The moment when electric cars became truly legit? (Tesla wins a drag race against a Hellcat)

In reply to rcutclif:

I'm in. Seriously. But I won't poop in a bucket. Seriously.

How often is the average person driving cross country? When I've done long trips like that, I've rented cars anyways. You can pick whatever car is best for your circumstances,Cadillac, minivan, convertible, compact MPG car.

Frankly, driving cross country sucks, most of the U.S. is a boring flat wasteland. It takes forever, it's exhausting. People shopping for a car in this price range value their time too much to drive long distances. They fly and rent.

The Tesla's acceleration is impressive. The whole thing is impressive. You wouldn't watch a hellcat 1/4 mile video and ask "But how would it do on the Rubicon trail?" It's not designed for that.

kb58 wrote: Uh huh... try three runs back-to-back with no cool-off time. The Tesla needs (or needed) 20 minutes to cool off. I like electric cars but can't stand how proponents always cook the data in order to appear competent.

This comment is about as pointless in this discussion as my original one was pointing out ze red light and showboating. This video was pointless....

Assuming this was two random car owners at a track, and not some sort of formal test with skilled drivers, it doesn't prove anything at all. In any case, a single run doesn't prove that one car is 'better' than the other.

yamaha wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote: The Hellcat had the E36 M3tiest launch of all time...but the Tesla probably would've won in a fair race anyway

Actually, the hellcat driver red lighted, so he did what every Mopar owner does when they're embarrassed, do something stupid.

dude, that was low.

ive owned the duster for 20 years now. i outgrew that reflex at about 15 years in.

hell, it cought fire pulling into a cruise night saturday. i calmly got out, putthe fire out, pulled the battery disconnect, and got something to eat while waiting on AAA. no stupid there, except in maybe the large order of mozzerella sticks.

and the hellcat driver needs punched in the daddy bags.

I liked the video. I saw it as less of a "Which car is better?" kind of deal than a "Look how far electrics have come." type of thing. I'd also say it's a testament to how AWD has some definite advantages even with the weight and complexity penalty.

These two cars are so different I don't see them cannibalizing each other's sales.

Another great thing about this...you can judge an electric vs a gas car without saying "It's pretty good for an electric." now.

My F350 can make it from Cape Cod to Road Atlanta towing a trailer and race car with one stop in Virginia in 21 hrs. Just sayin. An EV would be perfect for my wife. She works 10 miles away and then putts the kids around town afterwards. She can plug the EV in right next to where I plug in the F350 diesel on cold nights. There's probably enough room on the garage roof for solar panels to charge it as well.

I never even thought to compare the cars.

I just thought the Hellcat launch was awful.

Having said that, I'm 100% positive that the first internal combustion powered cars generated similar thoughts from the horse and/or steam guys.

"My car makes it's power with really hot water. You can find water everywhere"

Or:

"Gasoline and rubber tires? My horses run on grass and hay and water, those things can be found everywhere and it's got less emissions!"

And on it'll go with every "new" invention.

in all my years of driving... I have exactly 1 cross country trip.. and that was in a hertz 24foot box truck.

I have been up and down the Eastern Coast a few times in my own vehicles, but mostly when doing commercial.

Stupid video makes me not want to read this thread.

I love the Tesla almost as much as life itself but the Hellcats are still WAY faster even with half the driven tires and half the cost.

In reply to Vigo:

Are they? I thought Dodge was claiming an 11.2 quarter on slicks.

I'd love me a charger Hellcat though.

If the Dodge would've run his dial-in, he would've beaten the Tesla.

In reply to Chris_V:

Most people drive less than 40 miles a day and an EV, charging at home every night, starts out every day with a "full tank." And can easily do the majority of what a driver needs during that day.

The problem with that is if you are only driving 40 miles a day, then you really aren't driving enough to justify the extra cost over a normal car. If you do drive enough to justify the electric car- you can't. I'm glad people are buying them, hopefully they will get better in the future. But they still aren't there yet. And it is going to be really hard to expand range to anywhere near a gas powered car. It boils down to the amount of energy stored in a gallon of gas vs. the energy stored in an equal weight of batteries. Then when it's time to re-fuel, the gas powered vehicle is limited only by the flow of fuel. Not so with charging a battery. Do the math, and see what it would take to transfer an equivalent about of energy electrically in the same amount of time. Better bring your arc flash suit. It would be far easier to work on reclaiming some of the wasted energy from internal combustion. That's why it is such a leap from hybrids to pure electric.

