SoCal LEAF & EV Gathering, Y8 - End - 18 Aug 2018

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See you all tomorrow morning at the Golden Corral.

Mid to late morning, I will present a Holiday Wreath to the GC manager,
and hopefully they will use it as part of their decorations.
 
Lost or misplaced my 5-15P to L6-20R pigtail adapter. Anyone got one lying around that they want to sell?

I should be at the meeting this Saturday.
 
For those in our group who are very interested in seeing and possibly driving a Tesla Model 3 as soon as possible, I have a possible opportunity for you, though it is admittedly quite inconvenient.

There is a Model 3 being driven on a cross country road trip, stopping at Superchargers and offering test drives for a fee that covers some of his expenses. The fee is envisioned to be $10 to $20, but the owner is giving priority to those offering the larger fees.

Locally, the tour is planning to stop at the Fountain Valley Supercharger on Saturday, Dec 23. Strangely, though, the stop may be late at night, like 11 pm. I have RSVPd for an opportunity to test drive the car.

Here are some details. A young man from the Bay Area called You You Xue (pronounced Yo Yo) is taking delivery of his Model 3 this week, probably by today, Wednesday Dec 20. He has planned a long road trip with the Model 3 from the Bay Area across the country and back again, visiting several parts of Canada as well as cities in the USA. His purpose is to celebrate his new Model 3 and to spread the word about electric cars and Tesla in particular. Tesla is not involved and is not sponsoring him.

You You has set up a Facebook page for the Road Trip, and it is on that Facebook page where you can RSVP to test drive the car.

Here is a link to the Facebook page for the Road Trip.
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=842475039257300&ref=content_filter

EDIT: The actual meet-up times are apparently fluid and will be updated as the tour progresses, i,e. while they are driving between locations. The updates will be on the Facebook page on the event for each stop.
 
I missed seeing Boomer's Model 3 Notice of Opportunity, but I have related news:

A week ago I confirmed at the Tesla showroom in the Brea Mall that they have an employee who owns a Model 3, which is parked at the Mall's HPWC when he is working, typically weekends.

However, I have bigger news: One of our regular long term Breakfast Club attendees received an email from Santa Claus, cleverly disguised as coming from Tesla, inviting him to Configure, converting his Model 3 Reservation to an Order. After consultation with his wife, and a fortuitous chance to briefly sit in a Model 3 he saw at a Tesla SC (owned by a real customer, not an employee), they placed the order this past Friday, with delivery expected in 4 weeks. Of course he will bring it to a breakfast as soon as possible.

Happy Holidays, everyone.
 
I, too, received my configure email Saturday and will be converting it in to an order...

tbleakne said:
One of our regular long term Breakfast Club attendees received an email from Santa Claus, cleverly disguised as coming from Tesla, inviting him to Configure, converting his Model 3 Reservation to an Order.
 
Great news on all fronts!

For my part, I did indeed meet the amazing young man in the flying Model 3 at close to 1 am on Saturday night, the 23rd. I was among a group of about 15 excited enthusiasts.

After almost flying down Rt 5 at 85 mph at times (verified by the gps tracker he has on the car) the young man arrived at 12:40 pm. After a few introductions and verification of IDs of those like me who had requested a test drive, I got a ten minute drive on empty streets near the Fountain Valley SC.

I was very pleased with the car. Interior materials on this Premium Upgrade Car were excellent, soft touch suedes and high quality plastics. The screen is highly visible, with high contrast graphics. I was disconcerted by the blank space where an instrument panel should be, and by the fact that the owner likes to see km/h displayed, so that I was registering 100 after one acceleration run.

I floored it one time and I wasn’t amazed at the power, but we had 4 adults on board, so an extra 450 to 500 pounds of weight.

I loved the size of the car and the responsiveness to steering inputs. After the test drive, I have no doubt that I’ll place an order as soon as I get the chance.

My misgivings are the following:
A. That the driver must use the touch screen for everything from adjusting wiper speed to adjusting Autopilot speed settings. Though I know I’ll get used to the single screen, looking away from the road for these frequently needed settings is unnecessarily distracting.
B. Visibility to the rear and rear corners is obstructed by the car’s rear pillar structure, the fixed rear headrests and the small vertical height of the rear glass area.
C. Compounding the above, apparently the rear camera is of less than desirable resolution, has a fisheye effect, and can be laggy (I forgot to check this out for myself). And because of the size and orientation of the instrument panel, you can’t keep the rear camera view and the nav screen up at the same time like you can on Model s and X.
 
Boomer, thanks for your great Model 3 report. Showing up after Midnight takes real dedication.

I am glad interior materials looked good. The person whom I reported on said the front seat was quite comfortable. I would not want to go back to a seat as uncomfortable as the LEAF which was intolerable for long drives.

I agree distraction of center console display is a concern. There is no display at all behind the steering wheel? How do you read your speed?
The Model S has two thumb wheels on each side of the steering wheel that give you two selectable controls that you can adjust by feel without your eyes leaving the road. I use the right one for fan speed and for hanging up phone calls.

Does M3 have voice response ? I use it to set up new GPS routes and very rarely only when necessary to initiate calls while driving.

