I just spent two weeks driving a brand new Tesla Series 3. I didn’t purchase or lease the car, and it wasn’t a rental, at least not in the traditional sense. I spent two weeks with a Tesla Series 3 to check out FINN’s new automotive subscription service, and I was impressed.
We’ve heard it before: product X will change the world. We heard it about the Segway and the iPhone. Rarely does a new product really change the world. The iPhone changed what we thought about phones. Now Tesla and their new battery called the Powerwall is supposed to change how we use power. Will it really? I don’t think so.
Another day at the CES show in Las Vegas and another round of announcements from automakers concerning the newest technology they are employing in current and future vehicles. AT&T has announced an agreement with Tesla, an all-electric vehicle manufacturer, to enable current and future models with high speed wireless connectivity in the form of 4G LTE.
As South by Southwest Interactive (henceforth: SXSWi) approached I found myself a bit overwhelmed by all the choices of talks, panels, hangouts, meetups, and God only knows what else. As an Austin resident, I didn’t feel the need to over-indulge on Sixth Street’s entertainment venues — I can do it any time — so I tried to concentrate on talks and events that I though I would find interesting, and you all would find interesting. I got a clunker or two, but in the main I did okay. Even with the overwhelming choices available, there was one person who I was…
One of the things I have been thinking about since the eruption of the Tesla/New York Times feud, is whether electric cars are truly practical yet for the average family. I’m not talking about a $100,000 Tesla S, or taking a road trip up the Mid-Atlantic coast in the middle of a harsh winter; I’m talking about for local driving, commutes around town, etc. Can electric cars fit into a real life scenario well, or are there just too many drawbacks? For me, the biggest issue is the range. Even if it’s just tooling around town, the miles can add up…
When something comes from a trusted news source, it carries a certain cachet; there’s an expectation of truth, integrity, and objectivity. The only time objectivity gets a pass is when something is entitled “opinion” or “editorial”, but reviews are always expected to be reasonably objective. So when The New York Times published John Broder’s scathing review of the Tesla Motors Model S electric car, it was natural for their readers to assume that the review was accurate based on the experience of the reporter who wrote it. But as it turns out, John Broder may have exaggerated his experience in…
Day Two at the North American International Auto Show did not have as full a schedule as Day One, but it was filled with much ballyhooed introductions that for some (yours truly included) were the most exciting of the show. In addition to foreign and domestic automakers bringing their wares to the Detroit Show, there are many third-party companies demonstrating their contributions to the automotive industry that are present as well such as DENSO, ZF Group, Johnson Controls, Panasonic Automotive, PPG, etc. The day two lineup of automakers included Nissan, Ford, Lexus, Cadillac, Acura, Kia, Tesla, Shelby American, and Guangzhou…