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  1. #61
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    raleigh
    Quote Originally Posted by Edouble View Post
    I am based in Atlanta and rarely go more than one state over for business.

    c. Hypothetically, were someone to carjack or steal the vehicle,
    there should be a selection where you could lock the doors and have the vehicle just return to you...
    "One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington DC
    Quote Originally Posted by Edouble View Post
    I am based in Atlanta and rarely go more than one state over for business.

    You're right, if I were to take the vehicle to California, well, let's just say that would involve a lot of sightseeing.



    My last car was a regular Prius hybrid, which I enjoyed a lot.

    The TESLA's ability to integrate with my iPhone has been surprisingly disappointing. In my old Prius, my music playlists were easily accessible and well organized on the Prius dashboard screen. I can't even access these playlists on my TESLA, unless I do so manually via my iPhone.

    The TESLA app, however, is pretty amazing. I can start the vehicle, check charge time, open/close the charge port, honk the horn, summon the vehicle, etc. Hypothetically, were someone to carjack or steal the vehicle, I could just show the police the vehicle on the app (the app always shows the location of the vehicle) and they could go get it. Maybe other cars have that technology too now, IDK...
    Someone I know had his Tesla stolen with a key fob clone and he looked up the location and went and stole it back. Very brave! Now he has the pin feature activated.

  3. #63
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    raleigh
    Took delivery today....even after horrendous customer service....it's the first time i've had to sit at the dealership for 30 mins to acquaint myself with how to actually work the thing, even tho i'd already watched all the videos....finally left and drove it around a bit...just trying to get used to it...

    the acceleration is .......indescribable...

    sound system is tight, dawg...



    IMG_3119 2.jpgIMG_3118.jpg
    "One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese

  4. #64
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Quote Originally Posted by moonpie23 View Post
    Took delivery today...even after horrendous customer service...it's the first time i've had to sit at the dealership for 30 mins to acquaint myself with how to actually work the thing, even tho i'd already watched all the videos...finally left and drove it around a bit...just trying to get used to it...

    the acceleration is ...indescribable...

    sound system is tight, dawg...



    IMG_3119 2.jpgIMG_3118.jpg
    Sound system is tight, dawg, except it doesn't come with AM radio. Sucks if you like listening to live sports on the radio. But other than that - yes the sound system is great! ((but dont get me started on the, for example, "Beatles Radio" it turns into when you tell it you want to listen to The Beatles! "Beatles Radio" (same for other artists too) means music their system thinks is similar to The Beatles, but that sucks when you just want to listen to The actual Beatles!))

  5. #65
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area
    Quote Originally Posted by tommy View Post
    Sound system is tight, dawg, except it doesn't come with AM radio. Sucks if you like listening to live sports on the radio. But other than that - yes the sound system is great! ((but dont get me started on the, for example, "Beatles Radio" it turns into when you tell it you want to listen to The Beatles! "Beatles Radio" (same for other artists too) means music their system thinks is similar to The Beatles, but that sucks when you just want to listen to The actual Beatles!))
    Does Tesla charge extra for AM?

    -jk

  6. #66
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    raleigh
    Quote Originally Posted by -jk View Post
    Does Tesla charge extra for AM?

    -jk
    i don't listen to AM, so it wasn't something that i was worried about....i have sirrius satellite radio, and i jump around on various FM stations...
    "One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese

  7. #67
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Quote Originally Posted by -jk View Post
    Does Tesla charge extra for AM?

    -jk
    Not an option at all.

  8. #68
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Dur'm
    Quote Originally Posted by Phredd3 View Post
    Self-quoting to update this. Apparently 25 mile range is the system default for a new car on full charge. After roughly ten days' worth of practical, day-to-day use, the projected full-charge range has increased to well over 30 miles (32.9, as I type this, to be precise - I just checked the app on the fully-charged Prius Prime now sitting in the driveway). In case anyone is still interested.
    And self-quoting again to give a one-month update:

    Range is up to 35mpc, plus or minus, depending on who drove the car last. The software calculates range partly based on historical driving habits, and I'm about 20% more efficient than my lovely wife. We have driven right around 1100 miles this past month and still have not refilled the gas tank. It is sitting at just about 1/3rd full right now. I don't have the actual calculation handy, but based on tank size and miles driven, we are probably a bit under 200 miles driven per gallon of gas consumed (conservatively, I can say with 100% confidence that the true number is north of 150). We don't have a separately monitored circuit, and I haven't seen the overall electric bill for this month, so I can't even hazard a guess on how many kWh we have used for driving.