The most annoying and risky interaction I make with the center console is turning A/C on or off. This step requires 3 touches. Only the last one, to close the pop-up window, can be done without your eyes leaving the road.

Other adjustments, such as turning seat heating on/off, are in fixed positions at the bottom of the screen. I have considered the following possible mitigation: Install a finger board along the bottom of the screen with indentations below each of the fixed touch positions on the screen. With this it should be possible to locate at initiate an action without ones eyes leaving the road. Does the M3 user interface have such possibilities ?
 
Hi tbleakne. Thanks for your comments.

The Model 3 has two thumbwheels on the steering wheel that can also be pushed as buttons, and I think also pushed side to side like joysticks. They can currently be used to adjust the side mirrors, the steering wheel position, and a few other minor functions. I would prefer that they could also control the fan speed, the car’s speed in AP, the audio volume, the windshield wiper speed, and others.

Model 3 lacks windshield wiper speed control on a stalk, you must currently use the touchscreen for this. Imagine doing that while driving in heavy rain when you need full attention on the road. Model 3 lacks AP speed control on a stalk or steering wheel. You must use the touchscreen for this also.

Voice commands work on the Model 3, I believe, for music selection, navigation and making phone calls.

Model 3 does appear to have fixed positions on the screen for similar functions to the S. And yes, a finger board for touch feel sounds like an excellent idea.
 
I'm supposedly picking up my Model 3 today in Fremont. If that works out, I'll bring it to the gathering.
 
Sparky brought his one-day old Model 3 to yesterday's EV Gathering,
and we got lots of pictures, including the standard 18" wheels with the
aerodynamic wheel covers on, and with the covers off. The M3 is
easier for me to get into, and out of, when the seat is all the way down.
In the excitement, I forgot to try the rear seats. With two stalks and
3-way roller buttons on the smaller steering wheel, to compliment
the nice landscape display screen, sufficiently satisfactory control
should be possible, even though some functions currently require
interaction with the screen. The rear-view mirror, when parked,
seems to be just a mirror, but it could have other functions.
Enjoyed by all, Thanks Tom.

Robert picked up his Midnight Metallic Blue Model 3 Saturday afternoon,
so we are likely to see two Model 3's at the next Gathering at the
Hometown Buffet in Santa Ana on Jan 20, 2018.
 
For those that wish to plan ahead, my suggested EV Gatherings:
(please expose errors or make suggestions)

------ 101st month Gatherings ------
Gathering #101a: 5 Jan 2019 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #101b: 19 Jan 2019 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 100th month Gatherings ------
Gathering #100a: 1 Dec 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #100b: 15 Dec 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 99th month Gatherings ------
Gathering #99a: 3 Nov 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #99b: 17 Nov 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 98th month Gatherings ------
Gathering #98a: 6 Oct 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #98b: 20 Oct 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 97th month Gatherings ------
Gathering #97a: 8 Sep 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #97b: 22 Sep 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 96th month Gatherings ------
Gathering #96a: 4 Aug 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #96b: 18 Aug 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 95th month Gatherings ------
Gathering #95a: 7 Jul 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #95b: 21 Jul 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 94th month Gatherings ------
Gathering #94a: 2 Jun 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #94b: 23 Jun 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 93rd month Gatherings ------
Gathering #93a: 5 May 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #93b: 19 May 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 92nd month Gatherings ------
Gathering #92a: 7 Apr 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #92b: 21 Apr 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 91st month Gatherings ------
Gathering #91a: 10 Mar 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #91b: 24 Mar 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 90th month Gatherings ------
Gathering #90a: 10 Feb 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #90b: 24 Feb 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.

------ 89th month Gatherings ------
Gathering #89a: 6 Jan 2018 at Golden Corral in City of Industry for breakfast.
Gathering #89b: 20 Jan 2018 at the HTB on 17th in Santa Ana for breakfast.
 
Wacky Warning:
A special Breakfast Potluck is likely to occur on Sunday, March 4th, 2018.

More details to follow,
Let us know if you would be likely to attend.

1. Garygid x2 MS85
2.
 
Put me down for Sunday Mar 4 potluck. Most probably just me, but I will extend invitation to my Riverside friend, who possibly could arrange to attend with me. I think she would enjoy the group.

I have been following the progress of Elon's Next Big Thing, the Falcon 9 Heavy, 3X Falcon 9s strapped together. This week this "BFR" has been raised to vertical several times at the Cape, but the static test firing of all 27 engines was scrubbed yesterday, Friday, reportedly because of a faulty hold-down clamp. Largest rocket since Saturn 5 Moon rocket. Stay tuned. You can check progress at several sites:

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/01/13/time-lapse-video-the-falcon-heavy-goes-vertical-again/

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-first-static-fire-test-cape-canaveral-scrubbed/
 
Looks like we have the beginning of a good time. :)
I'll post more in few weeks. Hoping to see some old faces, and some new ones. All EVers welcome. An award will go to the EV with the highest odo ... don't know yet what that award will be, but it will be of great 'value'. :cool:

garygid said:
Wacky Warning:
A special Breakfast Potluck is likely to occur on Sunday, March 4th, 2018.

More details to follow,
Let us know if you would be likely to attend.
1. Garygid x2 MS85
2. Boomer (1-2)
3. TBleakne (1-2)
4.
5.
 
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