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| Tesla Model 3 |
Today I have owned my Tesla 3 for a month. We have put 1200 miles on it. I am 73. I have owned 80 cars - trucks - scooters - campers. So I have experienced many great years of the adventure - freedom - and joy that the internal combustion engine has provided. I have enjoyed revving engines and also squeezing every mile out of a gallon of gasoline I could. My career - I was a public school science teacher - and always wished for the day when I owned that great American electric car. Our Telsa has been great - here are so many features I love. But while driving this wonderful quiet smooth powerful car - I have a deep sadness for the passing of an era. I have always been an early adapter - I liked being first with the new gadget - the DVR - the latest computer - iPhone - etc. After driving this car for a month - I feel the revolution is going to come a lot sooner than many expect.
After all those years in the classroom - I am hard of hearing. So the number one feature I like about the Tesla is the quiet. It is hard getting used to throttling it and getting pushed back in my seat without that roar. I almost want to buy an outside speaker and play motor noise. The quiet is that profound. It is great for conversations in the car. The second feature I like is the one pedal driving. You get used to that so quickly - off the throttle - the car slows and stops. Third - the autopilot - it keeps me between the lines like nothing else. My wife says this feature alone is worth the $56k we spent.
For 55 years - my dream car was a Shelby Cobra - 450 screaming horsepower in a little roadster. In my own warped view - I have finally gotten it - with a little refinement. I have the open sky - but with a glass top - I have the head-snapping acceleration without the heavy clutch and roar - I have the comfortable seats with room for friends in the back - I have two motors - powering the front and rear wheels - and the sun visors are standard - not optional. I did not even mention air conditioning - that works even when the engine is off.
I am being sincere when I say I have some concerns. I am not used to no spare tire - but I can't remember the last time I had to change one. I bought the Long Range model because I fear running out of electricity. But at 73 - it was time for a little adventure.
I do bluster when the zealots claim it does not pollute. Somewhere someone is burning fossil fuel to make the electricity for me to go. They are polluting. Yes - someday - we will make more power by solar - wind - tide - hydro. But right now in America - a big majority is made by coal - oil - gas. So we are not saving the planet. But maybe it is easier to make cleaner energy at a big power plant than at millions of little gasoline and diesel engines.
The Telsa is a gift from my wife - to an old motorhead. "Gone are the years when you dreamed of that car - it sits in your garage in your Shangra-lar."
