Drew Dowdell

One wonders how much benefit this really is at the average 50 mph though.... not enough to be worth paying more for I'm sure.

AWESOME!

That depends. Any reason it couldn't ride on the same frame as a crew cab pickup? might need stiffer springs but nothing drastic in the suspension. Front clip, doors, dash, seats, ... everything forward of the backside of the second row could all carry over.

It would make sense... It really can't cost that much more to add it to a a truck platform redesign that you're doing anyway.

Drew, the solar solutions you do are they other than size that much different than a solution you would do on a home? Also what are your thoughts on the solar solutions that are currently being sold such as by Costco? http://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?catalogId=10701&langId=-1&keyword=solar&storeId=10301&refine=13223%2b I get a server error on that link. I have to disclaim that I am not in any way a solar power expert... I am just repeating things that I am picking up at work. Our solar installations are fundamentally the same regardless of size. The controller technology we use is slightly different and lets us get a little extra production out of a pack of cells, but otherwise it is the same as any other tech. What we excel at is energy usage advice. We can go into a factory and get granular visibility on all of the various devices that use energy to see where savings might be had. We can also make recommendations on changing of production schedules that will save money in areas where there is smart metering and variable rate pricing. One example we were shown yesterday, a factory uses 4 giant dust collecting devices. We we put monitors on the whole plant but one of the dust collectors was using triple the amount of energy. Through our analysis the company found that the motor, while still operational, was starting to go bad. Spending the money to replace that motor, that again was otherwise operational, will save this company over $50k a year in energy costs. The service we provide is on-going, so companies can spot issues like that. We focus on making the business as energy efficient as possible first before we evaluate for solar. No point putting solar panels on the roof when all of that energy is going to be eaten up by inefficient lighting and HVAC.

Sleeping with the staff

The things we do for cars.....

I wanted one so bad when I was in college. That's when they were brand new and well out of my price range. Most examples today have been far too modified for my tastes.

Hyper, I think we're talking past each other. Offering Superchargers was a necessity. Offering the use of them for free is a courtesy. At the corporate level, no, the companies aren't making just token moves. There are big companies making big investments into solar, and along with other power analysis systems, finding ways to save large amounts of money on their energy spend. We don't just slap panels on the roof and call it a day, we analyze how and where they are using their power and do efficiency projects first, then we put the solar up. When you have a lot of real estate with a lot of flat roof area, the payback time for a solar installation shrinks dramatically. Companies can also lease out their roof to us for a percentage of the energy generated, and we get to sell the power into the grid at market rates. It becomes a no-cost install for that company and their energy bills go down. We have the advantage of scale and can buy the solar panels cheaper because we're buying so many. These types of services are what my employer offers, we're fairly large company, and still growing fast. We wouldn't be growing this fast with just token moves.

I the CT6 will start higher than that, probably $60k at least.

I'm going to need a whiteboard to diagram that mess out.... but yes... same platform as the Vue... hence why the XL7 is a crying Saturn Vue.

If that later XL-7 is of a Saturn Vue depicting sadness, is a Red Line Vue one that is depicting anger and rebeliion? What about a Chevrolet Captiva? Is that one depicting a lonely and very confused Satrun Vue? One that was abandoned by his parents at birth and is an orphan? I have no idea what you're talking about dude... I'm just talking about the headlights on the XL7 that look like they're crying.

Oh, and SuperChargers were never intended to replace regular charging at home. They are a courtesy add-on. What was tacky was people parking there all day or using it for all of their fill-ups.

It's not a prototype as more of a development platform. The front P85D motor, will most likely be the rear Model 3 and possibly entry Roadster motor. The technical know-how to blend the front and rear motors for AWD was needed ahead of the Model X. All of the Tesla models are interconnected in this way. Gigafactory will pay off.... I work in the energy sector... our solar division is the fastest growing division in our company and home batteries are going to follow right behind. The company I work for is making huge global investments in both of these, I just sat through 90 minutes of presentation on the subject today. I will say that it will be the commercial sector that goes Solar/Battery combo first as they have the biggest incentive and biggest savings to do so. Gigafactory isn't just about car batteries.

Keep it nice.... I have the means, I don't have the place to keep them and I have other needs that come first..... also, it costs a LOT of money to keep C&G going. I could have a new car AND storage for my old car next month if I pulled the plug here. But I kinda like this site.

