Probably allow some fresh air to pass into the interior, as well as divert some air to assist in cooling brakes and cooling batteries.
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Tesla Model 3 will be revealed on March 31st
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Probably allow some fresh air to pass into the interior, as well as divert some air to assist in cooling brakes and cooling batteries.
That ridge does feel like a vestige of a grille. It will probably disappear in the next model, lol.
BTW. GM's EV1 had no nothing.
Now that's an ugly car!
SlickShoesRUCrazy
Member
That matte black one is hot! I want one!
Shogmaster
Member
Have some respect. That was the very first modern production electric car. Historic car.
I like the silhouette and body lines. /shrug
Idk I will wait to see it in person. I was not a fan of the latest Miata design till I actually saw one in person.
They pushed the cabin forward for more room. No need for extra space to stop an engine from entering the cabin.
shinshoryuken
Member
What?? There nothing new looking about that proportion. Most hatch has wheel pushed out the edge. There is nothing ground breaking at all..
It is undoubtedly a placeholder. Someone else pointed out this was how it was with a previous model. A barebones interior with a tacked on tablet.
DirtyManos
Member
Hrm. Think it's a pretty safe design honestly from the outside. Good enough I guess, for the $35k range. However, I think once you get to the 40k and 50k range, the car starts to feel a lot less enticing when comparing it to the competition.
On Jalopnik's ride along, the man driving the car (who said he was an engineer in charge of something or other) said the car is what they're exactly aiming to put out. So yeah no dash, and the interior will look at least highly similar.
As far as performance, I've never liked the 0-60 thing being the only info put out. So your car is fast in a straight line, great so are camaro's etc; I want to know how it handles, does it have adaptive suspension, etc etc.
But with the lack of details, I'm guessing it'll be a while till we hear anything about those things.
Did they say anything about what trim level the model shown was? Was that the base model or one with options?
On Jalopnik's ride along, the man driving the car (who said he was an engineer in charge of something or other) said the car is what they're exactly aiming to put out. So yeah no dash, and the interior will look at least highly similar.
As far as performance, I've never liked the 0-60 thing being the only info put out. So your car is fast in a straight line, great so are camaro's etc; I want to know how it handles, does it have adaptive suspension, etc etc.
But with the lack of details, I'm guessing it'll be a while till we hear anything about those things.
Did they say anything about what trim level the model shown was? Was that the base model or one with options?
Shogmaster
Member
Dude, the C pillar/rear quarter window goes well BEHIND the rear wheel. Show me another car like that. Go ahead.
Someone asked about FWD and RWD models. In this periscope video
https://www.periscope.tv/w/1dRKZyRkpgNxB
the dude mentions that they will have 'RWD and dual mtor (AWD) models'. So that's great, too. No poxy FWD model, setting it further apart from similar sized vehicles.
Incidentally, the video gives a decent impression of the interior space. The same dude also mentions that they are 'quote close, but still with a lot of work to do' with regard to this car being the production car.
https://www.periscope.tv/w/1dRKZyRkpgNxB
the dude mentions that they will have 'RWD and dual mtor (AWD) models'. So that's great, too. No poxy FWD model, setting it further apart from similar sized vehicles.
Incidentally, the video gives a decent impression of the interior space. The same dude also mentions that they are 'quote close, but still with a lot of work to do' with regard to this car being the production car.
Shogmaster
Member
FWD is not an option because of the torque steer problems.
Oh I knew that (among the other reasons why), I just recalled someone asking about it earlier in the thread and I caught the dude mentioning it in that video just now
That's great, talks a little bit about the dash, including the A/C and the screen.
Unknown Soldier
Member
Yeah, with the exception of lacking a visible mouth, the design looks very much like any hatchback car I've seen for decades. They are playing it very safe with the overall design since the 3 is their mass-market play instead of the boutique S and X models. If you saw this thing on the road and didn't immediately notice it lacking a grill, it would look like the Honda Civic and Ford Focus right behind it. For $50-60k you're probably expecting something that looks more like a BMW or Lexus.
Of course they are already up to 130,000 preorders after that announcement so I don't think they're going to have any issues selling the car at all, unless a lot of people cancel their preorders between now and late 2017. Elon has a lot of work to do now, because Tesla hasn't even sold a total of 130,000 cars thus far in the company's existence and he's already got another 130,000 orders lined up. Better hope that Gigafactory really works out and fast.
That was my first reaction to the pictures as well. Not what I experienced when first seeing the S.
Not an engineer, but why would 2 independent motors driving the front wheels produce torque steer?
I would think traction would be a problem with the available torque, but I thought the torque steer problem of FWD cars was because of traverse mounted engines.
jellies_two
Member
Except one key category.
Delivery date.
Model 3: "first deliveries by end of 2017" (nervous laugh from Elon)
Bolt: orders taken late 2016 for 2017 (little reason to expect they won't manage it)
Glass Shark
Banned
I will have this car.
