Tesla Model 3 - Finally.

The refreshed Model 3 is now available in the US. Went up on the website today. Delivery this month or next.
What’s your opinion on the Highland? Personally I still prefer the looks of the old Model 3 but from what I’ve heard, the improvements in ride, comfort, sound proofing etc., are substantial.
 
What’s your opinion on the Highland? Personally I still prefer the looks of the old Model 3 but from what I’ve heard, the improvements in ride, comfort, sound proofing etc., are substantial.
I really like the exterior styling changes. That's completely subjective, though.

Good interior upgrades, including vented front seats for cooling, improved noise reduction, and the back seat screen for entertainment and some controls.

Not sure how I feel about the stalk-less design which moves all of those controls to the steering wheel. Wouldn't be a deal breaker.

Yes, but only the Model 3 Performance qualifies for the credit.
No refreshed M3P yet, though. Just the RWD and LR. Only new M3Ps will be from existing inventory for now.
 
What’s your opinion on the Highland? Personally I still prefer the looks of the old Model 3 but from what I’ve heard, the improvements in ride, comfort, sound proofing etc., are substantial.
The vented seats are enough to sell me. That is my only complaint with my current model 3.
 
The vented seats are enough to sell me. That is my only complaint with my current model 3.
Well they say the seats themselves are more comfortable as well. I’ve driven a couple Model 3s and I didn’t have any issues with the old ones. They were much more comfortable than my Gen 1 Model S seats.

The mood lighting looks interesting. Think that’s starting to become a standard thing. Not sure I’d care for the turn buttons over stalks though. Was watching a Brit review one going through some roundabouts and he found it awkward. Fortunately we don’t have as many roundabouts in the states.
 
Fortunately we don’t have as many roundabouts in the states.
I think that is changing though.
Florida DOT tried to install a bunch of them on the coastal highway but locals finally squashed that idea. Too many 70somethings driving 20 on the same roads as 20something driving 70, Even the DOT saw that was a bad idea.

Florida: God's waiting Room.
and
Daytona Beach: Home of Spring Break: No wait necessary.
 
I think that is changing though.
Florida DOT tried to install a bunch of them on the coastal highway but locals finally squashed that idea. Too many 70somethings driving 20 on the same roads as 20something driving 70, Even the DOT saw that was a bad idea.

Florida: God's waiting Room.
and
Daytona Beach: Home of Spring Break: No wait necessary.
Yeah they’ve been doing that up in GA as well. More and more being built up here.
 
Well they say the seats themselves are more comfortable as well. I’ve driven a couple Model 3s and I didn’t have any issues with the old ones.
The seats are ok, my issue is the pleather. Doesn't breathe well. Not something you notice til you go on a long trip. Others must have had the same issue, since they fixed it with the refresh.
Fortunately we don’t have as many roundabouts in the states.
Just got back from Colorado and they are common in the mountain towns along I-70. They work pretty well in that environment.
 
Rotaries are a disaster in the Boston ma area - way too many drivers don’t follow the right-of-way rules
 
Anyone ever driven the big roundabouts in Doha, Qatar? Those things are insane, like a mad max movie. 3 to 5 lanes wide and full of extra large SUVs going 90mph.
 
Anyone ever driven the big roundabouts in Doha, Qatar? Those things are insane, like a mad max movie. 3 to 5 lanes wide and full of extra large SUVs going 90mph.
I hope it's not worse than the Arc De Triomphe roundabout in Paris. Driving that was among the scariest things I have ever done.

 
Yeah they’ve been doing that up in GA as well. More and more being built up here.
E TN around Knoxville as well. Overall, they seem to work pretty well.

Coming up on 2 years with my Model 3LR next month and I’ll do a report on it then.

Not worthy of its own thread, we’ve started questioning whether the CyberTruck is right for us, mainly due to disappointing range, especially when towing, and awkwardness in charging when towing. But I think I mentioned our 2011 Ford Flex, used to tow our travel trailer, was starting to need expensive repairs, mainly needing a new transmission. So last week we traded it in on a 2022 Toyota Tundra SR5 to tow with.

53445553525_c9fac35412_z.jpg


When our CyberTruck reservation comes up, we’ll have to take a long, hard look at the practicality of such a vehicle. Still somewhat enamored by it, though.
 
Anyone ever driven the big roundabouts in Doha, Qatar? Those things are insane, like a mad max movie. 3 to 5 lanes wide and full of extra large SUVs going 90mph.

I don’t drive on the Arabian peninsula or Bahrain, Insha’Allah. Istanbul made Naples look serene though.
 
Anyone ever driven the big roundabouts in Doha, Qatar? Those things are insane, like a mad max movie. 3 to 5 lanes wide and full of extra large SUVs going 90mph.

