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Fairlawn family is charged up about new high-end roadster that runs on battery power
By Jim Mackinnon
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Saturday, Jun 20, 2009
A shiny orange piece of what might be America's automotive future, a Tesla Roadster, is silently prowling the streets of Fairlawn and surrounding areas.
This particular all-electric sports car, one of just seven in Ohio, will be taking part Sunday in the 52nd Classic, Antique, & Collector Car Show on the grounds of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron.
David Levy, an architect and avowed car nut, acquired the swoopy, low-slung and quick Tesla — 0 to 60 miles per hour in a Porsche-like 3.9 seconds — a couple of weeks ago.
It's the 350th one built. The California-based company just a couple weeks ago celebrated the 500th vehicle to come off its assembly line.
''We thought people should see this car because it's so unique,'' Levy said. For the past five years, the now 54-year-old has entered his antique Jaguar sports cars in the annual Father's Day show.
But when Tesla's startup production was announced, Levy's interest was piqued — as was that of his 24-year-old son, Neal, another car nut in the family.
While all of his other vehicles burn gasoline, including a behemoth Hummer H2 pickup that once belonged to an NFL player, Levy said there is a real need to look at environmentally friendly alternatives.
Tesla offers an all-electric car wrapped in the sleek carbon-fiber shell of a high-class, $109,000 rear-wheel-drive sports car with Lotus Elise-derived underpinnings. The company has substantial financial backing, with investors including founders of Google Inc. and a now 9 percent ownership stake by German automaker Daimler.
''You don't want a golf cart,'' the elder Levy said.
Levy and his wife, Robin, traveled to a Tesla-sponsored event in California. When they saw the high-end vehicles, they decided to buy.
After waiting a year for delivery, Levy received a high-performance vehicle that can travel as far as 244 miles — at speeds up to 125 mph — powered by its 248 horsepower electric motor and more than 6,800-cell lithium ion battery pack. The Tesla uses the same small batteries found in laptop computers.
It takes 31/2 hours to recharge a fully emptied battery pack using a special in-garage 240-volt recharging station — or upwards of 40 hours to trickle charge using a standard household outlet.
Cost to fully recharge? About $4.
More to come
While Tesla makes just a sports car, its real foundation is the electric technology, said spokeswoman Rachel Konrad. She said the San Carlos company's business model is similar to Silicon Valley startups: Begin at the high-end market and then find ways to lower prices and become mainstream. It's the same approach used in developing cell phones — the 1980s cell models cost thousands of dollars apiece but now are extremely cheap, Konrad said.
''People like the Levys are early adopters,'' she said. They are helping to subsidize research and development costs, she said.
Between 20 and 30 Roadsters now come out of the factory every week. The company expects to begin building a $50,000 all-electric sedan in 2011, she said.
Neal Levy can't say enough about the Tesla. He gave a demonstration ride in the new family car that showed the Tesla is not a squeaky, underpowered concept.
The only way to know the car is ready to drive is a low beeping that briefly sounds when the key is inserted into what would otherwise be called the ignition.
Basically, the only detectable sound the Tesla makes at times is a slight whining when it is moving.
Otherwise, driver and passenger can easily hear birds chirping and other normal neighborhood sounds while cruising back roads.
''You hear things you don't normally hear in a car,'' Neal said from behind the wheel.
Fun to drive
And on the highway — let's just say the 3.9 second zero-to-60-miles-per-hour claim is a legitimate slam-you-back-in-your-seat thing.
''On-ramps are a blast,'' Neal said.
Both Neal and his father say it is fun to drive by gas stations in the Tesla.
It's hard not to smile all the time when riding in the thing.
Neal, a sales and marketing major at the University of Akron who graduates in August, found himself so impressed with the vehicle that he asked the company whether he could intern there. ''It's so exciting that this little auto company can change the auto industry,'' he said.
He apparently talked his way into a position.
''I'm working for Tesla for eight weeks as their summer intern,'' Neal said.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com.