    As for the operation of the car, I'm not a fan of how much stuff is on the central display in electronic form. There are many, many options, and they aren't organized in a way that is entirely straightforward. The central display panel is so complicated, it has its own owner's manual, so that should tell you something. Accordingly, if you are driving and aren't on the home screen, changing some fairly routine things like climate control is not a task taken lightly. If you have a co-pilot, they should be doing it, but there is at least a home screen button that can get you re-oriented. You may need to pull over or wait for a stoplight if you need something more unusual, though. This might be a case where I actually do RTFM. I imagine it gets easier as you learn the system, but I miss ordinary buttons and knobs where I can easily reach them for basic stuff. Of course, things like lights and wipers are all still where you expect them, so basic driving isn't an issue.

    Despite the complicated electronics, I'm still loving the car. It's not quite Tesla-level, but I do feel like I'm doing my bit, and I find driving it to be fun, even though I don't get the visceral excitement of instant acceleration, like the Tesla is known for. You won't go 0-60 in well under 4 seconds with my car. But frankly, that doesn't really matter to me.

    YMMV. Literally.

  9. #69
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    raleigh
    day 3 of ownership....


    this is the most amazing car i've ever owned.. (past - mercedes, acura, ford, nissan) Elon took a que from steve jobs and looked at the normal "car" and asked, "why can't this be so much more?"

    again, the acceleration is otherworldly...


    went from the "free" charger adding about 6 miles/hr of charging to the 3rd generation home charger topping off 50 miles/hr of charging...

    now entering the rabbit hole of "battery charging" technology...
    "One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese

  10. #70
    Join Date
    Nov 2020
    Location
    Western NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Phredd3 View Post
    And self-quoting again to give a one-month update:

    Range is up to 35mpc, plus or minus, depending on who drove the car last. The software calculates range partly based on historical driving habits, and I'm about 20% more efficient than my lovely wife. We have driven right around 1100 miles this past month and still have not refilled the gas tank. It is sitting at just about 1/3rd full right now. I don't have the actual calculation handy, but based on tank size and miles driven, we are probably a bit under 200 miles driven per gallon of gas consumed (conservatively, I can say with 100% confidence that the true number is north of 150). We don't have a separately monitored circuit, and I haven't seen the overall electric bill for this month, so I can't even hazard a guess on how many kWh we have used for driving.

    As for the operation of the car, I'm not a fan of how much stuff is on the central display in electronic form. There are many, many options, and they aren't organized in a way that is entirely straightforward. The central display panel is so complicated, it has its own owner's manual, so that should tell you something. Accordingly, if you are driving and aren't on the home screen, changing some fairly routine things like climate control is not a task taken lightly. If you have a co-pilot, they should be doing it, but there is at least a home screen button that can get you re-oriented. You may need to pull over or wait for a stoplight if you need something more unusual, though. This might be a case where I actually do RTFM. I imagine it gets easier as you learn the system, but I miss ordinary buttons and knobs where I can easily reach them for basic stuff. Of course, things like lights and wipers are all still where you expect them, so basic driving isn't an issue.

    Despite the complicated electronics, I'm still loving the car. It's not quite Tesla-level, but I do feel like I'm doing my bit, and I find driving it to be fun, even though I don't get the visceral excitement of instant acceleration, like the Tesla is known for. You won't go 0-60 in well under 4 seconds with my car. But frankly, that doesn't really matter to me.

    YMMV. Literally.
    Thanks again for the update. I find your first hand experience helpful.

    Here's a question based on a review I read about the RAV4 Prime. The review said that the extra weight of the Prime's battery and resulting heavier duty suspension compared to the regular hybrid gave the Prime a more comfortable and quieter ride (less engine noise because of more time using EV mode exclusively). Do you have any experience with the regular hybrid Prius or even the fully gas powered Prius to make this comparison? Even if not, do you have a subjective sense of how quiet and comfortable the ride is compared to other cars you've driven?

    Thanks. I hope this question makes sense, I'm not sure how to word it better.

    Section 15

  11. #71
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Dur'm
    Quote Originally Posted by Section 15 View Post
    Thanks again for the update. I find your first hand experience helpful.

    Here's a question based on a review I read about the RAV4 Prime. The review said that the extra weight of the Prime's battery and resulting heavier duty suspension compared to the regular hybrid gave the Prime a more comfortable and quieter ride (less engine noise because of more time using EV mode exclusively). Do you have any experience with the regular hybrid Prius or even the fully gas powered Prius to make this comparison? Even if not, do you have a subjective sense of how quiet and comfortable the ride is compared to other cars you've driven?

    Thanks. I hope this question makes sense, I'm not sure how to word it better.

    Section 15
    Yes, we owned a "regular" Prius immediately before this (we effectively gave the old one to my son). I do think the new model drives significantly better. I suspect that on the Prius that the suspension is exactly the same (the curb weight for the Prime is only about 200# more than the regular model), but it does seem to corner a little better and the acceleration is MUCH better because the electric motor is so much more powerful. It's generally quieter, but older Prii were known for developing noises as they age, which we definitely found to be true for ours.

    I also do find it a bit more comfortable. They seem to have slightly redesigned the seats, or maybe it's just different materials, but either way, it "fits" me better than the old one.