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
I love it. Now to sell drugs to afford it.
Marty Chinn
Member
Does that mean the sun is going to beat down on you in the daytime? Or do they have a mechanism to block the light?
yeah that's crazy. I wish more cars had a design like this. Would have been really to have this back when I was kid when visiting big cities during night time and such.
shinshoryuken
Member
Once again..what???
The bwm x6 has a similar back..
Seriously there's nothing ground breaking with the design. It's a safe design...it's a freaking hatch.
NoPiece
Member
I appreciate that an electric car doesn't need a "mouth" to cool the engine, so a fake grill just for looks would be lame. The issue with the design is that it looks like there is a space for a grill, and it is just missing. That's why it evokes Neo from the Matrix - there is a clearly defined space where a grill normally should go, and it is disturbingly empty. The design flaw isn't the missing grill, it is the shape of the nose that looks like the grill fell off. Even the presence of a front license plate might mitigate the emptiness a bit, but it just feels wrong.
Look at the Alpha spider - no grill, no big air intakes, no problem.
Look at the Alpha spider - no grill, no big air intakes, no problem.
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
That they proceeded to destroy.
titiklabingapat
Member
Do those things go dark by any chance?
People talking about it needing a grille sound so ridiculous.
This is an EV. It does not need a grill.
It lacking a grille is like someone who wore glasses all it's life and suddenly took them off. Sure it'll take some time before you'll adjust to the new look but you will. Demanding that they slap a fake grille on there just so it fits your idea of a car better is incredibly backwards. That's like saying that all phones today still need a 10-button keypad because that's what they all had at one point and it would look weird without.
Well fuck that. These EV's are undoubtedly the future we're heading towards so you best get used to exterior styling that does not directly adhere to current fossil fuel car standards. To me, it's one of the most appealing things about the car, honestly. I wish they went more radical with their design.
This I can somewhat agree with. They went halfway and left a grille-shaped square which is probably causing people to say something is missing.
This is an EV. It does not need a grill.
It lacking a grille is like someone who wore glasses all it's life and suddenly took them off. Sure it'll take some time before you'll adjust to the new look but you will. Demanding that they slap a fake grille on there just so it fits your idea of a car better is incredibly backwards. That's like saying that all phones today still need a 10-button keypad because that's what they all had at one point and it would look weird without.
Well fuck that. These EV's are undoubtedly the future we're heading towards so you best get used to exterior styling that does not directly adhere to current fossil fuel car standards. To me, it's one of the most appealing things about the car, honestly. I wish they went more radical with their design.
This I can somewhat agree with. They went halfway and left a grille-shaped square which is probably causing people to say something is missing.
Hmmm, close, but not quite. Though the X6 is obviously an SUV and a competitor to the X, not the 3. The X6 - like many, if not most other cars (including the svelte XE) - has that rear quarter panel stop short of going over the rear axle:
It's very slight.
I think NoPiece just articulated the issue very well.
It isn't the fact a grill isn't present that is the problem aesthetically. I mean if you are abandoning a grill then go all out and embrace it and do something beautiful aesthetically. A number of past cars have made a beautiful front end without inserting a grill.
Another good analogy.
NoPiece
Member
This is the worst of both worlds - a smartphone where they made space for a keypad, and then left it off without adjusting the design. I think you are right a more radical nose design would have been better.
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
When can I get a Tesla minivan?
I think it went through, finally.
AstroNut325
Member
I firmly believe that the big auto makers are secretly trying to sabotage EV adoption by purposely designing their EVs to look like absolute sh!t. It's amazing how badly the Model 3 spanks all other competing EVs except the higher models offered by Tesla themselves!
Unknown Soldier
Member
Can someone explain to me why there is a car named the Chevy Volt today and an upcoming car named the Chevy Bolt? Does Chevy even know what their existing cars are named when they name new ones?
I wonder if pedestrian safety or "frunk" space was a consideration for the nose.
Even though I'm probably not going to buy one this shit is pretty exciting. I kind of feel like Elon is this generations Howard Hughes. Minus the reclusion and paranioa (although maybe that will come later).
Even though I'm probably not going to buy one this shit is pretty exciting. I kind of feel like Elon is this generations Howard Hughes. Minus the reclusion and paranioa (although maybe that will come later).
motherxwolf
Member
man i want to get one of these but i'm going to wait because i'm sure someone will break into it as soon as i get it
I think it'd be really hard to meet pedestrian impact standards with a nose like that.
anonymous_abc
Member
Personally I'm waiting for the electric pickup the Chevy Colt, but my around town car will be the Chevy Jolt minivan with the kids.
kaname-san
Member
I hate that there's nothing behind the steering wheel. An ugly exterior I can live with, but you can't ignore that grotesque interior when you're driving the thing. It's not a good look.
Eh, its something that would sound clever to a marketer
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
I really want a good electric motorcycle.
Dreams-Visions
Member
what's the ETA for this model?
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