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A Look Inside The Tesla Cold Weather Testing Facility

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Published on January 7th, 2019 |

by Steve Hanley

A Look Inside The Tesla Cold Weather Testing Facility

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January 7th, 2019 by Steve Hanley

All automakers test their cars in cold conditions to see how freezing temperatures affect their operation. Tesla is no exception. It uses a cold temperature testing facility out in the middle of nowhere about 2 hours south of Fairbanks, Alaska. It is a private compound used by the military to test tanks and armored personnel carriers, among other things. Tesla has created its own test track at the site, complete with twisty roads, steep hills, and skid pads that allow its engineers to learn how well the cars handle slippery roads and Arctic conditions.

Photo by Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

Cold weather and electric cars are not friends. Batteries are like people. They are happiest when the temperature outside is between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold batteries don’t charge or discharge as fast as they do when they are warm. Heating systems eat up a lot of battery power. All those range estimates you see quoted by the EPA are determined by tests conducted indoors at room temperature with the heater and air conditioner turned off.

When a CNET Road Show writer visited the area — the first journalist allowed inside — he found the Model S P100D he was given to make the drive from Fairbanks to Delta Junction where the testing facility is located got about 30% less range than expected. Some of that may be attributed to the Pirelli Sottozero winter tires fitted to the car. Some of it may be due to snow and ice on the road surface. And some of it may be down to the heater working overtime to keep Stevens warm during the journey.

Most people who have driven an electric car in sub-freezing weather would probably not be surprised by the results. My 2015 Nissan LEAF also gets about 1/3 less range when the mercury in my thermometer goes into hibernation during the winter. It’s a common occurrence with all electric cars, one that the manufacturers seldom talk about at the time of sale.

During his time in Alaska, Stevens had a chance to drive a Model S, a Model X, and a Model 3 through their paces on snow and ice. For some of the driving, Tesla engineers turned off the stability and traction control systems that normally protect drivers from hazardous conditions, something owners cannot do themselves. Here’s some of what he had to say:

“With everything off, I cut onto the freshly groomed field of snow at 65 mph and jerked the wheel left and right and then was instantly thrown into one heck of a tank slapper. The car swerved back and forth as I frantically sawed at the wheel to keep up. I tried this maneuver a number of times and maybe caught it twice, but that’s with a decade of high-speed ice driving experience at my disposal. While I mean no offense to your average Model S owner, your average Model S owner would have spun every time.

“Re-enabling the car’s stability and traction controls took a quick reboot and then I went and tried it again. Same speed, same field of snow, and try as I might I couldn’t get the car to spin. I yanked the wheel left and right with all the finesse of a thoroughly endorphin’d Crossfitter and yet the car always kept itself inline, moving quickly enough to miss the imaginary moose, then calmly settling itself.”

Stevens explains that all Teslas have open differentials — the kind that deliver power to the wheel with the least traction. Older readers may recall this is what made driving your mom’s Pontiac station wagon on snowy roads such a challenge. But Tesla uses the brakes on each individual wheel to stop them from spinning. Combining that with precise control of how much torque each motor delivers permits the car to tame the most outrageous slides.

A video popped up on YouTube recently of a Model 3 traveling on an icy road with Autopilot activated. That’s not a smart thing to do — ever! — but you don’t have to be smart to own a Tesla. The car was on the brink of spinning out completely when the Autopilot caught the skid and returned the car to a safe path.

The driver, Eric Lapierre, noted that he didn’t touch the wheel at all. Of course, he shouldn’t have been using Autopilot at all in those conditions, but he proudly posted the video from his dash cam anyway.

Stevens was impressed by how the Model S and the Model X handled the snow and ice. A 30% slope coated with ice down center “resulted in a slow and occasionally unnerving but ultimately clean ascent. With the e-differentials disabled (again, not something you can do at home), the thing started the climb, spun its tires, and then promptly (and rapidly) skidded backwards down the hill.”

The Model 3 Performance, however, blew him away with its ability to tolerate extreme slip angles without spoiling the fun until the car was poised to tip over the edge into a full fledged disaster. “In Track Mode, the Model 3 will let you hang the tail way, way out, getting some properly lurid drifts going before it cuts the fun. Yes, it will cut the fun if you get things too far out of shape, killing the car’s power and automatically deploying the brakes at the appropriate corner. But, the car gives you an awful lot of rope to hang yourself with before it kindly and reliably steps in to lift the noose from your neck.

“By building the Model 3’s control software in-house, Tesla’s engineers have even more ability to vector torque from front to rear both under acceleration and under regenerative deceleration. This means the car can react more quickly and more precisely, again letting you push it that much further before cutting in.” The Tesla engineers told Stevens an upgrade to Track Mode is in the works that will allow the driver to manually adjust the torque split between the front and rear motors. First we’ve heard of that!

Finally, Stevens addressed some issues Model 3 owners in cold climates have experienced — things like frozen door handles and windows that won’t go down when the world outside is frozen. Tesla has addressed the latter with a software update, but a solution to the door handle issue is still in the works. Stevens says, “Every new model has some teething problems. It’s how the company reacts that’s the important thing.”

