Tesla Model 3
 

So what does everyone think of the newest Tesla Model 3?
- What do you think about the front end including the lack of a grill?
- What do you think of the full Panoramic roof ?
- What do you think of the Specs?
- What do you think of the steel and aluminum mix now?
...Personally I am not a huge fan of the front end, but I may change my mind about that. I think they could do a better job at making that lack of grill look a little less blah feeling.
Over all I am a big fan!!!:thumbup:http://www.motortrend.com/uploads/si...front-view.jpg
http://www.motortrend.com/uploads/si...38%3B%2A%2C%2A

already a thread started. w videos!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...uct-33631.html

Technically, it is a Model ☰.

I like it, I like it, and I like it. And I think the front end makes it look like an angler fish

http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/...psiaxbkrdl.jpg
Tesla itself doesn't seem to mind calling it the "Model 3" on their own website, so they probably won't care if the rest of us do too.

It's begging for a fake grille like the aftermarket used to sell for Corvairs.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps2pcyutxa.jpg

- What do you think about the front end including the lack of a grill?

Looks great. No grill will be the norm in the future, and grills will look horribly outdated. A grill will only remind people of how crude our transportation was back in the day of using a fraction of generated heat to propel a vehicle, while radiating, conducting, and convecting the majority of the heat away.

- What do you think of the full Panoramic roof ?

Haven't seen it yet. Probably neat, but there had better be a way to reflect sunlight out of the cabin to keep it from becoming an oven.

- What do you think of the Specs?

215 mile range. 0-60 MPH in 6 seconds. Supercharging. Autopilot. $35k... if the car delivers on all these things, they nailed it.

- What do you think of the steel and aluminum mix now?

Don't know anything about that. What's new about steel and aluminum? Seems like standard materials for a car, and it's probably standard for good reason (cost, strength).

The front end looks fine to me. It's the boring sedan shape (particularly at the rear) that I don't appreciate. Looks like a boring old BWM from the a-pillars back. It needs something back there to stop it just being another boring looking grocery getter. Perhaps if it were a hatchback or otherwise not swept down so much...?

At $35k they have a real winner,which is reflected by the orders they have received.

Price-addressed
Range-addressed

Long term reliability, battery life, resale value?

Factor in a realistic cost per mile including the real world battery life and replacement cost.

There WILL be many early adopters. I'm just very skeptical about the price, but I really hope they can keep it at $35k.

regards
mech

It is a hatchback, it just doesn't appear that way. I'd much prefer it to have an efficient aerodynamic shape than to look less boring. I spend less than 1% of my time looking at the car from the outside, and it would be more annoying to have reduced range just to get kids to look and point at the car as it creeps to the nearest charging station.

Perhaps they could have designed it for both aesthetics and efficiency, but in my mind they go hand in hand. The Model S looks fantastic. The Model 3 isn't bad looking either.

http://www.autocarnewshq.com/wp-cont...l-3-Change.jpg

The S is a hatchback that looks like a sedan, the 3 is a sedan that kinda looks like it should be a hatchback.
This Is The Tesla Model 3's Biggest Design Fail

I think the front looks like the guy from the bitter beer commercials.

Reminds me of my wife. Every time I say anything, I never know if, her response will be:

"I can't hear you"
"You're talking too LOUD"

Hearing is fading as we get older, so I could get either criticism.

I doubt seriously if Tesla will loose any sales, especially at $35k (still skeptical of that price).

regards
mech

The non grille area is the perfect place for an individualized wrap.

"I'll pass your a$$ without using gas, LOL."

Do it backwards so they can see it in their rear view mirror.

regards
mech.

That trunk absolutely kills it for me. Total failure.

And that stupid glass roof could have been a big PV panel. Get stranded without a charging station nearby? Camp out for a week and you'll be good to go.

Oh shoot. I thought Elon said it was a hatchback during the reveal, but I must have dreamed that. What a shame it isn't a hatchback. It would have been easy enough to have 2 pieces of glass to allow a proper opening. I wonder why Tesla didn't go for it? Cost reasons?

It is a sedan with a trunk for structural reasons - the glass roof gets the head room, and the cross beam had to be located at the base of the window.

The window blocks most of the heat and UV.

Here are lots more details: Tesla Model 3 Tweet Storm By Musk Reveals Tons Of New Details

Yet another reason for not having a stupid glass roof. I swear, Tesla keep going downhill, attractive design-wise. The Roadster was great except for the price, the Model S is OK if you want a large sedan, the X got those stupid gullwing doors...

