Octopus Overlords

I mean, someone might find it sig worthy for a time.

Hey, it's easy to remember!

So today my major interest in even keeping this car as a rental hit a major road block. It is not terribly efficient out where I live at the edge of the civilized world -- too much high speed driving with few stops. OK, so my world revolves around the Meijer in Oswego, that's fine. I made it there twice today for minor recharges before getting summoned for rides. The second time, I got about 10% in, lost 3% going to the pickup, and the rider never showed. Two rides later, I had to take a guy to Midway. Middle of the city, major airport, lots of hotels and such in the area...should be teeming with superchargers, right?

Wrong.

The nearest was 5 miles in the opposite direction via hellacious construction traffic, and it was evening rush. The next closest was near the lakefront, that would have added an hour and a half to the drive back to my 'hood. The third closest and only one in the direction I had to travel was in Oak Brook, 40 minutes away in rush hour traffic. I started at 25%, picked a route different than the Tesla screen (it estimated I'd arrive with 11% remaining, I made it with 15%). All charging stations were occupied, and 4 cars were waiting for their turn (never saw more than 3 where I normally go). In the end, it was 2 hours of unproductive downtime, and unwarranted stress.

The infrastructure just isn't there yet. I will, however, be considering a hybrid should one be obtainable in a reasonable amount of time.

Also, the car gets "bouncy" when I'm driving on concrete pavement...not so much on asphalt. Not sure what the cause of that might be, but several people mentioned they don't like the ride of Teslas.

Harbor Freight should make a super charge generator for those things. I bet they'd sell like hot cakes.

em2nought wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 11:22 pm Harbor Freight should make a super charge generator for those things. I bet they'd sell like hot cakes.

Perhaps so, but I bet the technology is proprietary for now. Third party slow chargers are available, but the technology they use is different, and lacks the voodoo Tesla does to make their superchargers, well, super.

Jeff V wrote: Wed Oct 19, 2022 7:59 pm

em2nought wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 11:22 pm Harbor Freight should make a super charge generator for those things. I bet they'd sell like hot cakes.

Perhaps so, but I bet the technology is proprietary for now. Third party slow chargers are available, but the technology they use is different, and lacks the voodoo Tesla does to make their superchargers, well, super.

That's...its...you badly misunderstand charger technology. It's all about current and Tesla does not have any voodoo (although they do have an elegant plug solution).

stessier wrote: Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:42 am

Jeff V wrote: Wed Oct 19, 2022 7:59 pm

em2nought wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 11:22 pm Harbor Freight should make a super charge generator for those things. I bet they'd sell like hot cakes.

Perhaps so, but I bet the technology is proprietary for now. Third party slow chargers are available, but the technology they use is different, and lacks the voodoo Tesla does to make their superchargers, well, super.

That's...its...you badly misunderstand charger technology. It's all about current and Tesla does not have any voodoo (although they do have an elegant plug solution).

Speaking of elegant plug solutions, Tesla has finally admitted that some homes may want both a Tesla charger and a J1772 charger, so they now offer a J1772 Wall Connector that interoperates with the normal WCs. About time.

stessier wrote: Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:42 am

Jeff V wrote: Wed Oct 19, 2022 7:59 pm

em2nought wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 11:22 pm Harbor Freight should make a super charge generator for those things. I bet they'd sell like hot cakes.

Perhaps so, but I bet the technology is proprietary for now. Third party slow chargers are available, but the technology they use is different, and lacks the voodoo Tesla does to make their superchargers, well, super.

That's...its...you badly misunderstand charger technology. It's all about current and Tesla does not have any voodoo (although they do have an elegant plug solution).

Why then are the Tesla superchargers so much faster than the third party chargers?

Zaxxon wrote: Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:47 am Speaking of elegant plug solutions, Tesla has finally admitted that some homes may want both a Tesla charger and a J1772 charger, so they now offer a J1772 Wall Connector that interoperates with the normal WCs. About time.

It still needs years more maturity to become practical for what I need it for.

I contacted a Honda "Superstore" the other day regarding a CRV hybrid. Order today, delivery maybe mid-January.

Jeff V wrote: Thu Oct 20, 2022 5:52 pm

stessier wrote: Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:42 am

Jeff V wrote: Wed Oct 19, 2022 7:59 pm

em2nought wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 11:22 pm Harbor Freight should make a super charge generator for those things. I bet they'd sell like hot cakes.

Perhaps so, but I bet the technology is proprietary for now. Third party slow chargers are available, but the technology they use is different, and lacks the voodoo Tesla does to make their superchargers, well, super.

