shrink wrote:There was a claim that a car "Better than the Model S" was in development.
That's quite a jump from an Infiniti LE with a LEAF's 24kWh fast degrading battery and even more pathetically short range !!! (the car that I called the Nissan-Slow-Train-Wreck(TM))
Since we know Nissan folks read this, let me make a few suggestions:
1. Build an Infiniti G37 type EV that can be a sedan/saloon car, a coupe or a convertible. This is not currently offered by Tesla, and doesn't appear to be on their short term radar. My wife doesn't want to give up her Infiniti G37 convertible for a Tesla anything!!!
2. Don't try and compete head to head with Tesla Model S or X, and future Model E; I think you'll lose. The good news is any other EV competition is still mostly clueless, catering to increasing CARB-ZEV demands with minimum efforts and performance. I believe they will remain clueless for the next 5 to 10 years, so there is that going for you. Plus, the Model S will get better, so you're shooting at a moving target. I believe they will have a 2.9 second 0-60mph Model S car with all wheel drive in 3-4 years, that will go 350 miles and can be driven coast to coast easily. Good luck.
3. If you think the Nissan battery games from the LEAF won't haunt you, guess again. The consumer already knows that Tesla batteries will survive heat, and a future G37 battery would have only talk... the same talk that we heard last summer about the LEAF battery not being affected by heat and rapid degradation. Good luck there.
4. Any competitor to the Tesla products must have a robust quick recharging / battery swapping capability. My advice;
buy into the Tesla Supercharger network. I will gladly pay the $1500 - $2500 for "free for life" recharging that I can use anywhere in North America. If you think I want to go to a Nissan / Infiniti dealer for a charge, guess again. I don't want to beg for a fob, ask permission, fight with for-sale ICE cars in the spots, not open 24 hours, and don't want a leering salesman around. That's the current Nissan CHAdeMO model in the USA.
5. There is no reason Nissan can't build a better mouse trap, but the committee process of Nissan is not a match for a driven, ambitious, make-it-happen, autocratic guy like Elon Musk. He will eventually move on to other things, but I recommend finding
that guy in your company and putting him in charge of that future car, with a budget to make it happen.