A shiny orange piece of what might be America's automotive future, a Tesla Roadster, is silently prowling the streets of Fairlawn and surrounding areas.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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akron, oh
Posted 07:30 AM, 06/20/2009
sheesh, it can only get 2 hours of battery life. LOL of course that gets you to cincinnati...wish i had the hundred g's to get one of these beauties...
Posted 07:46 AM, 06/20/2009
airmon, 244 miles @ 60 mph equals just over 4 hours of battery life. It's much easier to think of it just in terms of miles. 244 miles will get the car from Akron to Columbus and back. Although it would me nice if we could charge somewhere while down there.....
Anyone offer a plug in Columbus?
Akron, Oh
Posted 08:26 AM, 06/20/2009
I like to see this technology being accepted more and more, heck there's a guy in Barberton who will build you an electric car for 10 grand.
My conspiracy theory for the day...
The technology is out there to build these things but the gov't don't want them on the roads. You see they haven't found a way to TAX those little beasts so "they" don't want them out there in numbers. The gov't collects taxes on gasoline so if everyone drove electric cars... well you know the rest. The gov't is looking to add GPS devices to all vehicles in order to track how many miles you drive and tax you per mile. Of course they can't find a way to shove that down our throats without us burning the capital down.
m, m
Posted 09:03 AM, 06/20/2009
finally/ a sporty cool electric car. too bad Obama didn't throw stimulus money to get buyers for this car. maybe ... cash for clunkers?
Akron, OH
Posted 09:28 AM, 06/20/2009
UseCommonSense is on the right track. The old fossil fuel industry doesn't want to lose out, and the government doesn't want to lose out on the revenue.
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:29 AM, 06/20/2009
I can't wait for them to put this technology into everyday cars, so that we don't have to keep sending our money to the middle east to pay for oil.
akron, oh
Posted 10:29 AM, 06/20/2009
Must be nice to have money to buy something like that !!
Akron, OH
Posted 10:35 AM, 06/20/2009
Neal, I have a friend in columbus I could set you up with, he is a huge car nut. Drop me a line (330) 631-5453 and I would be happy to arrange things. Just ask for Bill
Akron, OH
Posted 10:52 AM, 06/20/2009
The car looks great. Congratulations to Neal on his new prize.
I'm lukewarm on the electric car thing though. We jes' don't have the technology yet to make this a feasible mass produced item.
I would say that once we have an electric car that can go 500 miles minimum on a charge and is comparably priced with their gasoline counterparts, then we've found the solution.
Portage Lakes, OH
Posted 12:00 PM, 06/20/2009
Betamax - I won't disagree that bringing the cost down to a mid level sedan will make the car very attractive to the masses, but do you really need 500 mile range? Is this your everyday commute? I travel 250 miles about 4-6 times a year, usually with the family and we take the SUV. Even if you aren't an environmentalist, the appeal of having an alternative to gasoline is very attractive (especially when there is no logic to gasoline prices, we have no other choice though, unless you walk or ride a bike). I've owned a couple of EV's and really enjoyed not stopping at the gas station. These had a much shorter range than the Tesla, but served about 90% of my transportation needs.
You can see my EV's here,
http://picasaweb.google.com/rodnhower/ElectricVehicle#
The Tesla is not intended for the masses as stated in the article. It's a high performance sports car that fills a niche (how many people can afford a Ferrari? yet they still sell)
Congratulations to David! what a lovely car! I can't afford one, but I can afford a high performance golf cart :-) I design AC inverter controls for high and golf carts and NEV's.
Check out the new Timberlin Anvil on Good Morning America June 29.
Posted 06:10 PM, 06/20/2009
Sweet ride. As more reasearch and development goes into them, the more they will become mainstream.
Keep up the good work!
Posted 08:58 PM, 06/20/2009
The car looks cool. I wish I could afford one. One question: "What is the mileage on a 0 F degree day with the heater, wipers and lights on?" My guess is I would be lucky to to get to work and back (40 miles).
I think there has to be a dramatic break through in battery technology before electric cars go from a rich man's toy to a working man's pony.
BTW - There are no goverment, oil or power company conspiracies to keep this technology from developing. If the technology has the potential to return a profit the oil and the power company will be the first to sign up.