That's...its...you badly misunderstand charger technology. It's all about current and Tesla does not have any voodoo (although they do have an elegant plug solution).

Why then are the Tesla superchargers so much faster than the third party chargers?

They are not. At least not universally.

Jeff V wrote: Thu Oct 20, 2022 5:52 pm

stessier wrote: Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:42 am

Jeff V wrote: Wed Oct 19, 2022 7:59 pm

em2nought wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 11:22 pm Harbor Freight should make a super charge generator for those things. I bet they'd sell like hot cakes.

Perhaps so, but I bet the technology is proprietary for now. Third party slow chargers are available, but the technology they use is different, and lacks the voodoo Tesla does to make their superchargers, well, super.

That's...its...you badly misunderstand charger technology. It's all about current and Tesla does not have any voodoo (although they do have an elegant plug solution).

Why then are the Tesla superchargers so much faster than the third party chargers?

Depends on the third party charger. There are ones that are equivalent to Supercharger v2, some that are faster, and some that are slower. Not sure how you find your chargers, but in Plug Share they list the power rating for the chargers. Check what your SuperCharger is rated at and then look at the third party options around. If you have an Electrify America option, it should have at least one bay rated at 350kW which is the fastest there currently is (a Supercharger v3 is rated at 324kW I believe).

V3 tops out at 250 kW. V4 is rumored to match or exceed the 350 kW of Electrify America, but right now the fastest EA stalls beat the fastest Superchargers.

Ease of use, availability and reliability are another story, but Tesla is not currently the speed king.

Jeff V wrote: Thu Oct 20, 2022 5:54 pm

Zaxxon wrote: Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:47 am Speaking of elegant plug solutions, Tesla has finally admitted that some homes may want both a Tesla charger and a J1772 charger, so they now offer a J1772 Wall Connector that interoperates with the normal WCs. About time.

It still needs years more maturity to become practical for what I need it for.

I contacted a Honda "Superstore" the other day regarding a CRV hybrid. Order today, delivery maybe mid-January.

You know it takes time for a car to be built and then shipped, right?

All of the other cars I ever bought in my life I drove off the lot the day I bought them. "Stock" used to be a thing.

Jeff V wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 3:50 pm All of the other cars I ever bought in my life I drove off the lot the day I bought them. "Stock" used to be a thing.

Welcome to the last 18 months? I mean, seriously, pull your head out of the sand once in a while.

stessier wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 3:53 pm

Jeff V wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 3:50 pm All of the other cars I ever bought in my life I drove off the lot the day I bought them. "Stock" used to be a thing.

Welcome to the last 18 months? I mean, seriously, pull your head out of the sand once in a while.

I've not bought a car in 3 years...it's not something one does every day (unless you're one of those who buys a new car every time they need a tank of gas).

Jeff V wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 3:55 pm

stessier wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 3:53 pm

Jeff V wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 3:50 pm All of the other cars I ever bought in my life I drove off the lot the day I bought them. "Stock" used to be a thing.

Welcome to the last 18 months? I mean, seriously, pull your head out of the sand once in a while.

I've not bought a car in 3 years...it's not something one does every day (unless you're one of those who buys a new car every time they need a tank of gas).

It's been all over the news for probably 17 of those 18 months. It's been in economic and local news. It's been on ArsTechnica, Wired, NYT, WaPo, Fox, CNN - whatever your method of learning about the world. And it's not been buried in articles - it's been headlines that you can see just by skimming. Car dealers have had nothing to sell. It's been in threads here as well. Taking an interest in your surroundings is a good thing.

Also, I should add that insurance companies also seem to be living in the past. I only get a 30 day rental, I had to turn in the one from the Rogue, 30 days, still no settlement. The Versa is 2 weeks in, not even evaluated yet. In 2 more weeks that rental turns into a pumpkin. Body shop lead times are often exceeding 30 days (from the time they get the car), and can go much longer as some parts aren't available for months.

On the Rogue's settlement offer, they said if I bought a car within 30 days, they would cover the sales tax. Looks to be another impossibility.

stessier wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:01 pm

Jeff V wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 3:55 pm

stessier wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 3:53 pm

Jeff V wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 3:50 pm All of the other cars I ever bought in my life I drove off the lot the day I bought them. "Stock" used to be a thing.

Welcome to the last 18 months? I mean, seriously, pull your head out of the sand once in a while.

I've not bought a car in 3 years...it's not something one does every day (unless you're one of those who buys a new car every time they need a tank of gas).

