Self-driving is probably not a feature for people who go to a car enthusiast forum. WIth that said, I've seen MANY bad drivers and looking forward to when self-driving is good enough that most people who don't enjoy driving and/or bad at driving can just use self-driving and the rest of us can continue to drive ourselves. Even before coronavirus where I work at home 100% of the time now, I had pretty flexible work hours such that I wasn't stuck in stop-and-go traffic. However, I can see how self-driving would be appreciated by people who have long commutes.

 

I did not buy Full Self Driving, I think it's a sham. Well, I take that back. I think Telsa is actually trying to do it. But I think their software is released way too early and their stated goals are beyond optomistic. How's that?

Having said that, the basic Autopilot functions of Autosteer and Traffic Aware Cruise Control are fantastic driving aids. These aids are not at all solely relegated to Tesla. But I think Autosteer is the best system that I've tried of it's type. The ACC isn't the greatest, I think it brakes way too late and too abruptly, and sometimes leaves large gaps in traffic when accelerating. But as someone who drives 500 plus miles a week, I cannot begin to tell you how much they reduce my stress level. I don't find Autosteer to be like a 16 year old, but then again, I only use it on large highways with gradual turns. I know at higher speeds and tight turns it does get a lot less smooth. But in traffic, hoo boy does it relieve a lot of stress.

I'm sad that the Taycan doesn't have the autosteer function as I think it's a big feature that many people DO want. Not on a sports car, of course, but the Taycan isn't a sports car. It's a sedan meant for shorter trips and commuting.

Bingo. I'm equally as glad my Tesla has it as I am glad my 911 doesn't.

 

Nikola shares crater after founder Trevor Milton resigns as executive chairman

Where's my Jason Cammisa giggling gif when I need it. No worries, this will do.

 

NKLA was an obvious scam. I bought puts and made 55%. Didn't want to risk holding in case GM decides to bail them out by buying the branding for their EV vehicles. I wouldn't be surprised if Mary Barra announces "voluntary resignation" over GM's "due diligence" in their $2B deal with NKLA either.

 

Awesome!

Mary is smarter than that. She was trained as a EE and can do math. GM hasn't put anything into the NKLA agreement to lose. AFAICT, NKLA is an outlet for some H2 fuel cell tech that GM has been tinkering with since the 1960s, and that none of their internal divisions (wisely) wanted anything to do with. That, some batteries from their new battery plant, and some contract manufacturing. OTOH, if GM plays their cards right, it could mean a cheap way to get a bunch of CARB credits.

 

Tesla Model S front control arm broke at 200kmh

https://tff-forum.de/t/bruch-des-que...-200km-h/80271

 

This story is just getting more and more crazy. I was hoping for their announced amazing battery tech. Turned out to be nonexistent.

 

You had that much faith that it was a scam? It seemed improbable but I didn't think it would crater like that. You must be damn good at looking around corners if you pulled that deal off.

So did GM put in $2B or no?

 

Think the Model 3 fits that description more closely. Commuting and short trips.

Taycan really handles like a sports car. Even in 4S trim. I just spent the morning driving mine from Vancouver to Whistler and back for fun. On the return trip a Model 3 decided to pick a fight by chasing me down a straight. after the first 2 couriers in the mountain I can't see it anymore. Caught up with me again on the next straight and it's gone again when the corners came again. After the 3rd try he didn't want to play anymore. I wonder why.

 

That's no surprise. People who pretend the Model 3 is some kind of great handling machine are sadly mistaken. But the Taycan? Sorry, but no, it doesn't handle like a sports car. Better than a Model 3? Yes, absolutely. Is it extremely capable? Absolutely. Like a sports car? No. You feel the weight. It has an air suspension. It does not feel like a sports car. It feels like the very capable, heavy, sedan that it is. And it definitely feels like a Porsche. But it feels way more like a capable Panamera to me than a 911.

And no, the Model 3 is not solely for commuting and short trips. I've done 500 mile day trips multiple times in it and it's more relaxing than our Cayenne. It's ability to do long trips is unmatched by any EV because of the charging network. At least here in the US. In Norway, maybe a little closer. Although judging by Bjorn Nyland's experience this week with a Polestar 2, it seems as if nothing is as seamless as plugging into a Supercharger. And probably never will be. @daveo4porsche has told you his nightmare stories of trying to charge his Taycan, and he's tech savvy, a multiple EV owner (multiple marques too, I think he's now owned 4 brands of EV's) and in a place where you think the charging network would be at it's most robust. And yet, nightmare after nightmare. Both on EA's part as well as Porsche.

Just because the Taycan is better in many ways does not make the Model 3 a bad product. I don't understand how we have gotten to a place in society where there must be only ONE WINNER! I am good and therefore you are BAD! No sorry, there exists multiple levels of good. The Model 3 is good. The Taycan is just better.

