Plaid kind of boring

Tinker71

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My son's parents got a Plaid S. I went for a ride. Sure it was quick, quiet, and comfortable, but I have to say boring at the same time.

The CT will have more utility and will take you to adventures, but something about the driving experience is going away. This really hit me for some reason.

I will miss shifting and working the clutch, a little slip here and there, listening to see if the motor is working at it's best, wondering when the best time to lock hubs etc. I am not sure how I feel about the car taking care of me. It is too easy.

I guess we will just have to get used to it and get that thrill of driving elsewhere.
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MEDICALJMP

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My son's parents got a Plaid S. I went for a ride. Sure it was quick, quiet, and comfortable, but I have to say boring at the same time.

The CT will have more utility and will take you to adventures, but something about the driving experience is going away. This really hit me for some reason.

I will miss shifting and working the clutch, a little slip here and there, listening to see if the motor is working at it's best, wondering when the best time to lock hubs etc. I am not sure how I feel about the car taking care of me. It is too easy.

I guess we will just have to get used to it and get that thrill of driving elsewhere.
The thrill will come from the journey and the destination.
 

tidmutt

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My son's parents got a Plaid S. I went for a ride. Sure it was quick, quiet, and comfortable, but I have to say boring at the same time.

The CT will have more utility and will take you to adventures, but something about the driving experience is going away. This really hit me for some reason.

I will miss shifting and working the clutch, a little slip here and there, listening to see if the motor is working at it's best, wondering when the best time to lock hubs etc. I am not sure how I feel about the car taking care of me. It is too easy.

I guess we will just have to get used to it and get that thrill of driving elsewhere.
For me part of the thrill is the amazing engineering that leads to such a machine. Tools are meant to extend our reach, it's an odd human emotion that feels nostalgia for things being worse. LOL Saying that, I do understand where you come from. I drive a dual clutch auto every day, in almost every way it's far better than rowing your own gears. Yet I do yearn to get back in my old RX8 and slice through those ratios with the short throw shifter and toss it around some bends. We are weird creatures.

Like all good tools, a good vehicle will eventually feel like an extension of ourselves and somewhat fade away leaving our minds and bodies free for other pursuits.

I for one can't wait to take my kids camping in my CT, it's my favorite daydream. It might even be mostly driving itself by then, but if anything that will enhance that time with the kids.
 

Ogre

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I've always admired Corvettes. Not all years, but a lot of them are just damned sexy cars.

At the same time I could never buy one. I'm just too fundamentally grounded. I buy cars because of what they do for me and having a car which goes 0-60 in 2 seconds just isn't a need I have.

Buying the Model Y, was the most extravagant purchase I've made. It does go pretty damned fast, but it is also a hugely practical car. The amount of storage that has for being a small car is ? insane.

So I'm following it up with another extravagant purchase. But fundamentally an eminently practical purchase. As a bonus, I don't have to worry about scratching the paint. I'm not a polish weekly kind of guy.

But the Model S Plaid? While it does have tons of storage, it's just too much bling and not enough practical. Plus it won't climb mountains.
 

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I will miss listening to see if the motor is working at it's best,
I don't miss needing to try to interpret motor sounds to self diagnose my engine.

I like quiet. It's pretty infuriating to me when I'm walking and a loud truck or motorcycle rolls by destroying conversations. Likewise outdoor eating. Quiet is good.
 


swengl

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What I don't miss: engine strain on a steep hill. Whenever I drive our hybrid, I remember how different EVs and ICEs are when it comes to propulsion and how immediate (and powerful) the acceleration is in an EV. I won't be trading my S in for a Plaid (primarily because I want to get the CyberTruck instead) but I have seen one of the Plaids in the flesh and I liked the improvements that I saw.
 

TomGriff

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I love driving my "old" "slow" 15 MS 70D, the AWD sticks to the road and can corner faster than is safe on public roads. Not at all boring to me. I don't miss changing oil, replacing MASFO sensors, spark plugs, O2 sensors, diagnosing engines that developed a miss, etc. That being said I do love motorcycles, the sound and the synchronization of clutch, throttle and brakes; when you execute them well in corners is truly gratifying. Even so, I suspect at some point as they improve there will be an electric motorcycle in my future.
 

Sirfun

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My son's parents got a Plaid S. I went for a ride. Sure it was quick, quiet, and comfortable, but I have to say boring at the same time.

The CT will have more utility and will take you to adventures, but something about the driving experience is going away. This really hit me for some reason.

I will miss shifting and working the clutch, a little slip here and there, listening to see if the motor is working at it's best, wondering when the best time to lock hubs etc. I am not sure how I feel about the car taking care of me. It is too easy.

