News Site – Page 14619 – I wish I had more to offer

A Summer-Long Adventure In My Tesla Model 3

Invest
Electric Cars
Electric Car Benefits
Electric Car Sales
Solar Energy Rocks
RSS
Advertise
Privacy Policy

Autonomous Vehicles

Published on August 9th, 2019 |

by Guest Contributor

A Summer-Long Adventure In My Tesla Model 3

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook

August 9th, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Originally published on EVANNEX.
By Jonathan David Harris, aka @aPowerTrip

It was late April 2019 when a friend and I arrived at the Glendale Galleria in California to see the new Captain Marvel movie. While my friend took a business call I wandered into the Tesla showroom next door. It was then, for the first time, I encountered a Model 3 up close. I sat in the car and was amazed at the simplicity of Tesla’s interior design. It was impressive to see a single touchscreen control nearly all of the car’s features — even the direction of airflow.

At the St. Louis Arch (Source: @aPowerTrip)

After a quick overview of the car, the Tesla specialist showed me a map of all the Supercharger stations located throughout the US. He told me, “You can now travel freely around the county with the amount of charging stations available.”

In New Hampshire (Source: @aPowerTrip)

I gazed at the red dots across the Supercharger map and announced, “I know what I’m doing this summer.” It turns out I have a background in video production and technology, so an opportunity to put this Tesla Model 3 to the test while taking video and photos all across the country would turn out to be a perfect match. It was decided — I wanted to take a summer-long road trip with my dog without using any gasoline.

Mt. Washington (Source: @aPowerTrip)

I don’t think the specialist believed me any more than my friends or family. When I told everyone I was thinking of taking a summer-long road trip with a Tesla all around the country from Memorial Day to Labor Day, they were in disbelief. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I believed it would happen either. Memorial Day was a month away and I wasn’t even sure I could afford the car. Or the trip.

Over the next week, I figured out a plan. If I could sell my car, old production gear, and other items in my house, rent out my home for the summer, and camp in National Parks around the country (rather than spend money in hotels) — I figured … it just might be possible.

Redwood National Park (Source: @aPowerTrip)

So I sold off the gear and my car, gathered some camping essentials that would fit in the Model 3 trunk and frunk, and managed to find someone to sublet my home. Everything fell into place very quickly. Even the car I wanted — a RWD Tesla Model 3, Midnight Silver, with long-range battery became available for pickup the day after I ordered it.

There were, however, a few speed bumps in those initial prep weeks. The first sublet tenant bailed last minute and I was worried I wouldn’t find a replacement just a few days before my departure. I also found some lumps on my dog Indy, which gave me a scare about her health. Indy is a twelve-year-old terrier I adopted when she was only eight weeks old. She’s named after Indiana Jones, the lead character in my favorite movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Camping at Devil Tower (Source: @aPowerTrip)

Indy turned out to be okay and the vet gave us the green light. Financing this last-minute adventure was a bit of a rocky adventure, with a very rough idea of where we were going.

Brooklyn Bridge (Source: @aPowerTrip)

The plan was to visit National Parks, cross off some bucket list items, visit friends and family, and basically allow the trip to determine our path. In just two months, we’ve put over 12,000 miles on the Model 3 and it wasn’t until August 1st that I finally had to pay to charge the car.

I was fortunate enough to have two people use my Tesla referral code (Jonathan96658), which gave me 6,000 free miles of Supercharging along the way. The other 6,000 miles of charging came from Tesla’s free destination chargers, friends and family allowing us to plug in, and other free public charging spots. I even had a few Quality Inn hotels provide access to their outlets so we could get some extra range in parts of the country that didn’t have ample Superchargers.

Cheers Pub in Boston (Source: @aPowerTrip)

It’s been an incredible journey, with many challenges and bumps in the road, but very few have to do with the Tesla Model 3. There was snow, hail, and storms (especially in the Midwest), road closures, Indy temporarily became ill, my car was towed in NYC, and (yes) a few moments of “will I have enough range to get to the next charger?” But that was typically my fault. I was trying to push the limits of the car.