In reply to Vigo:

Half the cost?

That 700hp, AWD Tesla set a record (E.T. and speed) for a production electric car on that pass. A record that is still a half a second slower than the Hellcat.

Vigo wrote: Stupid video makes me not want to read this thread. I love the Tesla almost as much as life itself but the Hellcats are still WAY faster even with half the driven tires and half the cost.

Tesla P85D quarter mile: 11.4 sec, cost $105,670

Charger Hellcat (challenger might be a 10th faster, but these specs were handily in the same magazine as the Tesla's) quarter mile: 11.4 sec, cost $64,990.

So about the same quickness, not quite twice the price.

I love them both and will take one of each!

Chris_V wrote: Most people don't do cross country trips on a regular basis, and definitely not in gas guzzling musclecars.

I've driven across the country 12 or 14 times.

Every time was in a V-8.

Last time was in a 1960 El Camino.

In reply to bastomatic:

11.2 is on stock tires. It's in the tens on street legal drag radials.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/0-to-1320-feet-in-what-chrysler-posts-2015-dodge-challenger-srt-hellcat-14-mile-time/

In reply to bgkast: 11.2 vesus 11.68. The Tesla set a new electric production car record with that 11.68.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: In reply to rcutclif: I'm in. Seriously. But I won't poop in a bucket. Seriously.

Yep, this

Boost_Crazy wrote: In reply to Chris_V:

Most people drive less than 40 miles a day and an EV, charging at home every night, starts out every day with a "full tank." And can easily do the majority of what a driver needs during that day.

The problem with that is if you are only driving 40 miles a day, then you really aren't driving enough to justify the extra cost over a normal car.

I was paying $300 a month for my gas powered car. And $200 a month for gas. I traded in on the Volt and was paying a touch over $300 a month, but only $10 a month in electricity. A $200 a month savings to go with a newer, electric car. I know a guy who sold his paid off E39 5 series and got into a Leaf and the cost of the Leaf and electricity to commute with was less than the fuel cost of the E39. Another friend has a paid off Explorer that they spend $400 a month in fuel costs in to commute and run errands. An EV would be essentially free for them. I really don't think you know what you're talking about vs those of us that have actually done it.

SVreX wrote:

Chris_V wrote: Most people don't do cross country trips on a regular basis, and definitely not in gas guzzling musclecars.

I've driven across the country 12 or 14 times. Every time was in a V-8. Last time was in a 1960 El Camino.

Did I say "all" people or MOST people? If you're not part of the 80% that doesn't drive across country regularly, then I'm not talking about you. Pretty berkeleying simple.

And even in your case, you could've rented a vehicle or flown cheaper than owning a car to take on those trips if you were saving enough money monthly by driving an EV.

In reply to Chris_V:

Chris You need to understand that the consumer is not 100% rational. Most drives are short and with one person. But the most popular car is the 4 seat mid sized car ( Camry, accord, fusion, etc) and full sized pick ups.

Why?

Because "maybe".

few buy what they need. They buy what they think they need. Including the idea that you need to fill up first thing in the morning because.

Dusterbd13 wrote:

yamaha wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote: The Hellcat had the E36 M3tiest launch of all time...but the Tesla probably would've won in a fair race anyway

Actually, the hellcat driver red lighted, so he did what every Mopar owner does when they're embarrassed, do something stupid.

dude, that was low. ive owned the duster for 20 years now. i outgrew that reflex at about 15 years in. hell, it cought fire pulling into a cruise night saturday. i calmly got out, putthe fire out, pulled the battery disconnect, and got something to eat while waiting on AAA. no stupid there, except in maybe the large order of mozzerella sticks. and the hellcat driver needs punched in the daddy bags.

But you did go through that phase.....

Also, don't go downing mozzarella sticks

I do one several thousand mile road trip at least once a year. Impossible to do in an EV.

EV=biggest con since Snake Oil.

Not environmentally friendly, not efficient, how many nuclear plants would have to be built to support EVs for everyone?