes you to double post.

Oh, I used to dream of 56k. Would 'ave been like being there.

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
9/23/08 2:26 p.m.
DirtyBird222 wrote:
Dr. Hess wrote: Looks like Lotus is going to clean up in the electric sportscar market.
looks like you still use 56k which causes you to double post.

Oh, I used to dream of 56k. Would 'ave been like being there.

Volksroddin
Volksroddin Reader
9/23/08 3:04 p.m.

looks great, DR Hess is that you become UberDork??

Capt Slow
Capt Slow New Reader
9/23/08 3:31 p.m.

Here is some more info via AutoWeek

Capt Slow
Capt Slow New Reader
9/23/08 3:31 p.m.

Its supposed to be out by 2010. just in time to smoke the volt

Jensenman
Jensenman SuperDork
9/23/08 3:50 p.m.

Lotus will be the world's premier supplier of EV's (or at least the chassis for them) if this keeps up. I guess the rest of the mfgs. are helpless when it comes to rigid lightweight composite chassis.

skruffy
skruffy Dork
9/23/08 4:19 p.m.

Well, since the volt changed from it's sporty sedan concept beginnings to a really expensive electric Malibu, I'll be excited about this now.

GO DODGE!

16vCorey
16vCorey Dork
9/23/08 4:33 p.m.
skruffy wrote: Well, since the volt changed from it's sporty sedan concept beginnings to a really expensive electric Malibu, I'll be excited about this now. GO DODGE!

No kidding! What the hell happened to the Volt? I saw a new picture of one and it looked retarded!

Capt Slow
Capt Slow New Reader
9/23/08 4:39 p.m.

Worse than retarded it looked like a prius !!!

Travis_K
Travis_K Reader
9/23/08 5:19 p.m.

I still think we are at least 75-100 years at the minimum from being done with gasoline, but its good that there are more interesting alternatives as well.

YaNi
YaNi New Reader
9/23/08 5:27 p.m.

Why?

The Tesla has been out for a couple years and Chrysler are just coming up with a concept that wouldn't go into production for 2 years?! They don't give any scientific data, only saying: 150-200 mile range and 0-60 <5 seconds.

At the end of the day your still paying $$ for a Lotus with a Chrysler badge on it...

DirtyBird222
DirtyBird222 Reader
9/23/08 6:01 p.m.
YaNi wrote: Why? The Tesla has been out for a couple years and Chrysler are just coming up with a concept that wouldn't go into production for 2 years?! They don't give any scientific data, only saying: 150-200 mile range and 0-60 <5 seconds. At the end of the day your still paying $$ for a Lotus with a Chrysler badge on it...

exactly, I'd rather buy a lotus than that thing

confuZion3
confuZion3 HalfDork
9/23/08 7:21 p.m.
YaNi wrote: Why? The Tesla has been out for a couple years and Chrysler are just coming up with a concept that wouldn't go into production for 2 years?! They don't give any scientific data, only saying: 150-200 mile range and 0-60 <5 seconds. At the end of the day your still paying $$ for a Lotus with a Chrysler badge on it...

Those blockheads at Tesla Motors could have had their car on the market for some time now, but since their primary owner now came on board; the company has been in a downward spiral. Their only problem used to be the transmission. But now this nut case decides to change the frame so that his wife can get in and out of the car in her elegant dresses more easily - they took a crash-tested car and changed its structure. He had to change the headlights so that the car didn't look "kit-carish". It's tons of stupid changes like this that keep that car off the road.

I'm looking forward to the Volt. Maybe even this Chrysler thing (I haven't checked the link yet). I want an electric car.

HIGH-VOLTAGE EDIT: Yeah. I want one of these things too! Go Dodge!

fiat22turbo
fiat22turbo GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
9/23/08 8:02 p.m.

Sounds like the typical changes a new CEO brings to a company that is near the end of producing a product. You see this a lot in the working in the tech industry, some fat-head comes along and decides they have to mark their territory in order to establish dominance.

confuZion3
confuZion3 HalfDork
9/23/08 8:29 p.m.
fiat22turbo wrote: Sounds like the typical changes a new CEO brings to a company that is near the end of producing a product. You see this a lot in the working in the tech industry, some fat-head comes along and decides they have to mark their territory in order to establish dominance.

Yeah, except he pulled down his trousers and took a little piss all over the ONLY PRODUCT THAT THEY CURRENTLY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO PRODUCE! Tesla was a fantastic idea. I'll bet it dies within two years. When the Volt comes out (if it comes out as a car that you can BUY), Tesla will die. Unless they can produce the berkeleying thing and stick to their original damned Mission.

"OOH, my wife can't easily slip in and out of this car with her dress on. Let's make it bigger. And narrow those door sills. Why don't we make it 2 feet taller? And those seats! They're so close to each other! Let's make the car wider. And heavier. I want it to weigh as much as my Escalade."

If they are able to produce the car, it won't be until after the BIG 3 electric vehicles come onto the market and they will no longer have the distinction of holding 100% of the market. They won't be able to charge enough to cover the costs of the car like they could if they produced it next week, or, uh, two years ago.

Capt Slow
Capt Slow New Reader
9/23/08 10:48 p.m.

I wish people with MBAs would get out of the dammed way and let the engineers design the car...

DrBoost
DrBoost Reader
9/23/08 10:48 p.m.
Dr. Hess wrote: Looks like Lotus is going to clean up in the electric sportscar market.

You said it (twice in fact)

DrBoost
DrBoost Reader
9/23/08 10:49 p.m.
Dr. Hess wrote: Looks like Lotus is going to clean up in the electric sportscar market.

You said it (twice in fact)

maroon92
maroon92 SuperDork
9/23/08 11:10 p.m.

I sort of like it.

Dodge probably had to go with the Europa because the Elise is too small and hard to get into for the average car buyer.

it will most likely take 2 years because the Europa is not crash tested for American sale...it isn't emission approved either, but as an EV, that pretty much takes care of that.

Helterskelter
Helterskelter Reader
9/24/08 12:53 a.m.

Lotus is awesome, there's a documentary floating around about their bonded aluminum chassis's, definitely worth watching. I wanna work for Lotus.

Jensenman
Jensenman SuperDork
9/24/08 8:39 a.m.

Lotus also designed the first truly active suspension. That thing could be programmed to do all kinds of stuff, like have the front end rise under braking or have the outside of the car rise in a turn. The main problem: since the motions were counterintuitive, the test drivers often got nauseous.

This new HMFWIC for Tesla sounds like a twerp, but he might have a legit point about his wife's concerns: many women just do not care to get in and out of a car with high door sills because doing so causes, er, 'flashing'. Guys may like this (I do! ) but many women don't and since women drive a lot of car purchases he might be looking at it from a marketing standpoint.

Tesla's prior management also did something odd: they were working on a sedan as well but it got almost no publicity and it won't be ready until AFTER the roadster.

http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=974

Let's face facts: the sports car is cool, but when Mr and Mrs John Q show up to buy a car, will they be more interested in the roadster or the sedan? As boring as it would be to us, most people will be buying the sedan. So why is the sedan not due out until AFTER the roadster? That would be like if Jeep had released the SRT8 Grand Cherokee a year before the more pedestrian models.

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