It's been all over the news for probably 17 of those 18 months. It's been in economic and local news. It's been on ArsTechnica, Wired, NYT, WaPo, Fox, CNN - whatever your method of learning about the world. And it's not been buried in articles - it's been headlines that you can see just by skimming. Car dealers have had nothing to sell. It's been in threads here as well. Taking an interest in your surroundings is a good thing.

+1 to all this.

Also, it took me all of 5 minutes to find a CR-V hybrid on the lot at McGrath City Honda.

But if you order a car a dealer doesn't have? Unless they can somehow pull it off the lot from another dealer, it needs to be built and shipped, and that takes *time*.

I used True Car, and only one dealer came up, and that one had no cars. Perhaps McGrath (and other dealers) aren't participating in that anymore?

The car does need to have a full suite of safety features (my Versa accident never would have happened in my well-equipped Rogue). Aside from that, I'm not terribly picky. I will check them out once the insurance is settled though. Two weeks ago I asked Nissan for a lien release, it never came. I contacted them again today, they said it was mailed on 10/7. Two weeks is beyond the expected incompetence of the USPS, so I had to request another, which won't be mailed until sometime next week.

Oh, and further Tesla-related , after my daughter's practice tonight I took the kids to the supercharger in Oswego to get a full charge so I could go out first thing in the morning (by 6 am). When I was at that filled-up Oakbrook station a few days ago, it only let me charge to 80%, but that's never been an issue at Oswego, who has 12 (as opposed to 8 in Oakbrook. Today there were 3 cars there. It only let me charge 80% This means the first hour tomorrow is going to be driving to Oswego and charging the thing -- and it's already a short day because I need to be home by 10 to take the kids to the business trick-or-treat tomorrow.

Addendum - McGrath is almost 50 miles away from me, that could be why it did not show up. I'm not sure I want to do business with such an inconveniently located dealer, but I might consider it...if the deal can be done while the insurance is covering sales tax, the otherwise deal-breaking Chicago tax would not be an issue.

It will never only let you charge to 80%. At busier stations it'll set you to 80% and encourage you to get on with it after that, but you can always adjust that up if needed.

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 10:00 pm It will never only let you charge to 80%. At busier stations it'll set you to 80% and encourage you to get on with it after that, but you can always adjust that up if needed.

I tried to reset it to 100, but it set it back to 80 and turned off. How do you override? I'd be fine with it if the station was overcrowded, but only 25%?

You just adjust it. Maybe that first one didn't take for some reason.

I dunno. It worked fine tonight though.

Another thing I noticed is the auto bright lights is really aggressive. My Rogue had it, but in 3 years, the only time I ever seen it activate was in uncivilized (and un-electrified) wilderness in Alabama. It would never go on when street lights were available, especially in well-lit neighborhood where bright lights might not be appreciated by residents. It seems to take a three count before it dims in the face of oncoming traffic, or the appearance of tail lights in front of me. In some cases, it's a virtual strobe light going on and off so rapidly.

I have enough trouble being blinded by oncoming normal lights (halogens are brutal), I don't need to have my car burning out the retinas of oncoming drivers.

I do have one positive comment to make -- since I've been driving this car for 9 days, I've given short rides to 3 Asian girls (probably 25-30 in age). All three have tipped me $5 on a roughly $5 ride, one of them thanking me for their first Tesla experience.

The percentage of customers struggling to open the doors (either from the outside or inside) is approaching 90% though. I probably lost double that in tips from customers who were silently frustrated over the experience. My daughter figured it out right away, but I guess not many adults are as smart as a 6 year old.

Point of fact:
6 year olds don’t care if they break everything.

Jeff V wrote: Sun Oct 23, 2022 1:44 am

Another thing I noticed is the auto bright lights is really aggressive.

So that's why they're always blinding me on side streets. I thought it was poorly angled lights.

Also, Teslas always seem to stop about 4-5 feet before the normal stopping point at a stop sign. Sometimes they move up and stop again, sometimes they just proceed through. It's annoying enough when behind them but when crossing it's infuriating. I don't know if it's related to autopilot or people not good with the regenerative braking or what but it's very common with Teslas.


This is not to be confused with the even worse habit of people trying to race to stop. That is, when they think that if they come to a stop before you they have the right of way so they'll slam on their brakes 10 feet before the line and then slam on the gas and blow through, even though you were at the intersection well before them.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:27 am Also, Teslas always seem to stop about 4-5 feet before the normal stopping point at a stop sign. Sometimes they move up and stop again, sometimes they just proceed through. It's annoying enough when behind them but when crossing it's infuriating. I don't know if it's related to autopilot or people not good with the regenerative braking or what but it's very common with Teslas.