I guess we will just have to get used to it and get that thrill of driving elsewhere.
I get what you're throwing down here. The same is true with automatic transmission VS manual. It's fun driving a challenging road and going through the gears. This weekend, I went to the Indy car race at Laguna Seca. The sounds and smells were awe-inspiring. There was an early Tesla Roadster in the vendor area that was beautiful, but it was funny when I was standing there admiring it, a guy walked up and said "that car has no soul". I laughed, but a part of me gets where that's coming from. Years ago I had two-stroke motorcycles, my favorite road bike I ever had, was my Yamaha RZ 350. Occasionally I go on YouTube to listen to that wonderful sound of a 2stroke hitting the high rpm's and going through the gears.
I look forward to the stealthy quiet and ease of driving a powerful EV, but I'll still have some nostalgia for the past.
 

Klaxon

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... I have to say boring at the same time.
I will miss shifting and working the clutch, a little slip here and there, listening to see if the motor is working at it's best, wondering when the best time to lock hubs etc.

I imagne how boring was to switch from horses to the first cars.
People were missing the smell of horse farting and lots of other romantic things.
?
 


HaulingAss

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I think there are a lot of posts that are made up in an attempt to take the shine off the latest and greatest EV's available today. Traditional auto is running scared because they can't offer anything comparable.

I haven't driven the new Model S Plaid, the fastest car I've ever driven is my Model 3 Performance. It's as fast as my Ducati 996 cc motorcycles with four valves per cylinder. The Plaid is ludicrous. Sure, riding as a passenger in a Plaid Model S with a conservative driver would be very quiet and serene, I wouldn't expect it to be exciting. It's a very comfortable, smooth ride.

But driving it would be an entirely different experience. I know with my Performance Model 3, the accelerator pedal is like an extension of my brain with instant response. No sooner have I thought "I want to get up and go", than all four tires are grabbing the pavement and thrusting me there instantly - no delay. It's pretty exhilarating in a way my desmodromic performance Ducati are not. They have delay as the crankshaft and pistons build speed (and the air has to accelerate into the cylinders too). I didn't notice the delay until I got my Tesla. Now my motorcycles feel unresponsive and laggy. They are missing the immediacy of rubber grabbing the road as soon as I tell it to. The Tesla feels like it can warp the space/time continuum. A passenger is not connected to the accelerator so they miss out on the immediacy of it.

The best part is the silence does not disrupt others or draw attention of officers. ICE engines have seen the last of their time on top of the podium, there is a new kid on the block and the world will never go back. Instant power is what we always wanted even though we didn't know it. ICE engines cannot do anything better, people claiming the sound makes them better are stretching for a reason why electric powertrains are still inferior. I don't blame them, it's the only thing they could possibly claim. Unless you like the smell of toxic gases. Some even claim that's why ICE is still better. :rolleyes:
 

Crissa

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Driving electric is drifferent, sure, but no soul?

It doesn't get between you and pure go. You are connected to the road. The world is your playground.

Teslas get driven more miles on average not just than other EVs, but more than ICE cars.

-Crissa
 

Ogre

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Driving electric is drifferent, sure, but no soul?
The videos of EVs racing are pretty awesome.

Instead of hearing the roar of the engine what you hear is a slight whining sound everyone once in a while, the sound of the wind, and the squealing for the tires. Absolutely insanely awesome in my opinion. You don't have the machine drowning out the raw sounds of pure unadulterated speed.
 
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HaulingAss

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It's funny, my Model Y non-performance is enough acceleration to impress most people. It's as fast

The videos of EVs racing are pretty awesome.

Instead of hearing the roar of the engine what you hear is a slight whining sound everyone once in a while, the sound of the wind, and the squealing for the tires. Absolutely insanely awesome in my opinion. You don't have the machine drowning out the raw sounds of pure unadulterated speed.
I have a theory that the reason people liked the rumble of a performance engine is because they associated it with speed. When they heard that sound, they felt the acceleration and the two became inseparable. It's like Pavlov's dog. Every time he rang the bell he would feed the dog. Soon, every time he would ring the bell the dog's saliva would start flowing. Even if there was no food. The rumble of an ICE engine was the same way to a performance car buff.

But times are changing. Now ICE engines are slow, slow as molasses, compared to a Performance EV. And how is the rumble and stink of an ICE engine going to get your juices flowing if you're experienced enough to know that it means it's gonna be slow? :LOL:

I love the light "scruff-scruff" sound of my tires scrabbling at maximum traction as the precision electronic traction control feeds exactly how much power the coefficient of friction can handle. This will propel me forward as fast as physics and the conditions allow. With ICE vehicles I could rarely ever hear that light "scruff-scruff" sound.
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