SoCal LEAF & EV Gathering, Y7 - Finished - 19 Aug 2017

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I'm mostly settled on
220 mile battery
PUP
AP

$44k before tax credits.
If I feel cheap I'll skip the PUP, but I really, really, like the glass roof. Enclosed spaces has never been my cup of tea.
 
GRA said:
Is there any indication the Model 3 offers a built-in sliding sunshade, or will people be dependent on some sort of cheap afterthought band-aid of a sunshade as has happened in the past?
Here's the answer - band-aid it is: https://shop.tesla.com/us/en/produc...l-3-glass-roof-sunshade.html?sku=1135832-00-A
Note that this only covers the front section of the roof, over the driver and front passenger (just the rear pano roof section is shown in the photo above, presumably taken with a fish-eye lens). I assume there will also be a shade for the rear section, but it isn't offered yet. It amazes me that Tesla can charge $5k for a Premium interior upgrade, and not offer a sliding sunshade option (w/wo power) for both parts for those who want it, when cars costing far less have offered them. It just seems like they were an afterthought without any real effort being put into it.
 
GRA: the glass is tinted to block most of the IR and enough of the visible light to make it comfortable for most without anything further.
 
SageBrush said:
GRA: the glass is tinted to block most of the IR and enough of the visible light to make it comfortable for most without anything further.
If it's anything like the glass roof (the "panoramic roof") on our Model S, then we'll be quite satisfied as is. We love that our pano roof lets in light and makes the cabin feel more open. We've driven the Model S across the Mojave Desert and up the Owens Valley in 110F / 43C temperatures with the sun blazing, and no complaints from anyone.

To us, getting the PUP (Premium Options Package) on the Model 3 is a no-brainer, for the fog lights and nicer interior in addition to the glass roof. And the power adjustable seats with individual driver profiles are really convenient when you have multiple drivers who vary considerably in body size/proportions. The upgraded sound system is another nice bonus, though not something we'd have added a la carte.

Here's what we're thinking we'll order when the time comes:
- Long range battery (+$9K)
- PUP (+$5K)
- Exterior color silver (+$1K) or Pearl White (+$1.5K)
- Dual motors (+ ~$3-5K)
- Enhanced AutoPilot (+$5K)

It seems sensible to not order FSD (Full Self Driving) and then pay a bit more to turn it on later, as it could be a few years or longer before the software and regulations truly enable this capability. On the other hand, I feel that pre-paying for FSD could give us the greatest possible leverage in terms of expecting Tesla to perform any hardware retrofits that may end up being necessary to make FSD work. It'll be interesting to see how much progress Tesla makes toward autonomy by the time we're able to order next year.

We tend to keep our cars for a while, so it's super that the Model 3 (and new S and X vehicles) are relatively future-proof.

Can you tell that I'm excited about the prospect of our whole family up here in the SoCal mountains going completely ICE-free?
 
SageBrush said:
GRA: the glass is tinted to block most of the IR and enough of the visible light to make it comfortable for most without anything further.
Which is beside the point for those who want/need a sunshade, which Tesla recognizes by offering one (and presumably the other part eventually), but doesn't speak to my point. If you're going to offer a sunshade to those people, why make it so rinky-dink when far better designs which are more in keeping with the car's design aesthetic and price tag are available?
 
Tonight's episode 5 of the new TV series Salvation features a de-badged Tesla Model X, carefully showing off the rear seat wing-doors raised/open even when people are only getting in or out of the front seats. The interior shot of the dashboard shows the 17" touchscreen. At about 26 minutes into the episode, where they show the vehicle accelerating to "chase" the bad guy, they dubbed in gas-car type acceleration (increasing engine rpm) sounds.

Has there been any mention of buying the Model 3's $5k AP and $3k FAD options at a later time, to save money now, and then activate those features later?

Without the AP option, does the Model 3 have any form of Cruise Control at all?

See you Saturday, in about 32 hours.
 
GRA said:
SageBrush said:
GRA: the glass is tinted to block most of the IR and enough of the visible light to make it comfortable for most without anything further.
Which is beside the point for those who want/need a sunshade, which Tesla recognizes by offering one (and presumably the other part eventually), but doesn't speak to my point. If you're going to offer a sunshade to those people, why make it so rinky-dink when far better designs which are more in keeping with the car's design aesthetic and price tag are available?
Because they find they do not "need" it, and the rinky-dink part sits unused.
Much better that way than to invest the R&D required for a spiffy part that is expensive and then rarely bought and even less often used.
 
SageBrush said:
GRA said:
SageBrush said:
GRA: the glass is tinted to block most of the IR and enough of the visible light to make it comfortable for most without anything further.
Which is beside the point for those who want/need a sunshade, which Tesla recognizes by offering one (and presumably the other part eventually), but doesn't speak to my point. If you're going to offer a sunshade to those people, why make it so rinky-dink when far better designs which are more in keeping with the car's design aesthetic and price tag are available?
Because they find they do not "need" it, and the rinky-dink part sits unused.
Much better that way than to invest the R&D required for a spiffy part that is expensive and then rarely bought and even less often used.
Seems like it would work the other way, for a rinky-dink afterthought - most people would only choose to buy it after finding they need it, whereas a retracting sunshade would most likely be built-into the car. It's not as if Tesla doens't bundle unwanted options with desired ones: having to pay $5k for A/P just to get ACC being a case in point.
 