The glass roof increases the rear seat headroom. I hit my head (slightly) in the backseat of the Model S.

1. Tall people don't belong in the back seats
2. Tesla could have raised the roofline at the expense of aerodynamic efficiency to increase headroom.
3. The glass could have been in sections, with cross-support between the glass sections.

A single pane of glass isn't necessary, as shown by every car ever made.

When your whole family is tall, you need to have a roomy backseat.

Short people with Napoleon complexes like to call shotgun. Sure, I could pick them up and move them out of my way, but then they might bite my ankles.

Well, not in my combat boots.

Note to self: Always wear combat boots around short people.

Short people like the boots too, for the added height as well as the clomping sounds that they think all big people make.

FWIW, it's not because of their Napoleon complexes, it's about visibility. They call shotgun because they can't see over the seatbacks or the steering wheel.

Randy Newman anyone? :D

Engineer: Can't we just have sliding doors on the Model X? You realise how costly those falcon doors will be in recalls and repairs? I mean, really?
Musk: (pulls face)
Engineer: Oh! Hold that pose, Mr Musk! I just got an idea for the front end of the Model 3!

How? Assuming the same exterior shape is kept, a metal or composite roof of the same strength/stiffness can be thinner than a glass one (lighter, too). It can also have padding, so that if you do bump your head (e.g. on a rough road), it won't hurt as much. The padding also acts as insulation, keeping down heating/cooling costs (which is much more important to EVs than IC, where heat is free), and noise levels.

As for tall people in the back seat, what proportion of all trips have people in the back seat?

No matter what, I think it looks stunningly good.
I keep trying to compare it to other cars that look like it, but when I put them side by side they fade in comparison - especially when you stay in the vicinity of the price range.
I'd be prepared to forgive it a handful of vices just for its looks.

The fake grill, yeah. Lowering the lip makes it look a bit like a Porsche. In this case that feels like it spoils it.
There may be a technical reason for the high edge, like pedestrian collision safety.

All I see is grill-less Mazda 3 in it, can't see what all the fuss is about.

Any number of sports cars pass crash regs without the need for that weird lip.

Mazda 3 sedan:
http://images.dealer.com/evox/perspe...g/10850_36.png
Tesla Model 3:
http://www.motortrend.com/uploads/si...38%3B%2A%2C%2A
There are similarities, but I know which one I prefer.

325k orders
 

Apparently they're now up to 325,000 reservations placed for the car.

That's nuts.

I'll be curious to know the car's Cd. Musk was pushing for sub .20.

I loved the aero wheels on the matte grey version they showed at the unveiling:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1460049996

Also agreed: the lack of hatchback is a disappointment.

But the model Y crossover based on this platform will have one, and more cargo space, at the cost of efficiency. And it'll probably have a higher base price because that style of vehicle is all the rage these days.

We can all complain about whatever we don't like about the car. Or, we can look at what they're offering which is head and shoulders above what anyone else is currently offering.

200 mile range
$35k base price
Fast acceleration
Great styling


IMO stop complaining.

Don't forget that this is not a production ready view of the car. It was for Part 1 of a 3 part reveal. If all of the coolest things about the new baby Tesla were revealed ~ 2 years ahead of being placed in the customers hands, too many ideas would be poached ahead of the release.

I must be close enough to happy with it though, cause I'm planning to own one someday.

this belongs on the 'cousins' thread

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thum bup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:: thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

(unless, of course you've already successfully run an automotive design facility, an automotive R&D department, a marketing department, an automotive production line production
a distribution network.......and raised billions of $$$$$$ :cool:)

Distant cousins then; they are not that alike at all despite model, size and color. That was the point I was trying to make.
Somehow the lines on the Tesla seem to match, it all looks natural but for the front bumper. The Mazda - not really.

Hope you didn't misunderstand......I agreed with your comments!
It just hit me that they really did look quite similar:thumbup:

Not a big suprise, aerodynamics have only one working formula :D

Yeah, the air knows what it likes and doesn't give a hoot what you or I find pleasing to the eye.

The biggest differences between the Tesla Model ☰ and the Chevy Bolt EV are not in the cars: the Gigafactory and the Supercharger network. Tesla is proving not only that there is a huge demand for EV's - but also that car companies that are based on strong principles - will sell even better.

Tesla is building cars in America. Without advertising. Without dealers. The year the car is built is the model year. They are using as much renewable energy as possible. The Model ☰ reveal event started with an urgent statement about anthropogenic climate change, and energy independence.

If the Tesla Model Y is a CUV, then it will compete with the Bolt EV. And the Bolt EV will be out this year - quite a head start.