Congratulations to Bill Dube and Scotty Pollacheck on a new NEDRA world record, set last weekend at Bandimere Speedway.
Seven point eight six seconds and 169 mph on battery power. Every time someone says electric vehicles are slow golf carts, this is the run to show them. The bike pairs A123 lithium cells with a Zilla Z2K controller, and the combination keeps rewriting what we thought was possible.
A short montage from the Power of DC autocross, held last weekend.
Tesla Roadsters, a Mini E and a handful of home-built conversions took turns on the cones. Autocross rewards instant torque and a low center of gravity, and that is exactly what an electric drivetrain gives you.
Tesla Roadster vs Tesla Roadster at Pacific Raceways on 8/7/09.
Five Roadsters showed up for test-and-tune night. Hearing nothing but tire noise at the start line still feels strange, and the crowd at the fence was clearly curious about it. Pictures and video from the night are coming.
The Wayland Invitational IV: everyone recharging at the EV Juice Bar before heading to the track on Saturday, July 25th.
Picture a driveway full of extension cords, charging cables and electric cars of every kind, with everyone swapping stories while the batteries top off. That's the EV community at its best.
At the Wayland Invitational IV, Killacycle rider Scotty Pollacheck had some time late Saturday evening, so I handed him the keys to my 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport (553). It was about 75% charged and fully warmed up in Performance mode.
He made two runs: 12.643 and 12.715. NEDRA needs a backup run within 1% to certify a record, so the 12.643 stands. We submitted it for the SP/A3 class, which is where the Roadsters are classified.
Video of me in the Roadster Sport 553 (right lane) against another Tesla at the Wayland Invitational Electric Drag Races on 7/25/09.
My reaction time came in at .014 and my best quarter mile was 12.82 seconds. I'm still a novice at launching the car, so I expect those times to drop with practice.
Thirty Tesla Roadsters on the road together for the first annual rally. Not one tailpipe in the bunch.
The first ever Tesla Roadster Road Rally: more than forty electric cars driving in a convoy.
Imagine just running into that on an ordinary afternoon. It's a glimpse of what the road could look like once we're off oil.
Here is a first look at the interior of a 2010 Tesla Roadster, VIN #501, fitted with the Executive Leather package.
This is an engineering car, not a customer car, and it was still a glider waiting for its drivetrain in Menlo Park. Check out the contrast stitching, the new center console, push-button shifting and the glove box.
Project Better Place has released a video of its battery swap station. I think the business model has serious problems.
If I leave my garage every morning with a full battery from a 110V or 220V outlet, I might need a swap twice a year. A network of swap stations needs land, buildings, machinery and spare battery packs, and it would sit idle most of the time.
On top of that, every manufacturer would have to agree on a common pack, or every station would have to stock them all. The closer you look, the more it resembles hydrogen: a solution in search of a problem.