How Tesla reacts is one of the greatest assets the company has. It doesn’t hide behind legalese or excuses. It steps up and addresses problems in a forthright and proactive manner, often with direct responses from the CEO on Twitter. What was his name again? …

When something goes wrong and a company stands behind its product, that’s a bonus that costs the manufacturer next to nothing but can be priceless to the customer.

About the Author

Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and anywhere else the Singularity may take him. His motto is “Democracy is socialism.” You got a problem with that?

You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

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Why you should buy a Volvo or an Audi instead of the 2019 Infiniti QX60

Mack Hogan | CNBC

Mack Hogan | @macklinhogan

8:48 AM ET Wed, 2 Jan 2019

Infiniti is often forgotten in the luxury market. Created by Nissan as the Japanese company's premium brand, it plays in the near-luxury space alongside Acura and Buick. One of its most important products is the QX60.
For the many who aren't familiar with Infiniti parlance, the QX60 is the company's three-row crossover that slots between the gargantuan QX80 and the all-new QX50. It's a family crossover aimed squarely at segment stalwarts like the Acura MDX.
There's one problem, though: It doesn't feel like a proper luxury product.

The Good

As first impressions go, the QX60 isn't bad. Despite being the sort of massive crossover that American families crave, it still manages to look svelte. Some credit must go to the combination of gun-metal gray accents and lovely deep Bordeaux paint fitted to $65,930 Luxe model I tried.
I was impressed by creamy leather that's quilted to look more upscale. The breeziness of the cabin is magnified by a light wood trim and moon roofs stretching to the third row, helping the QX60 to feel bigger than it actually is. An accomplishment for sure, as the QX60 is no small beast.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

The third row is suitable for seating adults, while still offering a reasonable 16 cubic feet of cargo space behind the back row. It's also easy to move about the cabin, with seats that fold without any hassle and create large passageways for the kids to pile through.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

Finally, it's hard to complain about the on-board equipment. My tester had rear-seat entertainment, a Bose stereo, heated and cooled front seats, heated second-row seats, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, a surround-view camera and the aforementioned surplus of moon roofs. In a three-row luxury crossover, that's not a negligible list of kit for $65,930.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

The Bad

But you can put all the kit you like on a luxury crossover and still get nowhere; it has to feel like a premium product. And the QX60 simply doesn't.
Part of the blame has to be assigned to the working-class roots of the QX60. Underneath, it shares most of its architecture with the Nissan Pathfinder. Plus, we haven't seen an all-new model in over five years.
Neither of those factors is disqualifying in and of themselves. Lexus cars often share bits with Toyota but still manage to feel luxurious, for instance. But the QX60 certainly doesn't. See, offerings from the newest generation of three-row family haulers manage to shrink around you. Buyers don't want to feel like they're commanding a battleship when they're parking outside of Target.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

Yet the QX60 hearkens back to that era. Pulling it into my garage felt like steering a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier through the Panama Canal. On the freeway, it's ponderous and floaty with no discernible connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels of the vehicle. Yes, it's quiet and comfortable, but so are the three-row haulers from Toyota, Mazda, Chevy and even Nissan.
If you're thinking that the tech justifies the price, I'm afraid that isn't the case. While active safety features are on board, they aren't as advanced as the ones on Nissan's Rogue, an SUV that is a full class below the QX60 and doesn't even make an attempt at being a luxury SUV.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

You're also getting a navigation system that was designed during the Bronze Age and that's flanked with acres of gray plastic that has no place in a $65,000 SUV.
As for the powertrain, it's an utterly forgettable combination of Nissan's 3.5-liter V-6 with the company's standard Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). If there's any life in this engine, the CVT sucks it out.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

Final Thoughts

If you've never driven an honest-to-goodness luxury car, the QX60 probably feels nice. You could probably buy one and be entirely satisfied. But some day, your friend is going to offer you a ride in their new Volvo XC90 or Audi Q7. And when you find out that you could have had one for the same price as your Infiniti, you'll never enjoy it again.
In sum, the QX60 doesn't feel any more special than your run-of-the-mill Highlander, CX-9, Pilot or Durango. In some ways — like in the infotainment department — it's far behind even those choices.
Infiniti, though, charges a luxury price for a definitively mainstream crossover. I suggest you look elsewhere.
Rating:
Exterior: 4
Interior: 2
Driving Experience: 1
Value: 1
Overall: 2
Price as tested: $65,930

Mack Hogan | CNBC

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Here are the electric-car models on the way for 2019

2019 Audi e-tron first drive – Abu Dhabi UAE, December 2018
Regular readers of Green Car Reports know we have been saying for a year now that 2019 is the year of the electric SUV.

Now the year is finally here, and we thought we'd give our readers a peek at what we know about all the upcoming models. Most are SUVs, with a couple of hatchbacks thrown in.

In many cases their specific arrival dates are not made public, but we've estimated as closely has we can based on statements by the automakers.