Storage, I don't want to get divorced before I get married, I have other things I need to save/spend my money on right now, the next purchase is a 3-row crossover to replace the CR-V. But if you're buying..... I could probably find a place to hide it.

Ah it was the later XL7 I was thinking of... which is just a crying Saturn Vue

Why can't people like more than one thing? I'm an Oldsmobile guy, but my secret love is the old Eagle Talon.

No he didn't. The Solstice, Sky, GTO, and G8 were attempts to save the performance cars at GM through globalization. It wasn't about saving GM per say, it was about saving performance. The Kappa cars in particular were about 75% parts bin products. He did them on the cheap and used a left-over production plant to build them.

I'm not assuming. Read the article. He straight-up says it: "Get in a fifth-generation Camaro (even the SS 1LE), and you're reminded constantly that you're sacrificing for performance. In the Mustang, not so." As for why he never used the '16 Camaro as a comparison point, I have a theory. It's called, because the comparo showed how dominant the Alpha Camaro is. "I haven't gotten to read a comparion yet(not going to read pictures somebody posted), on what grounds did the mustang lose?" All of them, pretty much. But you'll have to read the pictures to see. "I'm not trying to justify that the Mustang is a better car all around or this or that but you're the only person who is attempting to make the Mustang look bad." -uh... Once again, read the pictures. And don't try to make me out to be the only guy taking potshots at the thing. The Interwebs are ablaze with scathing criticism. Styles and tone vary, but the general consensus is that Ford just got royally panted, with no real fix in sight. Literally from that article (since some did not bother to read it before commenting). "The interior is nice, too. Get in a fifth-generation Camaro (even the SS 1LE), and you're reminded constantly that you're sacrificing for performance." It was a stupid comparison to make with the 2016 coming out and the 2015 no longer in production. I'm in the minority in that I've never felt like driving the Camaro was a sacrifice. I'm not a performance car kinda guy.... preferring cars with air springs to tough handling... but I've done multiple long distance trips in the 5th-Gen and it was perfectly comfortable for the 2 of us. Note: I'm not making a comment about the Mustang with this statement.... only the Camaro.

I didn't know Nick had moved over to Mashable, I'll see him next month in LA I expect. I like Nick, but some of the thing he mentions in that article are simply F.U.D. 1. The reason Tesla sent out those letters is because there are people who are abusing the Supercharger stations. It has little to do with reducing their energy bills as most Supercharger stations are off-set with solar generation anyway. People were leaving their cars charging at the supercharger station to charge, and NOT charging at home. Keep in mind that Tesla can see the data from the cars, and if they see a car that never charges when at its home address and always charges at a supercharger, that's abusing the system. Some stations in California had lines forming for charging because people weren't moving their cars when done. It's an asshole move at a busy gas station and it's an asshole move at a supercharger station too. 2. This one Mike (Z-06 here) and I found out about last Detroit talking to the Tesla people.... I thought this was fairly common knowledge. The D cars are just test beds for powertrain development of future vehicles. The AWD availability? That was for the Model X. The lower power front motor in the P85D? Every single P85D is a powertrain mule for the Model 3. The ability to blend power front to back using that smaller motor? You heard it here first I guess... there will be a Telsa Model 3D. 3. The Gigafactory isn't done yet. I'll give you that Elon has a problem sticking to timelines, but lets not count this one as a lie or hype just yet. Without the Gigafactory, there is no supply to do the battery swap program in any usable volume. 4. Yes it does, and they're charging for it. Honestly, I think if there is a downfall to Tesla, this fault will be it: Spending lots of money on developing far out there features that even the most dedicated, wealthy, future adopter would hedge on... Biodefense? Falcon wing doors that required special sensors and lots of extra development? Had Tesla stuck to just normal doors and made a normal luxury SUV with otherwise normal for the class features, it would have come in about $30k cheaper.

Well they're not going to beat the S-Class with that.

The thing is, while Lutz could be counted on to get engineers to do the right thing in a typical car, the market is quickly leaving him behind. He'd be the man behind the development of the world's greatest flip phone and doesn't understand what all this Apple fad is about.

Though I have no information to back this up, my suspicion is that they just did a gasket job with the same part numbers and called it a day.

What bothers me is that the prior fixes didn't work... so I want to know what will be different this time.