Ferrari Mailing List: Re: NFC: Car Shuffling Time

[Matt Boyd (ferrari308driver]

Adam,

I can't claim perfect knowledge, as my experience is limited. I've had the opportunity to talk with only a small handful of owners, and the sentiment is "No regrets." I've tracked the forums and seen niggling issues like the sideview mirrors in some cars won't dip when the car is in reverse or the door handles won't "auto-present," and these bugs appear sometimes after new software patches/updates are installed. I've wondered about why they go 3G but not 4G, but the fact of the matter is, why would you need 4G? Presently the data plan is free but that won't last forever, and 3G has to be cheaper than 4G....well, I guess. But either way, the only use I've seen for 4G is streaming HD video, and video streaming is turned off in the car anyway due to the location of the screen. Now they have the hardware built in to make the car a WiFi hotspot, and 4G sure would be nice then, so yes there you've got a point.

I'm a little surprised that you suggest that a plug-in Prius trumps the Tesla on all counts (except looks, as you allude). One thing that attracts me to the Tesla is that there is only one type of drivetrain to maintain, not two like on a hybrid. No more oil changes, plugs, ignition wires, air filters, etc etc. A hybrid or a Volt (which is really just a hybrid anyway) you have to deal with EV and ICE.

I think the early adopters are willing to accept the silly niggling things from time to time (but not "failures to proceed"). And the company has a good warranty. At least that's what's in writing, and as you state, the jury is still out as to if TSLA will be a long term success. So far, my guess points to yes, but one of these days I'm going to be wrong about something....it'll happen someday!  ;-)

-Matt

On Tue, May 7, 2013 at 5:54 PM, Adam Green <FlatCrank [at] gmail.com> wrote:

I've been postponing our Tesla S purchase for most of a year now, waiting for bug fixes and upgrades to arrive.  It's been month after month of "real soon now" from their sales people.  They don't have a card up their sleeve, they don't have a "next" product in the pipe line, they just have this suspension of disbelief sales model.  

The spec on our order for the S is about $100K and nowhere in the paperwork does it say "field beta test" ... but reports from "early adopter" friends, such as being stuck on I5 for a day while Tesla road service people tried all kinds of "ctrl-alt-delete" reboots and nonsense, finally sending a flatbed to tow it back to Fremont, was enough of a cautionary tale for me to ask that they sort out the charging and reliability issues.

Just to be clear, it's about 50:50 coin toss on the good reports and the bad.  For every one person who says they have a gripe or a serious WTF situation, there's another person saying something positive like today, when a friend reported driving from SF to LA and back with no drama and no anxiety, plus of course it's sort of an adventure to do that trip the first time, whistling along at 100 ... um 75 mph ... with only tire and wind noise.

At present, unless you're enamored by the appearance of the S, the humble Prius plug-in trumps Tesla on all counts and gets the prized white sticker access to the commute HOV lane.  

As for Tesla, now that the two also-ran makers have folded (Fisker and CODE) it's just a matter of time before Tesla either makes a success of their one car line-up (impossible, if history is any guide) or they get real and roll out the X and other rumored cars to compete with the Leaf f'rinstance, which just updated nicely and seems to have struck on the feature/function/benefit to get its sales going while the rest of the auto industry, even Toyota, is reporting 5% to 10% drops, month over month, in sales.  Which begs the question "What short term stunt did Tesla pull off to tweak their sales higher?"  As a customer, I know it was pressure sales.  Phones calls from two people, follow-up emails, threats that prices would go higher, then dropping their entry-level model and bait-n-switch to a higher priced model.  Textbook car sales tactics from last century.

The good thing about Tesla is TSLA, which has produced enough profits since the IPO (and very few trading losses) for me to defray the cost of purchasing the car!  Now, if they'd just upgrade the charging system, swap out 3G for 4G cellular data, upgrade the cabin trim so it doesn't resemble a really well made kit car (there's your Ferrari content in this post ... sorry!) and simple feature upgrades like automatic cruise (already in the Prius plug-in and our family SUV from years ago, hardly advanced technology these days) then we'd have only niggling doubts about reliability.  The last thing I want to do is buy a five year old technology car in 2013, which we'd normally own for five years, only to find their 2014 version finally delivers on their promises from 2012.

Adam

On Tue, May 7, 2013 at 2:10 PM, Erik Nielsen <judge4re [at] gmail.com> wrote:

A well sorted one is a fun, old school, heavy car to drive.  A not so well sorted one to turn into a sorted one is a $25k fun house ride.  Maintaining one is not for the faint of heart nor for someone that didn't pass circuits in college...

 

@ Matt, which motor does the 450SEL have in it?

 

Regards,

Erik - another sucker, but one that has fewer children than Matt...

On Tue, May 7, 2013 at 2:59 PM, Michael James <cavallino_rapante [at] yahoo.com> wrote:

What are your driving impressions of the Turbo R?  I was offered one a long time ago, and wondered what a big Bentley would have been like in my garage.....

 

--- On Tue, 5/7/13, Matt Boyd <ferrari308driver [at] gmail.com> wrote:

From: Matt Boyd <ferrari308driver [at] gmail.com>
Subject: [Ferrari] NFC: Car Shuffling Time
To: "Michael" <Cavallino_Rapante [at] yahoo.com>
Cc: "The FerrariList" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2013, 3:53 PM

First off, the Ferrari content of this message is that I am not selling my 85 Euro 308 GTS/QV, and if you ever see me selling it, then either I am in financial dire straits or I have seriously changed my priorities in a way I don't see happening anytime soon. I've had my 308 for about 17 years so far and likely will have it until time T (where T=death).

 

That said, I'm not a wealthy car collector, however I'm about to acquire my 11th car (thanks to George Parker, listmember friend, for selling me his great 2004 Jetta TDI manual wagon). And my wife is itching for a Tesla Model S, and if she's looking to me to say "No, we shouldn't buy a Tesla Model S," well she might not hear me try to talk her out of it.

 

So I've got a few cars for sale. I post this just for fun as I doubt anyone here is interested, but who knows:

 

1994 Toyota 4Runner: $3k

1978 Mercedes Benz 450SEL: $3k

1991 Bentley Turbo R: $TBD but less than $15k

 

So at least in the end we'll go from the present 10 cars to 9 cars.....

 

-Matt

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