GRA said:
SageBrush said:
GRA said:
Which is beside the point for those who want/need a sunshade, which Tesla recognizes by offering one (and presumably the other part eventually), but doesn't speak to my point. If you're going to offer a sunshade to those people, why make it so rinky-dink when far better designs which are more in keeping with the car's design aesthetic and price tag are available?
Because they find they do not "need" it, and the rinky-dink part sits unused.
Much better that way than to invest the R&D required for a spiffy part that is expensive and then rarely bought and even less often used.
Seems like it would work the other way, for a rinky-dink afterthought - most people would only choose to buy it after finding they need it, whereas a retracting sunshade would most likely be built-into the car. It's not as if Tesla doens't bundle unwanted options with desired ones: having to pay $5k for A/P just to get ACC being a case in point.
That makes it much worse -- force everybody to pay for a part that few care about.
 
SageBrush said:
GRA said:
SageBrush said:
Because they find they do not "need" it, and the rinky-dink part sits unused.
Much better that way than to invest the R&D required for a spiffy part that is expensive and then rarely bought and even less often used.
Seems like it would work the other way, for a rinky-dink afterthought - most people would only choose to buy it after finding they need it, whereas a retracting sunshade would most likely be built-into the car. It's not as if Tesla doens't bundle unwanted options with desired ones: having to pay $5k for A/P just to get ACC being a case in point.
That makes it much worse -- force everybody to pay for a part that few care about.
Sure it's worse assuming that it can't be added afterwards, but that's exactly what every automaker (including Tesla) does, to boost their profit margin. The ideal would be to offer it and every other option a la carte.
 
Good turnout and conversation at EV Breakfast yesterday, Aug 5. In addition to all the discussion about Model 3, there was quite a bit of interest in the Eclipse Mon Aug 21. Jason is going to OR, Sparky, Mark Z, and myself are going to ID. May we all have good clear weather, clouds not allowed.

At the previous breakfast, talking about the eclipse, some opinion was expressed that the Earth's axial rotation was the dominant factor in the speed that the Moon's shadow moves across the country. I was skeptical, so I put on my physicist's hat. My calculations are rough, taking some approximations to keep math simple and avoid 3D vectors which are hard to visualize:

R, lunar orbital radius = .238 10^6 miles
2 Pi R, orbital circumference, = 1.50 10^6 miles

We choose a reference frame centered on the Earth-Moon system, so we can ignore their common motion about the sun, which is almost 100 10^6 miles/hr relative to the Sun. One Lunar month, new Full Moon to next Full Moon, is called the Synodic Period.

T = (Lunar Synodic Period = 29.5 days) * (30 * 24 = 720 hrs/mo) = 708 hrs
Lunar contribution to shadow speed = 2 Pi R/T = 2,120 mi/hr.

Earth rotational speed at Equator = 24.5 10^3 miles/24 hrs = 1,037 mph.

If we look down on the system at Eclipse from above the North pole, we see the Sun, Moon and Earth all in a line, with both the Moon's orbital motion and the Earth's rotation counterclockwise. Note, at this time, the Earth's spin and Moon's motion are in the same approximate direction, so the Earth's spin reduces the speed at which the Moon's shadow moves across the surface. We apply some correction factors to both speeds:

Because the Earth is farther from the Sun than the Moon at a New Moon, the speed of the Lunar shadow is amplified by the ratio of their distances (in 10^6 miles):
(98 + .25)/98 but we can ignore this.

The local latitude determines how far one is away from the Earth's axis, and hence how much speed you have from the spin. It does not affect the Lunar speed. Latitude(Rexburg, ID) = 44 deg,
Cos(44 deg) = .72

Finally, there is the local time of day. If the sun is not directly overhead, the shadow will be elongated by its projection on the surface, an enlargement of 1/Cos(angle from zenith). The speed of the shadow along the surface will be affected by east-west tilt, but not north-south tilt.

In Idaho, Eclipse Totality is at 11:30 am MDT, 10:30 MST, 1.5 hrs before Noon.
Cos( 360 * (1.5/24) = 22 deg ) = .92
This factor reduces the spin speed while amplifying the lunar speed.

Putting these all together, we have:

Net speed of shadow measured along Earth's surface =
Moon's contribution - Earth spin contribution
= (2,120/Cos(22)) - (1,037 * Cos(44) * Cos(22)) =

2304 - 687 = 1620 mph

Again, this is only approximate, since the angles interact somewhat, but it gives the idea.
 
We had 15 bodies attending at the Golden Corral, with lots of good conversations.
Some people arrive around 8, others mid morning.

If anyone has difficulty with transportation, please let us know, and we can try
to find some ride-sharing arrangement that might be useful.

Our next Gathering is on the 19th of August, at the Hometown Buffet on 17th
in Santa Ana.
 
Note: This coming Aug 19th, the HTB Gathering will be the last in our 7th
year of Gatherings. Three weeks later, skipping the holiday weekend on
September 2nd, we begin our 8th year of Gatherings on Sep 9th at the GC.
 
You don't have to skip Sep 2 to get your EV fix!!!

Our Grand Opening of operations in California will be Saturday, 2 Sept 2017 from 12 noon to 4pm.

Rain or shine!!!

Bring your Electric Vehicle (EV) and a printed copy of the Eventbrite ticket (linked below) to be entered to win hourly drawings.

Please park EVs only in the alley behind our shop. Gasoline powered cars, please park in front.

Live music, beer and food on site. This event is in conjunction with Stumblefoot Brewing Co. and EV West.

Quick Charge Power LLC
1780-104 La Costa Meadows Drive
San Marcos, CA 92078

760-798-0342
844-EV-PARTS

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grand-opening-quick-charge-power-llc-tickets-36888481441

Thanks,

Tony Williams
 
We are up to 75 registered. Food, booze, music, and EVs

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grand-opening-quick-charge-power-llc-tickets-36888481441?aff=eiosprexshreclip&ref=eiosprexshreclip
 
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