    <Pet Peeve>
    Also, there are two things about the car that I really do not like, both involving noise:
    1. There is a continuous backup beep when the car is in reverse. Keep in mind, this is a sound only in the INTERIOR of the car. It is not a warning to passersby. Sorry, but this is just stupid. I'm the driver. Once I'm in motion, I can certainly tell whether I'm in forward or reverse, and I have a longish driveway to navigate every time I use the car. In the old car, we found a way that we could turn that into a single beep, which I'm OK with. In the newer models, the cheat I looked up on the web didn't work, and I'm told the dealer has to do it.
    2. The Prius also has an external artificial noise generator activated at low speeds (in the case of the Prius, at or below 23mph). It sounds vaguely like a space ship, but in the newer models, the noise is much louder than it was on older models, and it is definitely audible inside the vehicle. However, the sound generator is federally mandated for all EVs and hybrids. Because it is legislatively required, the only way to disable it is a longish DIY process, and doing so also happens to be a minor federal crime, so this one I have to live with.
    </Pet Peeve>

  12. #72
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    raleigh
    Quote Originally Posted by Phredd3 View Post
    1. There is a continuous backup beep when the car is in reverse. Keep in mind, this is a sound only in the INTERIOR of the car.
    oh, i'm pretty sure i would DAMN well find that and gut it...
    "One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese

  13. #73

    Bikes?

    Other electric vehicles - seems like this could include electric bikes. Anyone want to chime in on them? My dad is considering one.

    I used to ride small-displacement motorcycles for many years, but frankly I never found their fuel efficiency and utility to come close to covering their TCO. [I justified it as therapy, which indeed it was, but is no longer needed. And yes they are fun and not everything has to be practical ... ]

    I feel electric bikes would have all the disadvantages of motorcycle economics, plus a few of their own: easier to steal; harder to keep in the flow of traffic (few bike lanes here); faster obsolescence (I bet it'll be hard to find a new battery after a few years). Again, not that they wouldn't be fun.

    From a practical standpoint, reducing one's carbon footprint or energy expenditures is probably more surely accomplished by combining trips and driving less often.

  14. #74
    Join Date
    Nov 2020
    Location
    Western NC

    Forget the Toyota, here's my hybrid!

    Apparently, I just haven't been thinking big enough. Here's what I really need to save the planet:

    Ferrari unveils $320,000 hybrid sports car in its race to electric

    UJULRTTCDFNBTEJAC4Y3SXIKW4.jpg

    https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...er-2021-06-24/

    and so affordable!

    Section 15

  15. #75
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Section 15 View Post
    Apparently, I just haven't been thinking big enough. Here's what I really need to save the planet:

    Ferrari unveils $320,000 hybrid sports car in its race to electric

    UJULRTTCDFNBTEJAC4Y3SXIKW4.jpg

    https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...er-2021-06-24/

    and so affordable!

    Section 15
    If you have Prime and buy from Amazon, shipping and handling is free.

  16. #76
    Join Date
    Nov 2020
    Location
    Western NC
    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    If you have Prime and buy from Amazon, shipping and handling is free.
    Bingo! Hadn't thought of that. Consider it done. Will have a review up next week

    Section 15

  17. #77
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    If you have Prime and buy from Amazon, shipping and handling is free.
    That's a plus.

  18. #78
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by Section 15 View Post
    Apparently, I just haven't been thinking big enough. Here's what I really need to save the planet:

    Ferrari unveils $320,000 hybrid sports car in its race to electric

    UJULRTTCDFNBTEJAC4Y3SXIKW4.jpg

    https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...er-2021-06-24/

    and so affordable!

    Section 15
    Automatic, or shift?

  19. #79
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    raleigh
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    Automatic, or shift?
    since it's a hybrid, it MAY have shift...but there's no need for shift with electric cars....they are "off" or "on"....

    by the way, the regenerative braking system on the tesla is amazing...i'm learning how to use it to NOT use brakes, and to re-charge the battery...
    "One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese

  20. #80

    My experience

    Just found this thread.

    I have had a M3 since the end of 2019. I am retired and do not drive all that much and must less during the pandemic. I charge using the 110. It works for me.

    Love the car. Acceleration is great. Size fits my needs for local driving. Wonderful to not even care about gasoline prices, except for hearing complaints from my wife and others.

    Much of the technology is great as is the update features. Mirrors now fold up as I approach the garage and car now stays unlocked in the garage. I regularly use Summon to back out of the garage. I found my 3 most popular AM stations on FM so that is not an issue.

    Car makes me a better driver.

    My wife's Lexus has a better blind spot warning system. I have not really tested the one in the Tesla as it seems to only show you an issue if you try to turn into another vehicle.

    Have not really used the Autopilot but plan to. Wife and I are planning a trip from LA to Jackson Hole to Denver then back to LA. Have mapped it out,

    SoCal

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