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Ford re files trademark to keep the Thunderbird name plate
Hey, if they can have success with a D-celled Mustang, more power to them!
Tesla’s batteries may be cylindrical like D cells.
Does anyone know the actual individual Tesla battery dimensions?
2002 TB Motor Trend COTY Blue/White/Full #24737 (One of 291)
2021 Explorer XLT Sport 2.3L 300HP/310FP color RollingThunder
2015 Passat SE TDI 150HP/236FP (40MpgCity47MpgHW) 720MR
26Mpg in traffic jam. Skill required to get 40+mpg in town.
A Tesla needs to be plugged in at all times if you want maximum range when planing a trip.
If not plugged in at home or at a Motel, the batteries lose 3.5 miles a day due to internal drain.
Or, if the car sits for 20 days you will have to subtract 70 miles driving distance. This might not be a linear drain. Could be better or worse.
HKS
2002 TB Motor Trend COTY Blue/White/Full #24737 (One of 291)
2021 Explorer XLT Sport 2.3L 300HP/310FP color RollingThunder
2015 Passat SE TDI 150HP/236FP (40MpgCity47MpgHW) 720MR
26Mpg in traffic jam. Skill required to get 40+mpg in town.
A Tesla needs to be plugged in at all times if you want maximum range when planing a trip.
HKS
Buy a very long extension cord. Don't leave home without it.
Technology has a way to go before everybody becomes a two electric car family if any travel is their plans. Just getting there is more than half the fun in an all electric vehicle.
"Decades of dependence on fast-flowing liquid hydrocarbons for fuel have left little tolerance for spending many minutes more plugged in and stationary, waiting for lithium-ion cells to recharge. So when it comes to bench-racing electric vehicles, the only statistic most people care about is how far it can go before you need to plug it in again. ... The Tesla Model 3 traveled farthest, reaching 234 miles (377km)—75 percent of its EPA range—before dropping below 70mph."
For the time being, owning at least one hybrid would seem to make the most sense to me if the object is to save the planet, but not totally tie yourself down while doing it. By chance, I ended up in a Hertz Ford Fusion hybrid in Dallas a couple of years ago. It wouldn't win any drag races, but I did not feel unsafe driving it on the Dallas freeways.
Again by chance, we drove a rented Toyota C-HR hybrid around Spain for 918 miles. Averaged 38.2 MPG, with mostly highway driving. Biggest downside was that the pedestrians couldn't hear you coming. Admittedly it was a much smaller car than I prefer, but it's too hard to find a place to park a large car in Europe. I have no idea how you take a trip with 5 grandkids.
All that said, I still prefer the Suburban as my daily driver.
Buy a very long extension cord. Don't leave home without it.
Technology has a way to go before everybody becomes a two electric car family if any travel is their your plans. Just getting there is more than half the fun in an all electric vehicle.
"Decades of dependence on fast-flowing liquid hydrocarbons for fuel have left little tolerance for spending many minutes more plugged in and stationary, waiting for lithium-ion cells to recharge. So when it comes to bench-racing electric vehicles, the only statistic most people care about is how far it can go before you need to plug it in again. ... The Tesla Model 3 traveled farthest, reaching 234 miles (377km)—75 percent of its EPA range—before dropping below 70mph."
For the time being, owning at least one hybrid would seem to make the most sense to me if the object is to save the planet, but not totally tie yourself down while doing it. By chance, I ended up in a Hertz Ford Fusion hybrid in Dallas a couple of years ago. It wouldn't win any drag races, but I did not feel unsafe driving it on the Dallas freeways.
Again by chance, we drove a rented Toyota C-HR hybrid around Spain for 918 miles. Averaged 38.2 MPG, with mostly highway driving. Biggest downside was that the pedestrians couldn't hear you coming. Admittedly it was a much smaller car than I prefer, but it's too hard to find a place to park a large car in Europe. I have no idea how you take a trip with 5 grandkids.
All that said, I still prefer the Suburban as my daily driver.
Suburban Is a quiet car because it is built on a frame and the body can then be insulated from the frame, thus reducing road noise greatly.
I spent many hours test driving new cars last year. Manny used to have frames, but are all Uni-body now. That frame must add a lot of extra cost.
Spending extra money for a quiet car may be OK if it saves your hearing (young people). Must of us have already lost some hearing.
Hermann
Noisy cars I test I went for a test drive in:
Ford Escape
Mercury
Lincoln Aviator, Continental, MKZ
Chevy SUVs
2019 BMW I6
I forgot the other ones
The ones built on frames like the Suburban cost $70,00+
P.S. Driving with H rated tires does reduce road noise. But, you a greater chance of getting a bad new tire.
You may need to put up with an out of balance tire that needs road force balancing or replacement. Happened to me at least twice in the last few years.
2002 TB Motor Trend COTY Blue/White/Full #24737 (One of 291)
2021 Explorer XLT Sport 2.3L 300HP/310FP color RollingThunder
2015 Passat SE TDI 150HP/236FP (40MpgCity47MpgHW) 720MR
26Mpg in traffic jam. Skill required to get 40+mpg in town.
Suburban Is a quiet car because it is built on a frame and the body can then be insulated from the frame, thus reducing road noise greatly.
I spent many hours test driving new cars last year. Manny used to have frames, but are all Uni-body now. That frame must add a lot of extra cost.
Spending extra money for a quiet car may be OK if it saves your hearing (young people). Must of us have already lost some hearing.
Hermann
Noisy cars I test I went for a test drive in:
Ford Escape
Mercury
Lincoln Aviator, Continental, MKZ
Chevy SUVs
2019 BMW I6
I forgot the other ones
The ones built on frames like the Suburban cost $70,00+
P.S. Driving with H rated tires does reduce road noise. But, you a greater chance of getting a bad new tire.
You may need to put up with an out of balance tire that needs road force balancing or replacement. Happened to me at least twice in the last few years.
Interesting stuff, Hermann...I never knew most of what you've penned here.
Herman I'm wondering if you had an opportunity to test drive the Suburu models & your thoughts.
Mike,
I haven't given up on finding a quiet SUV.
By the way, Ron McCloud always got H rated (120mph) tires, and they would be much quieter.on his Tbirds.
Toyota makes a $70,000 Suburban like vehicle that should be quiet.
By quiet I don't mean hearing bumps in the road. It is white noise (hiss) that a concrete highway makes unless the tires can absorb the noise.
What model Subaru do you recommend I try out?
2002 TB Motor Trend COTY Blue/White/Full #24737 (One of 291)
2021 Explorer XLT Sport 2.3L 300HP/310FP color RollingThunder
2015 Passat SE TDI 150HP/236FP (40MpgCity47MpgHW) 720MR
26Mpg in traffic jam. Skill required to get 40+mpg in town.
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