bradyb

Just remember, big government is not your friend:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/08/3...motors-275000/

Seems funny but keep in mind that the future shape, performance, and cost of P-cars is being determined by government agencies that have their heads firmly up their ***** (said with love of course).

RED HORSE

Just the business counterpart to traffic cops. Generate some revenue.

Graygoose997

Here's a way to show them who is the boss.
Disconnect your air bags, remove the seat belts, and take out the crash members in the doors and the front of the car.
Replace your soft dash with some hard surface that will leave a mark.
A nice hard bakelite steering wheel , the kind that leaves shards is a nice touch also.
With some luck you can recreate a nice 1960's motoring experience, free of all that governmental influence.

bradyb

Yeah that's cute, I hear you but it's a slippery slope. Roof crush resistance might be a good example. The most recent changes are unnecessary for sports cars and greatly restrict what designers can do with the roofline (and add weight of course, which causes more problems).

I'm sure there are other examples and it's good to have all these safety features but these agencies just can't seem to control themselves.

Jack667

I'm no expert on this, but I thought that these cars will use batteries that would need some oversight. How much energy does it take to manufacture those batteries? What about charging the batteries? What about the useful life of the batteries? And of course the disposal / recycling of them?
If every other car manufacturer needs to deal with the EPA, why wouldn't Tesla?

I'll quickly stand corrected if I'm wrong on that, a I'm really coming from a position of ignorance

LlBr

Here ya go: The Future Porsche! This car's from "Sleeper" by Woody Allen.

I guess it just floats over or safely deflects all those pesky pedestrians we hit everyday.

Minok

Seems right to me... where is the problem. You should get your certificate BEFORE you start selling the vehicles. Every other manufacturer is getting it done, I presume, so what is Tesla's excuse for dragging its feet.

Same as you waiting to get your emissions/safety inspection until 6 months after the old one expired. Your care may not be any less safe or emitting, but you did not comply with the regulations; pay the fine.

The general problem is the emissions and mileage ratings, especially in this crazy new system the government is proposing, which gives letter grades, is the scores are never based on complete information.

If you are going to grade based on emissions for a vehicle you must include ALL of the emissions for that vehicle which includes the emissions produced in the the entire production process for the vehicle (its ore mining, plastic making, smelting, shaping, painting, electronics building) plus the emissions for operation over the cars expected lifetime of mileage, plus the emissions for the disposal of the vehicle. Otherwise, its very easy to just hide emissions by relocating them from the operational phase to the production/disposal phase.

jakes dad

IF I RECALL CORRECTLY... DIDN'T TESLA GET HALF A BILLION FROM NOBAMAS
RECOVERY STASH? THE GOVERNMENT IS CHARGING TESLA 275K OF OUR MONEY .... WHERE'S THE FINE????

bradyb

If Tesla got Porkulus dollars that's just terrible! Losers....