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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Minivan all the way!  We have a 15 y.o odyssey and I test drove a bunch of SUVs to replace it.  Nothing comes close in terms of interior space relative to the exterior dimensions.

Also, jumping onto the Tesla debate, my general advice for people is to look at the value proposition.  Cost per mile over 5 or 7 years (or however long you think you'll keep the car) as well as convenience.  I think the Tesla fails on both counts.  I know it goes from 0-60 in 2 or 3 seconds (or something along those lines).. But I don't plan on being the getaway driver in a bank robbery anytime soon, so don't really care about that metric..

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You are completely missing the point of electric vehicles.  I don't care that it accelerates quickly.  The freaking planet is on *fire*.  Continuing to prioritize your convenience and comfort over global warming is pretty indefensible.[/quote]

A vehicle powered by electricity that is generated by burning fossil fuels.  Cutting out the middleman and just driving a car powered by actual fossil fuels is arguably better for the environment. [/quote]

I've always wondered about this aspect of Teslas - when people say they buy them for the enviro benefits, not the luxury car-ness. The real climate activists I know either don't drive or drive hybrids, which to me make more sense. But I must admit I don't really know all that much; I'm perfectly happy in my regular ol' car.[/quote]

I am a "never-Tesla" car guy, though I am a huge fan of Elon Musk and Tesla as a company. The products they make are just not for me even though I see that they are awesome and well made products.

In terms of energy efficiency, there is no question that Tesla is better than traditional cars in this regard. The energy conversion efficiency for a fossil fuel power plant is about 40%. There is about a 10% loss in the transmission, and a further 10% loss in a Tesla vehicle, so we get about 32% final efficiency when driving a Tesla. This compared to about 20% efficiency of the typical modern internal combusion engine gasoline car.

This is before considering the fact that the electrical grid can be fed from a variety of other sources, including hydro, wind, solar, and nuclear power plants. There is no question that a Tesla is good for the environment in terms of energy efficiency.

As to who buys Teslas - it's typically a working professional or small business owner who likes technolgy and is otherwise not a car guy. To these people, a Tesla checks a lot of boxes for being relatively unique/exclusive, has a lot of neat technology, and comes with none of the baggage associated with normal cars. This is why pre-ordering is such a phenomenon with Teslas.[/quote]

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