View Single Post
Old 12-01-2019, 09:41 AM   #105 (permalink)
oldtamiyaphile
Master EcoModder
 
oldtamiyaphile's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,510

UFI - '12 Fiat 500 Twinair
Team Turbocharged!
90 day: 40.3 mpg (US)

Jeep - '05 Jeep Wrangler Renegade
90 day: 18.09 mpg (US)

R32 - '89 Nissan Skyline

STiG - '16 Renault Trafic 140dCi Energy
90 day: 30.12 mpg (US)

Prius - '05 Toyota Prius
Team Toyota
90 day: 50.25 mpg (US)

Premodded - '49 Ford Freighter
90 day: 13.48 mpg (US)

F-117 - '10 Proton Arena GLSi
Pickups
Mitsubishi
90 day: 37.82 mpg (US)

Ralica - '85 Toyota Celica ST
90 day: 25.23 mpg (US)

Sx4 - '07 Suzuki Sx4
90 day: 32.21 mpg (US)

F-117 (2) - '03 Citroen Xsara VTS
90 day: 30.06 mpg (US)
Thanks: 325
Thanked 452 Times in 319 Posts
I've put my $100 down - that's two new car deposits in two days (the other being a 'real' order of a Suzuki Jimny) neither will be here any time soon. When this comes out my diesel work van will be out of warranty and likely to start costing serious $$.

In Australia, it's likely to cost AU$85k for the twin motor, which compares to $80k for the base (old model) Ram 1500 or a top spec Ranger at about the same price. Tesla haven't been price gouging our market like the established players often do- we pay the US price + taxes and shipping.

Difference is, it blows all the competition completely out of the water in any meaningful metric.

Million mile warranty.
No more carpark dings (I'll be clear bra-ing the whole truck as stainless still scratches - have a look at your kitchen sink)
No clear coat peeling and PITA washing using expensive products
No servicing
Air suspension (I've wanted air suspension for Sooooo long - mostly to make loading easier)
4W independent suspension with adjustable dampers (most pick ups sold here ride on cart springs with drum brakes)
Crazy acceleration
6.5' bed is not great but with a tail gate extender should be fine really. Built in ramp is genius (can possibly be driven this way?)
NO wheel arches in the tray!
Hopefully has a frunk for shopping while the back is full of tools
Talk of onboard solar adding 15 miles/day range
Onboard A/C
Usual Tesla stuff like Sentry, self driving, cooling cab while parked after a hot day of work(this alone is almost worth the spend) etc
The model S is still current, if you'd bought an ICE when those came out you'd be 2-3 generations old by now. This is likely the last car/truck I'll ever need to buy, so if they keep making them forever it's a big plus.
Summon mode will get it into my garage even if the doors might not open.
I'm upgrading my solar array so fuel will be close to 'free', no more hypermiling

I thought the styling was a joke at first too, but:

-I'm an 80's kid so I love wedgie shapes, it will go great with my silver 84 Celica rally car on a trailer.
-The somewhat home built look means less than perfect DIY mods are OK - I agree I think it needs Countach fender flares
-I once acquired a van I always thought hideous - a few personal touches and it really grew on me

To me it's a sort of spiritual successor to the 2CV, Beetle et al- nail the design brief and worry about how it looks later -both considered ugly when new.

I'm going to downsize my collection of seven cars to just 2-3, because I think the Cybertruck will be that flexible. Air up the suspension add 37" tyres and go mudding. Air down, add low profile rubber and go to the track. My racking fitout will go along the front wall of the bed, floor to ceiling, with smaller shelves either side, all on wheels for easy conversion to a play truck. Could possibly gut the rear seat area for more tool storage.

The only down side I can see is that it's a bit big for our roads, but it's only slightly bigger than my van, but that's OK as it should be parking ding proof. If you're going to tow a lot range might be marginal - the tri-motor would be handy there.
__________________







Last edited by oldtamiyaphile; 12-01-2019 at 09:51 AM..
  Reply With Quote
The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to oldtamiyaphile For This Useful Post:
aerohead (12-02-2019), freebeard (12-01-2019), ME_Andy (12-01-2019), NeilBlanchard (12-02-2019), thingstodo (12-01-2019)