After a hail storm in Yosemite (Source: @aPowerTrip)

There were a few other hiccups along the way. Although the Tesla specialist told me every Supercharger is conveniently located near a place to use a restroom — that isn’t 100% true. Most Superchargers are close to a restaurant (or located near stores) but if you’re traveling around the country and need to charge early in the morning or late at night, there can be a surprising lack of options for trash removal, cleaning the windshield, or access to restrooms, as everything is usually closed during these off-hours.

Supercharger station late at night (Source: @aPowerTrip)

But these minor issues haven’t taken away from the Model 3’s stellar performance. I do not see myself ever going back to a gas-operated vehicle. Also, thank you Tesla for Autopilot — it’s especially helpful when you’re driving over 10 hours in a day. I can’t wait for Tesla’s updates to Summon, Autopilot, and other refinements that should arrive in the next software update. And, of course, a huge shout out to “Dog Mode,” which keeps Indy safe and cool while I run errands.

In Seattle (Source: @aPowerTrip)

In any event, be sure to look out for lots of videos I’ll be publishing on my YouTube channel when I return from my summer-long road trip. If you already have a Tesla, congrats, but if you’re buying or leasing, please use my referral code — Jonathan96658 — which provides me with free charging and will help get me home in September. In the meantime, feel free to follow my ongoing Tesla Model 3 adventures with Indy via @aPowerTrip on Instagram.

Video: Fox Rochester.

About the Author

Guest Contributor is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. 😀

Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.

CleanTechnica Clothing & Cups

We will have zero capex this year and a large part of next year: Baba Kalyani

This is the fourth one that we will be seeing from 2008. So downturns do come, industrials are a cyclical business, commercial vehicle also is a cyclical business. Everything that goes down, also goes up at some point in time. So, I would not be too worried about it, says Baba Kalyani, CMD, Bharat Forge.… Continue reading We will have zero capex this year and a large part of next year: Baba Kalyani

Skip unveils its first custom electric scooter

Skip is beginning to test the first electric scooter that the startup built entirely in-house. They’re not quite ready for primetime, but Skip expects to deploy them in San Francisco this October. That’s notably when San Francisco plans to allow service providers to deploy electric scooters as part of the city’s first permanent permitting program.… Continue reading Skip unveils its first custom electric scooter

Self-driving truck startup Starsky launches Hutch, its API and nerve center

Starsky Robotics has been building its self-driving — and human-driven — truck business for three years now. And it’s finally ready to show off its first product. It’s not, as one might presume, a self-driving truck. This product, called Hutch, offers what in Starsky’s view is far more valuable: automatic access to its trucking capacity,… Continue reading Self-driving truck startup Starsky launches Hutch, its API and nerve center

Peer-to-peer boat rental marketplace Boatsetter raises $10M as it looks to grow globally

Obviously, not everyone owns their boat, and boat ownership is far more unique than car ownership – which makes it maybe an ideal category for peer-to-peer marketplace rentals. P2P boat rental startup Boatsetter recognized this opportunity, and is now announcing a $10 million Series A “extension” funding round to help it grow its business, with… Continue reading Peer-to-peer boat rental marketplace Boatsetter raises $10M as it looks to grow globally

Ford extends warranty on certain Focus, Fiesta models

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Ford is seen on a 2020 Ford Explorer car at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. June 24, 2019. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Wednesday it is extending warranty on clutch and related hardware in certain of its Focus and Fiesta cars due… Continue reading Ford extends warranty on certain Focus, Fiesta models

Berlin-based RV-sharing platform PaulCamper raises €7 million for further expansion

Fancy camping across Europe this summer holiday? Berlin-based PaulCamper is a sharing platform for renting and lending RVs that allows you to do just that.