2019 Hyundai Kona Electric

The Hyundai Kona Electric should be going on sale any day and is one of the most promising electric cars of 2019. With a rating of 258 miles of range, it was a finalist in Green Car Reports’ Best Car to Buy competition for 2019. Its small-crossover format gives ample space inside and a good view out. With only front-wheel drive available, some may consider it a car, rather than an SUV. Hyundai has said that it will start at $37,495.

2019 Kia Niro EV

The Kia Niro EV is related to the Hyundai Kona Electric from Kia’s sister company. The pair uses the same 64-kwh battery, and the Niro EV is expected to have 239 miles of range, a little less than its corporate sibling. It will be the first all-electric version of Kia’s dedicated green car: the Niro Hybrid went on sale in 2017 and the Niro Plug-In Hybrid in 2018. Kia has not announced pricing but the Niro EV is expected to go on sale in February.

2018 Nissan Leaf SL

2019 Nissan Leaf long range

Perhaps the biggest news in affordable electric cars is that the original modern electric, the Nissan Leaf, will finally move into the age of long-range electric cars. While Nissan never intended the Leaf to be a compliance car, the original model was rated at just 73 miles of range. Despite a few improvements over the years, the new model introduced in 2017 could only go 151 miles—better than anything but a Tesla at the time, but still short of what many drivers wish for.

The long-range Leaf will have a 60-kilowatt-hour battery made by Korean conglomerate LG, which is expected to carry it about 220 miles. Dealer pricing guides have shown its cost will land right in line with the longer, 238-mile, Chevy Bolt EV. It is expected to go on sale in the spring and to debut next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

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Tesla Model S Resale Values = Best In Class

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Published on January 6th, 2019 |

by Guest Contributor

Tesla Model S Resale Values = Best In Class

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January 6th, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Originally published on EVANNEX.
By Charles Morris

It’s always fun to talk about Elon Musk’s tweets and tokes, but when it comes to predicting Tesla’s long-term financial prospects, savvy observers understand that the two metrics that matter are the demand for the company’s products and the margin of profit it earns on each unit. So, if TSLA stock slips in response to an unguarded comment by the Iron Man, consider it a buying opportunity. If you see evidence that demand for Teslas is flagging, then you can start to worry.

Tesla Model S (Image via Tesla)

One way to gauge the level of demand for an automaker’s vehicles is to examine how their value holds up in the used market. Generally speaking, vehicles that are more in demand depreciate less. So it’s encouraging to read a recent report from venture capital firm Loup Ventures, which found that the depreciation of Tesla’s Model S compares quite favorably with that of other vehicles in its class.

Based on a mathematical analysis of data on used car sales, Loup Ventures concluded that, after 50,000 miles, a typical Model S will have lost around 28% of its original value, whereas competing models in the luxury sedan class will have lost an average of 38%. Even when variables such as model year, miles driven and initial sale price were taken into account, Loup found that a Model S could be expected to retain 7% more value than its competitors.

Two things to keep in mind: higher-priced cars usually show worse depreciation than budget models; and plug-in cars in general exhibit worse depreciation than comparable gas-powered models (among other things, plug-in vehicles tend to be improved every year, and only new vehicles are eligible for federal and state incentives). Of the plug-in vehicles on the US market, Teslas show by far the least depreciation, holding their value better than the Chevy Volt, BMW i3, or Nissan LEAF.

The Loup Ventures team started by looking at an Autolist survey, which included 1.6 million data points gathered between January 2012 and August 2016. Autolist found the following amounts of depreciation after 50,000 miles:

Tesla Model S: 28%
Lexus LS 460: ~32%
Mercedes S-class: ~36%
Porsche Panamera: ~37%
BMW 7 Series: 40%
Audi A8: 40+%
Jaguar XJ: 41%

However, the researchers weren’t entirely satisfied with these numbers — during the years covered by Autolist’s survey, the supply of Teslas was limited, which could have artificially kept resale prices high. Therefore, the Loup team decided to conduct their own survey based on today’s prices.

The team examined the same auto models that were included in the Autolist survey, scraping listings of certified pre-owned cars from manufacturers’ websites. Next, they built a regression model to predict the percentage by which each car had depreciated based on model year, miles driven and MSRP. They also included a categorical variable designed to account for any inherent difference between Tesla and its competitors.

The article includes all the details of the team’s analysis, which the statistically inclined may wish to read. The researchers concede that their study wasn’t perfect – they could have used more data on non-Tesla vehicles, and the bewildering array of options available made it impossible to calculate the precise MSRP of some models. However, they believe that their conclusion that Model S depreciates at a rate 7% lower than that of competitors in its class is sound.

A look at an older Tesla Model S. (Image via Tesla Shuttle and CleanTechnica)

Be the numbers what they may, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that Tesla’s vehicles hold their resale value well — comments on the subject by frustrated would-be owners aren’t hard to find. But after all, these cars often seem to have minds of their own, so it shouldn’t be surprising that they stubbornly refuse to lose their value as quickly as most other luxury vehicles do. That may be bad news for car buyers with moderate budgets, but it’s a good sign for the future of the company.

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. 😀

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