Cars, Man

[StarHalo]

Somebody posted audio of the new Corvette ZR1; it sounds exactly like the infamous Pantera at 2:28 - how they got a boosted front-engine car to sound like a rear-engined one is quite a feat of engineering..

 

[StarHalo]

Saw this Dodge Ram compact on the road today, clever little design:

 

[StarHalo]

More artful than ice skating (now put it back in the climate-controlled garage..)

 

[StarHalo]

Hm.. (Tokyo Auto Salon; the Prius is available in AWD in Japan..)

 

[StarHalo]

The Hellcat-motored 707 hp Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk vs the Tesla SUV; combustion, quaint..

 

[StarHalo]

Ford Motor Company's first-quarter financial report released today announces that they are discontinuing all sedans and small cars in their portfolio in North America, except for the Mustang and the upcoming Focus Active crossover. The current model cycle for the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Taurus, and C-Max is the last, the company will not be investing in any further generations of these models.

 

[StarHalo]

Dodge is bringing back the Viper as a '20/'21 model.

Also: The upcoming Marvel movie gives us yet another creative use for a flatbed:

 

[RBR]

.....

 

[StarHalo]

Around town with Starhalo: You'd think a freshly unboxed copy of the new hot item would include badges (Tesla 3)

Nobody was up to parking next to this guy, so I volunteered since our cars are so similar. Both have four wheels. (Ferrari 458)

 

[FroggyTaco]

I was able to drive one of my clients Model 3 last week for about 6 miles that they just received a few weeks prior to that. It's quite the car & I strongly suggest people at least take one for a test drive if they are given the opportunity.

So many neat details & the car UI/controls are very intuitive. It really surprised me on that level.

Once the dual motor version releases it will be even more impressive on the performance front.

 

[idleprocess]

I was able to drive one of my clients Model 3 last week for about 6 miles that they just received a few weeks prior to that. It's quite the car & I strongly suggest people at least take one for a test drive if they are given the opportunity.

So many neat details & the car UI/controls are very intuitive. It really surprised me on that level.

So ... what were your specific impressions of what seems to be the Model 3's most controversial design choice - most controls on that massive stalk-mounted center touchscreen?

 

[FroggyTaco]

If you own & use a smartphone it will be a very natural adaptation IMO. With my albeit brief time in the drivers seat basically the majority of the "settings" are essentially "one time" programming & then unless your preference changes you won't need to adjust it again.

Also the steering wheel has two very innovative control knob/dials. Think of a console joystick d-pad with a PC mouse wheel. They are placed so that you operate them with your thumbs & easily adjust stereo volume, or cruise control in 1 mph increments up or down(as low as 19mph btw), etc so control is again very intuitive & non-distracting.

The "gear shift" handle/lever is where the windshield wiper stalk would be & is a super simple up for reverse, & down for Drive control with a very nice tactile detents at the end of movement range to positively know that you have correctly completed the intended action.

One essential thing that most people perhaps don't yet realize myself included until I had the literal hands on opportunity to play with everything is how Tesla takes the established concept of "Driver seat/mirror" position memory to a whole new level. Again think of a Phone/desktop login. The car has the ability to save multiple profiles & either via your phone bluetooth or a credit card "key" when you approach & step into the car it identifies which profile gets into the drivers seat & auto configures the car to the pre-saved preferences so everything is already configured to your liking.

 

[idleprocess]

If you own & use a smartphone it will be a very natural adaptation IMO. With my albeit brief time in the drivers seat basically the majority of the "settings" are essentially "one time" programming & then unless your preference changes you won't need to adjust it again.

Also the steering wheel has two very innovative control knob/dials. Think of a console joystick d-pad with a PC mouse wheel. They are placed so that you operate them with your thumbs & easily adjust Head unit volume, or cruise control in 1 mph increments up or down(as low as 19mph btw), etc so control is again very intuitive & non-distracting.

On my vehicles, I often adjust the following during a drive:

• Headlights
• Windshield wipers
• Cruise control on/of
• Cruise control speed adjust
• Cruise control cancel/resume
• Head unit on/off
• Head unit volume/mute
• Head unit change source
• Head unit browse songs
• Head unit change audio track / tune radio
• Bluetooth accept/terminate call
• Climate control on/off
• Climate control mode
• Climate control fan speed
• Climate control temperature

Most of these can be done from steering wheel controls or control stalks. But some require the touchscreen on the head unit.

While I find the head unit touch screen UI reasonably intuitive, it's a bit frustrating at times because it often doesn't register a touch or since I'm in a moving car and there's no boundary on a given UI control element it's more difficult to hit and requires more concentration than a physical switch.

I'm sure that some of the above functions are automated and some have migrated to the steering wheel controls, but how many require a visit to that touchscreen?

 

[StarHalo]

But 307 lb ft @ 1 RPM, and the view..

 

[FroggyTaco]

On my vehicles, I often adjust the following during a drive:

• Headlights
• Windshield wipers
• Cruise control on/of
• Cruise control speed adjust
• Cruise control cancel/resume
• Head unit on/off
• Head unit volume/mute
• Head unit change source
• Head unit browse songs
• Head unit change audio track / tune radio
• Bluetooth accept/terminate call
• Climate control on/off
• Climate control mode
• Climate control fan speed
• Climate control temperature

Most of these can be done from steering wheel controls or control stalks. But some require the touchscreen on the head unit.

While I find the head unit touch screen UI reasonably intuitive, it's a bit frustrating at times because it often doesn't register a touch or since I'm in a moving car and there's no boundary on a given UI control element it's more difficult to hit and requires more concentration than a physical switch.

I'm sure that some of the above functions are automated and some have migrated to the steering wheel controls, but how many require a visit to that touchscreen?

Take a look at the steering wheel controls. The left side handles ALL of your audio control concerns. The Right side handles all of your cruise control concerns. It wasn't raining & I didn't notice any wiper control so I would presume it's auto controlled & again you have total control over it's operation but once you find your preference the car will scale its performance based upon speed & rain intensity so the whole point is less user input required.

I didn't mess with the climate control but I have become a huge fan of any vehicles "Auto" setting because it's literally the most efficient option 95% of the time & again you let the cars computers micromanage the details. The nice part about the large screen is the "buttons" on the touchscreen are 2-4x bigger than your thumb so it's easy to make a positive input choice.

I didn't use the car's phone bluetooth to answer or hang up a call so I can't comment on that aspect.

The attached owners manual shows how much extra thought this cars software has compared to other cars:

 

[StarHalo]

A very cherry MG coupe; drive at eye-level with the door handles on other cars..

Wasn't me this time; seeing them side-by-side it's strange that there's not a whole lot of difference in their basic silhouettes:

 

[heelsthrow]

Do you have any project cars?

 

[SCEMan]

Starting to become a fairly common new story... :shakehead

https://www.dailybulletin.com/2018/...-husbands-tesla-shot-flames-while-in-traffic/

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Starting to become a fairly common new story... :shakehead

https://www.dailybulletin.com/2018/...-husbands-tesla-shot-flames-while-in-traffic/

WOW! That is some serious flame. Imagine it happening while stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on a multi lane highway....... Gas cars go BOOM!

~ Chance

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Do you have any project cars?

This was my last project. Had it done by professionals. -

25 hours to remove this. -

Then replace it with this. -

Almost ready to be buttoned up, but one, not so obvious, missing part from the beginning still needs to be purchased and installed. Any keen eyed mechanics able to identify the missing part?

Also, where's the flashlight?

~ Chance