RVs offer an unprecedented level of freedom for adventurous travellers, who can go where they please – whether it be a city, the beach, or little-known getaways in the countryside.

Founded in 2013, PaulCamper today has a fleet of more than 5,500 RVs in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. The renters come from all over the world, and over 500k rental nights are already arranged via the platform.

PaulCamper now has closed a Series A financing round of €7 million. The new capital comes from a syndicate of international marketplace investors, led by Adevinta with participation from FJ Labs and All Iron Ventures as well as existing investors Russmedia International and Mairdumont Ventures.

“PaulCamper operates in a very exciting and fast-growing market: the outdoor travel market. The team and vision of PaulCamper convinced us and ..

Ford extends clutch warranty on 560K Focus, Fiesta vehicles

Original Article

Tesla Model 3 = 3rd Best Selling Vehicle In The Netherlands In July

Invest
Electric Cars
Electric Car Benefits
Electric Car Sales
Solar Energy Rocks
RSS
Advertise
Privacy Policy

Cars

Published on August 14th, 2019 |

by Jose Pontes

Tesla Model 3 = 3rd Best Selling Vehicle In The Netherlands In July

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook

August 14th, 2019 by Jose Pontes

Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica

The Dutch plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market grew 73% in July, with 2,372 plug-in registrations, which translated into a PEV share of 7%. For January through July, PEV share was at 8.6%, well above the 6% of 2019.

Things could have been better if plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) hadn’t dropped 21% year over year (YoY). Full electrics (BEVs) alone jumped 102%. If we only consider BEVs, the EV share last month was 6.2%, with the 2019 share being 7.4%.

In July, the Tesla Model 3 (590 units) had its best first-month-of-quarter so far, so prospects for beating the all-time BEV record from a single model (2,621 units last December), which is currently in the hands of the Jaguar I-PACE, look good. I can’t wait to see the September results…

But back to July. While the 2nd place finish of the Hyundai Kona EV is not surprising (insert battery constraint comment), the 3rd place finish of the VW e-Golf certainly is, and the German hatchback did it with 231 units, its best result since January. That is a meritable result for a model in sunset mode, which leaves great prospects for the upcoming ID.3. (If VW manages these level of sales with a veteran and overpriced model, imagine how high it can reach with a competitive EV…)

A bit surprisingly, the Nissan Leaf, despite the injection of the 62 kWh version, failed to reach the top 5, ending the month in sixth, just behind the niche (and ageless) BMW i3.

Checking the Japanese hatchback registrations in detail, most of them continue to be of the 40 kWh version, so either volume deliveries of the 62 kWh version are still to come, or the longer range version is not the success Nissan had hoped for.

Looking ahead, the future of the Nissan EV looks somewhat bleak. It is being squeezed from above (Tesla Model 3) and below (revised Renault Zoe, Peugeot e-208, Opel e-Corsa), and the arrival of the VW ID.3 should hit it full frontal. Only deep discounting could keep sales coming in. Now, whether Nissan wants to follow that path is a whole different subject.

Rank
Model
July Sales

1
Tesla Model 3
590

2
Hyundai Kona EV
324

3
VW e-Golf
231

4
Kia Niro EV
221

5
BMW i3
153

Looking at the 2019 ranking, the Tesla Model 3 sits high above everyone else, with almost triple the sales of the #2 Hyundai Kona EV. In fact, the Tesla midsizer is now the 3rd best selling model — on the entire auto market.

While the overall leader, the VW Polo (7,974 units), seems hard to reach for now, the #2 Ford Focus (7,359) is not that far away, and considering Tesla’s sports sedan is expected to have a stronger second half of the year, the runner-up spot could still fall into the Model 3’s lap.

In terms of the model ranking, there wasn’t much to talk about in the top spots. In fact, we have to go down to #16 to see position changes, with the Volvo XC90 PHEV climbing one position. The Mini Countryman PHEV did the same, to #18.

Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica

Highlighting Tesla’s good moment, the Model S returned to the top 20, in #20, thanks to 21 deliveries last month. That was its best first-month-of-quarter this year, while its Model X sibling also had a positive month, with 18 deliveries, also a first-month-of-quarter year best, with the sports-minivan-CUV now only 24 units away from the top 20. If the recovering sales continue, we could see it back at the top 20 soon. Maybe in September?

With the Model S now in the top 20, we have 13 BEVs versus 7 PHEVs, and with the all-electric field said to increase in the coming months (Tesla Model X, Kia Soul EV, Mercedes EQC…), I think we are close to a non-returning point, in which plug-in hybrids will be residual in this top 20.

Oh, and because I love factoids, here’s another one that I picked up: The i-Pace is the best selling Jaguar on Dutch lands…

Source: RAI Vereniging and EV Volumes

In the manufacturer ranking, Tesla (32%) is the clear leader, followed by Hyundai (15%), while the race for the last podium place is hot, with Kia (9%) running ahead of Volkswagen and Nissan (both with 8%).

Tesla Model 3 vs. the Gasoline/Diesel Competition

Rank
Model
2019 Sales

1
Tesla Model 3
6,563

2
BMW 3 Series
3,194

3
Volvo S/V60
3,017

4
Mercedes C-Class
1,825

5
Audi A4
1,189

Comparing Model 3 deliveries against the model’s midsize premium competitors, there’s really no doubt about who is Top Dog. The Tesla nameplate had double the sales (registrations) of the #2 BMW 3 Series.

Will the revised BMW 330e, said to start selling soon, help the BMW model to shorten the distance between it and the Model 3?

Maybe … but I have my doubts.

For comparison sake, the PHEV version of the Volvo S/V60 twins represents less than 10% of sales (9%, to be precise). Even if the 330e reaches a 10% share of total 3 Series sales, the increase will barely be visible in what is a large gulf between the two models.

Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica

Regarding the Tesla Model S & X, a hot topic of recent months, their behavior is far less impressive, as both are below their category’s top 5. Although, the Model S is recovering ground, now in #6, only 31 units behind the #5 Porsche Panamera.

Interestingly, electrification gallops in different rhythms in the full-size vehicle segments than the overall market. In the car category, only one model in the top 5 has more than 20% of its sales coming from plug-ins (#5 Porsche Panamera, 73% of sales come from the PHEV versions).

In the SUV category, only one model (BMW X5, 0%) has less than 45% plug-in sales, with most of the Bimmer’s sales pretty visibly transferring to the PHEV version, once it becomes available. We even have a BEV in the SUV top 5: the Audi e-Tron is the 2nd best selling full-size SUV in the Netherlands!

Tesla Model 3 = 4th Best Selling Vehicle in Switzerland in 1st Half of 2019

Tesla Model 3 = 9th Best Selling Car In USA In 2nd Quarter

Tesla Model 3 = 10th Best Selling Vehicle In Sweden … In July!

About the Author

Jose Pontes Always interested in the auto industry, particularly in electric cars, Jose has been overviewing the sales evolution of plug-ins through the EV Sales blog since 2012, allowing him to gain an expert view on where EVs are right now and where they are headed in the future. The EV Sales blog has become a go-to source for people interested in electric car sales around the world. Extending that work and expertise, Jose is now a partner in EV-Volumes and works with the European Alternative Fuels Observatory on EV sales matters.

Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.

CleanTechnica Clothing & Cups

Gorgeous Jaguar XJ13 Le Mans Racing Prototype Reborn and Updated – Car and Driver

The LM69 is a sports car built by racing team Ecurie Ecosse that’s meant to be a continuation of the Jaguar XJ13 race car from the 1960s. It’s powered by a V-12 engine and features some notable changes compared to the original race car. Only 25 examples will be built in total, and the LM69… Continue reading Gorgeous Jaguar XJ13 Le Mans Racing Prototype Reborn and Updated – Car and Driver