Recently, Tesla Auto had scored highest on the NHTSA tests, nearly a perfect crash test score. How can that be for an all-electric car you ask? Well, I was somewhat taken aback, I really didn’t expect this because electric cars are generally heavy due to the batteries below, and thus, they have to try to make the rest of the car lighter to maintain performance, so how did they do it? Well, modern day materials certainly help, although they also add cost. Apparently, Tesla not only has that going for it, but also some damn good engineering.
Still, crash tests are only one important issue with automobiles today, perhaps not even the most important to all consumers. Fuel mileage is. But, don’t electric cars kind of have both going for them? Yes, actually they do, but then there is that problem with range. Now then, the other day some cyclists in our think tank were contemplating the challenges while on long distance bike rides on heavily traveled roads or in big metro areas, namely the smog and car fumes, boy it isn’t healthy at all, not one bit.
What about the Tour de France with all those chase cars, motorcycles, and such, all around all the human cyclists breathing at full capacity with big lungs – not a healthy scene at all. Shouldn’t they be using electric cars and motorcycles for the chase cars, team cars, and media cars? I believe so. Of course if such a mandate was made, then what? All those electric cars would need to charge every night, and if they don’t get a full charge, they’d be on the side of the road parked not chasing the Pelaton.
A good number of electric cars do fine until you ask them to go up steep grades and super long distances. But indeed, isn’t that how the Tour de France is designed to test the human will, spirit, perseverance, and try to break the riders, beat the into submission for so many grueling stages until one winner emerges? In that case, those same hills would break the backs of most electric cars today, they wouldn’t be able to hang with the elite human cyclists of the Tour, but maybe one car company could make that work.
If I was a betting man, and mind you I am not, then I’d bet on Tesla’s latest sedan to make the grade and compete along the best human cyclists in the world – how about you – please consider all this and think on it.