TESLA Model S All-Wheel Drive Arrives in Style!

From the Tesla website | February 2, 2015
This article covers All-Wheel Drive Model S only.
For more information, please visit the TESLA website here.

An evolution in automobile engineering Tesla’s advanced electric powertrain delivers exhilarating performance. Unlike a gasoline internal combustion engine with hundreds of moving parts, Tesla electric motors have only one moving piece: the rotor.

As a result, Model S acceleration is instantaneous, silent and smooth. Step on the accelerator and in as little as 3.2 seconds Model S is travelling 60 miles per hour, without hesitation, and without a drop of gasoline.

Model S is an evolution in automobile engineering

All-Wheel Drive, Dual Motor Model S is here. Unlike conventional all-wheel drive vehicles that sacrifice fuel efficiency for increased traction, the All-Wheel Drive, Dual Motor Model S provides superior control while actually improving both range and acceleration, even in tough winter conditions. Image courtesy of TESLA Motors.

Dual Motor Model S is a categorical improvement on conventional all wheel drive systems

With two motors, one in the front and one in the rear, Model S digitally and independently controls torque to the front and rear wheels. The result is unparalleled traction control in all conditions.

Conventional all wheel drive cars employ complex mechanical linkages to distribute power from a single engine to all four wheels. This sacrifices efficiency in favor of all weather traction.

In contrast, each Model S motor is lighter, smaller and more efficient than its rear wheel drive counterpart, providing both improved range and faster acceleration.

Battery, Performance, and Drive options

Model S is available in both rear wheel drive and Dual Motor all wheel drive configurations.

The 60 kWh Model S is standard with rear wheel drive and Dual Motor all wheel drive is an optional upgrade on the 85 kWh Model S.

For spirited driving, Dual Motor Model S Performance accelerates from zero to 60 miles per hour in as little as 3.2 seconds.

The Dual Motor, All Wheel Drive, Tesla Model S comes in two flavours, the 85D and the P85D

85D Tesla Model S

1. 85 kWh Dual Motor
2. 270 miles range (EPA est.)
3. 376 hp motor power
   188 hp front and rear
4. 5.2 seconds 0-60 mph
5. 155 mph top speed
6. 8 year, infinite mile battery and drive unit warranty
7. Supercharging included

P85D Tesla Model S

1. 85 kWh Performance
2. 253 miles range (EPA est.)
3. 691 hp motor power
   221 hp front, 470 hp rear
4. 3.2 seconds 0-60 mph
5. 155 mph top speed
6. High performance Dual Motor all wheel drive with specially designed suspension for exceptional power and handling
7. 8 year, infinite mile battery and drive unit warranty
8. Supercharging included

Dual Motor launch event in Los Angeles on October 9th, 2014

2015 TESLA Model S, All-Wheel Drive

Highest Safety Rating in America from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Model S is designed from the ground up to be the safest car on the road, as proven by a 5-star rating in all categories of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash test.

All information and images are courtesy of TESLA Motors

Straight from the Detroit Auto Show it’s the 2015 Ford Mustang GT

by John Brian Shannon

Straight from the Detroit Auto Show it’s the 2015 Ford Mustang GT. Which might as well be re-named Mustang Central this week, as this car is grabbing all the attention.

No, it’s not an electric vehicle, nor is it even a hybrid electric vehicle. But it should be!

Imagine this car loaded with 500 electric horsepower, with the batteries mounted down low (where EV makers put them anyway) to further improve handling.

Doing donuts and laying 11’s would be so-Earth-friendly! In addition to being so great looking and fun to drive — this pony would lead the pack in environmentally-friendly performance cars.

Enjoy the video and the soundtrack!

Video courtesy of: SVTPerformance.com

ChargePoint Ranks the best Electric Vehicle cities

Originally published on EV Obsession by Zachary Shahan

The best electric car cities in the U.S.

I’m a big fan of ranking… just like the rest of you. However, I generally hate that most rankings are presented in absolute terms rather than relative terms. For example, there are many rankings of the “best electric car cities” based on the total number of electric cars, total number of public electric car charging stations, etc. Much better would be if these cities we ranked based on electric cars per capita or electric car charging stations per capita.

Luckily, ChargePoint gets that. ChargePoint is the company with the nation’s largest electric vehicle charging station network. On Friday, it released a ranking of the best electric vehicle (EV) cities “based on the number of EVs owned as well as the number of public charging stations available on the ChargePoint network,” and it made sure to calibrate those with population! ChargePoint, I love you.

Here’s more info from ChargePoint

“While Los Angeles has the most number of EV drivers (over 17,000), based on population differences, San Francisco Bay Area with nearly 15,000 EV drivers led the nation, followed by Honolulu and Seattle. When it comes to EV charging stations, San Francisco Bay Area also led the way both cumulatively and based on population with nearly 4,000 stations, and equating for population, Austin and Seattle followed.”

“We are witnessing historic growth in the electric vehicle market,” said Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint. “The cities and the businesses in those communities that invest in EV infrastructure, not surprisingly, also see the largest sales in electric vehicles. We are no longer debating if EVs have a future, but instead are witnessing cities across America compete to be the most EV friendly.”

Indeed, 100% electric car sales grew 447.95% January–September 2013 compared to January–September 2012. That’s big. A number of states just last week teamed up in an effort to dramatically increase the number of electric vehicles on their roads. You’ve got to be a little slow to think that electric cars are not the future of the automobile.

Thanks to ChargePoint for this latest ranking. And thanks to the following cities for their promotion of clean, electric vehicles:

1. San Francisco
2. Seattle
3. San Diego
4. Austin
5. Honolulu
6. Los Angeles
7. Portland (Oregon)
8. Detroit
9. Washington, DC
10. Boston

This article, Best Electric Vehicles Cities — ChargePoint’s Refreshing Ranking, is syndicated from Clean Technica and is posted here with permission.

About the Author

Zachary Shahan is the director of CleanTechnica, the most popular cleantech-focused website in the world, and Planetsave, a world-leading green and science news site. He has been covering green news of various sorts since 2008, and he has been especially focused on solar energy, electric vehicles, and wind energy for the past four years or so. Aside from his work on CleanTechnica and Planetsave, he’s the Network Manager for their parent organization – Important Media – and he’s the Owner/Founder of Solar Love, EV Obsession, and Bikocity. To connect with Zach on some of your favorite social networks, go to ZacharyShahan.com and click on the relevant buttons.