This is not to be confused with the even worse habit of people trying to race to stop. That is, when they think that if they come to a stop before you they have the right of way so they'll slam on their brakes 10 feet before the line and then slam on the gas and blow through, even though you were at the intersection well before them.

Wow. That's all phenomena I am completely unfamiliar with. Yeah me!

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:27 am This is not to be confused with the even worse habit of people trying to race to stop. That is, when they think that if they come to a stop before you they have the right of way so they'll slam on their brakes 10 feet before the line and then slam on the gas and blow through, even though you were at the intersection well before them.

Well, at least BEVs are incapable of that one.

Jeff V wrote: Sun Oct 23, 2022 1:51 am I do have one positive comment to make -- since I've been driving this car for 9 days, I've given short rides to 3 Asian girls (probably 25-30 in age). All three have tipped me $5 on a roughly $5 ride, one of them thanking me for their first Tesla experience.

You could do this, and keep impressing those Asian chicks for less. LOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb6MVIT9dI8 Tell everybody it's the new version with the improved door handles.

The people who make instantaneous electric hot water heaters should get involved in making chargers as those things use buku amps. I guess the poor folks in California can't buy "gas" generators for their Teslas. Must be a black market?

Fun graphic from Reuters detailing/estimating BEV investments by manufacturer.

Zaxxon wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 12:20 pm Fun graphic from Reuters detailing/estimating BEV investments by manufacturer.

Caveat, it's based on what each manufacturer says they will invest. You can pretty much throw out the Chinese manufacturer numbers. And TSLA always talks a big game but that's an extremely tall order over the next 8 years.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 12:32 pm

Zaxxon wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 12:20 pm Fun graphic from Reuters detailing/estimating BEV investments by manufacturer.

Caveat, it's based on what each manufacturer says they will invest. You can pretty much throw out the Chinese manufacturer numbers. And TSLA always talks a big game but that's an extremely tall order over the next 8 years.

That said, they have met (approximately) the growth goal over the past 10 years. So we shall see. Scaling from 1M to 20M will be... a challenge.

The braking I have down pretty well, I usually stop where I intend, and rarely have to touch the brake.

Uber is really pushing the electric car to the point that gas cars are hard to come by. I just re-upped for my 4th week driving the Tesla,and will likely continue unless I can find other means of income (had a call today about a job...now it seems 2 years without a resume bullet point is a deal breaker).

About 90% of riders continue to have issues with the doors. The car is a talking point for about 10%, and while it doesn't always generate tips, about 10% complement me on the car. Uber is soon going to offer a feature where I can restrict my orbit, making it easier to remain in comfortable distance to a charger. On Halloween, my first ride was taking a girl home from a weekend party -- from Oswego to Calumet City (more than an hour). After a few rides in that area, I got a lady going to Algonquin, way north (an hour north of where I live). Fortunately, they had a charger (they have a Meijer and they seem to be a reliable source), but I got home later than I wanted to for the kid's trick-or-treat.

Going on Week 5 now. Got notice today that an autosteering feature is now available. Apparently it's part of autopilot, which I've not yet enabled. What can I expect from autopilot and autosteer? I'm wary of trying something that I don't know how it will behave. Apparently, though, the autosteering is best used for highway driving and only where lane markings are prominent? (ie, the 1% of highway miles that actually completed recent resurfacing).

Also, anyone have a solution for the surging it does on concrete roadways? It doesn't happen on asphalt, only concrete. And it's annoying.

The "premium" connectivity on my Model S finally gave up the ghost (in the machine). I had to drive home listening to smooth jazz on FM radio. Now I have to either pay Musk his $10/M blood money or subscribe to spotify. For the limited amount of driving I do neither option is very appealing. I can probably log in to Pandora while I'm parked, but need a solution while I drive. Any suggestions?

Jaymann wrote: Mon Dec 19, 2022 10:06 pm The "premium" connectivity on my Model S finally gave up the ghost (in the machine). I had to drive home listening to smooth jazz on FM radio. Now I have to either pay Musk his $10/M blood money or subscribe to spotify. For the limited amount of driving I do neither option is very appealing. I can probably log in to Pandora while I'm parked, but need a solution while I drive. Any suggestions?

You could always bluetooth from the phone. It's not convenient to control but that is how I Audible.

Yeah Bluetooth is your best bet if you don't want to pay for the car connectivity.

malchior wrote: Mon Dec 19, 2022 10:08 pm You could always bluetooth from the phone. It's not convenient to control but that is how I Audible.

It's how I SiriusXM.

So I downloaded the Pandora app to my phone and tested it on bluetooth - worked perfectly. But now the Tesla streaming is working again. WTF Musk?