The Model 3 and Taycan are not competitors. A Model 3 Performance is literally 1/2 the price of a nicely equipped Taycan 4S. Hell, the Model S and Taycan are not competitors. They are simply priced too differently and aimed at different audiences. Would I rather be driving a Taycan every day? Of course! But I can't afford to throw a $130k car in the garbage by putting 30k miles a year on it.

I feel badly that there are so many obnoxious Tesla owners that people keep feeling the need to try to knock them down. For $60k, it's an excellent car.

 

Even before that report came out, it was pretty clear to me that it was a scam just based on what Trevor was saying vs what they showed (like saying they were already producing hydrogen at their HQ at a significantly lower cost than the market or had lots of solar already, but no solar panels). However, the market being irrational, I didn't have as much faith that the stock would drop in the near term so I bought long dated puts to minimize my risk (which I now don't own any since I've closed my position). I should also add it was only $10k in puts, so not a big risk. Just bought $65k in calls on TSLA today (long dated) as I have more confidence in TSLA growing than NKLA shrinking.

As for GM, the best I can find https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ks/5745862002/ is that the "deal" doesn't cost GM anything. The $2B is coming from NKLA in terms of stock and cash so that GM manufactures the Badger for Nikola. The only cost to GM would be tooling updates, but they were doing that anyways for their own EV vehicles. The only thing GM losses as far as I can tell is good will. Nikola needed GM to "legitimize" their business and GM needed Nikola to legitimize their EV strategy. For GM it was a "no lose" situation except potentially being associated with a fraud, but people tend to have short memories for that kind of thing.

 

The bold part is the part where it is the hardest for people to accept. It's like comparing a Camry to a S-Class. They are not competitors and they can co-exist peacefully. People with different budget can pick different level of car they want. From day 1 when Porsche announced the pricing all we heard is the Tesla crowd keep complaining how expensive Taycan will be and how much 'better' a Tesla is🙄

Well back to about the handling of the Taycan. Over the years I drove about 60 different cars on it, and I average around 50 round trips a year. The Taycan, even on 4S trim, is a lot closer to a 911 turbo/turbo S than a Panamera turbo S handling wise on this route. It is a hyper capable grand touring car is how I would put it. Much sportier than a Panamera. and my Panamera already have PDCC while my 4S doesn't. The extra weight only shows up in sharp slow speed corners, on fast sweepers it disappears. It also shows up on dips and rises, the car sink down more than usual on the compression. Pretty neat driving experience actually.

 

a low center of gravity covers many many sin's and the Taycan has a lower CG than a 911 (according to Porsche it's the lowest CG in their fleet). The Taycan is an excellent sports sedan - with all that entails (good & bad)…

in the US it's charging network is a joke and a nightmare.

it's handling is best in class
it's straight line speed is in the ball park of expectations for an EV
it's priced 2x to 3x more than the other best EV - the Model 3…
it's fit & finish is porsche quality
it's information systems and software is also Porsche quality (and I don't mean that in a good way)
it's first OTA update was done at the dealer ship
and it's roll out has been marred by some pretty basic problems that people rake Tesla over the coals for (dead 12v batteries while plugged into. charger - yeah it happens!)

as with anything it has pro's and con's - and there are competitive products that offer different pros and cons

all we can ask is you make an informed buying decision.

there are only 3 things "wrong" with the Taycan

1. the price - but it's porsche
2. in the US it's fast charging network can't be relied upon
3. it's software is state of the art 2008…

but it's a great vehicle and has all the characteristics you like about Porsche (and some that you hate) and it's a full EV.

 

I've said this before - but it bears repeating - the cabin noise level in the Taycan is world class - best car ever??? It's just soooooo quiet - really really awesome. If you want a quiet cabin at virtually any speed or conditions the Taycan is perhaps the best vehicle on market today - period full stop!

120 mph on a highway in a cabin hat has virtually no noise with Porsche fit and finish - and oodles of instant torque on tap is perhaps an experience few if any people will ever experience, but Taycan owner's it's just another day on the commute.

 

I think much of the brouhaha about the price was Porsche's bait and switch. They had always maintained a price point "between the Cayenne and the Panamera". Well that landed right on top of the Panamera. And they priced it all the way up to the Turbo S level to boot. Personally I don't think the Taycan holds up well as a $200k car in the same way a GT3 RS does. I think if the 4S had started where they had said and the top of the line was a Turbo priced close to the Panamera Turbo, it'd be a lot more palatable. The second hysteria was about the range but thankfully that proved to be a bit of much ado about nothing.

As for the driving, you've got way more seat time than I do so I'll certainly not doubt what you say. My back to back driving with my 911 (literally got out of one into the other and back) left me with a different impression.

Of course, our roads around Houston are an enthusiast's purgatory nightmare, lol.