I don’t drive on the Arabian peninsula or Bahrain, Insha’Allah. Istanbul made Naples look serene though.
 
E TN around Knoxville as well. Overall, they seem to work pretty well.

Coming up on 2 years with my Model 3LR next month and I’ll do a report on it then.

Not worthy of its own thread, we’ve started questioning whether the CyberTruck is right for us, mainly due to disappointing range, especially when towing, and awkwardness in charging when towing. But I think I mentioned our 2011 Ford Flex, used to tow our travel trailer, was starting to need expensive repairs, mainly needing a new transmission. So last week we traded it in on a 2022 Toyota Tundra SR5 to tow with.

53445553525_c9fac35412_z.jpg


When our CyberTruck reservation comes up, we’ll have to take a long, hard look at the practicality of such a vehicle. Still somewhat enamored by it, though.

I'm curious to hear your feedback on the Tundra. I sat in a 2023 model at an Overlanding show in VA back in October. It didn't feel as 'roomy' as the old body style and from what I saw, the old body style was still a little doggy despite having a lot of displacement under the hood, so curious how the new one behaves. I'm about 3-4 years away from likely handing down my current truck to a kid, and have been keeping my eye on the Tundras as a replacement for myself.
 
Not sure I’d care for the turn buttons over stalks though. Was watching a Brit review one going through some roundabouts and he found it awkward. Fortunately we don’t have as many roundabouts in the states.
I would have to drive it to see how much of an issue that becomes. It think they will work a lot better with the steer-by-wire system in the Cybertruck as the wheel only turn 170° each way from neutral. No need to move your hands from their normal positions.

As to round-a-bouts... The reason why have issues in the US is because US drivers do see them often enough to be comfortable with them. They are a better design, for many intersections, than are four-way, or two-way, stops. They can reduce fatal accidents by over 90%. They're not right for every intersection, however.

Here's a video about them. The guy is a trained traffic engineer. He's a bit silly, at times, but he knows his stuff and presents it in an approachable manner.

 
I hope it's not worse than the Arc De Triomphe roundabout in Paris. Driving that was among the scariest things I have ever done.

Did that years ago. yep - it was a thrill. I made the mistake of getting in the inside lane - and round and round I went. Took much maneuvering to extricate myself.
Another time I noted that they had installed barricades to limit the number of lanes. Not sure if it helped or not.

Dave
 
There is a London area roundabout with 4 feeder roundabouts. Working for a map company, that was the final exam for new geocoders. iI they could map it correctly, they got the job.
 
Anyone ever driven the big roundabouts in Doha, Qatar? Those things are insane, like a mad max movie. 3 to 5 lanes wide and full of extra large SUVs going 90mph.
Never driven in Qatar, but UAE, Oman and Jordan all had some really interesting roundabouts and roads. Vietnam too, but lower speed and almost everyones on motor bikes.
In UAE and Qatar it's pretty incredible how bad they're designed. UAE for instance pretty much didn't exist before the 70s. They have hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars to spend on infra, and they got the worst people in the world to design roads. Just an absolute cluster. And people driving 1/2" behind your bumper at 80mph while flashing their brights at you b/c they want to go 82mph -- that doesn't do much to help improve driving conditions :oops:. I do wonder how well self driving cars will do in some of those countries!

EDIT: oh yeah, and their street names are 8 miles long because every street is "Sheikh <something or other>". Google Maps navigator taking 3 minutes to pronounce the name of the street. Driving 70 and trying to read this on the fly. Super fun.
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Never driven in Qatar, but UAE, Oman and Jordan all had some really interesting roundabouts and roads.

Yeah, I did a fun one in Amman, Jordan back in the day.

But at least you don't have to watch out for herds of goats tended by dudes with big curved knives and AK-47's, like Yemen. That place is a time machine.
 
Yeah, I did a fun one in Amman, Jordan back in the day.

But at least you didn't have to watch out for herds of goats tended by dudes with big curved knives and AK-47's, like Yemen. That place is a time machine.
I was last in Amman in 2017 and can confirm they still lack AK47s and machetes :)
But those roundabouts... There is no such thing as rules. It's just kind of "if you can somehow perform the maneuver and not hit someone... OK".
And you're going to get honked at anyways, so you just go ahead and do what you need to do :cool:
 
$14,000 (after tax credit). I want a yellow one!

 
....

We’ll go ahead and install it while we watch the Grammy’s.

A hardship, I know. But we’ll wake up tomorrow feeling so much safer with the larger fonts!

what's the hardship? installing the modification or watching the Grammy's?
 
what's the hardship? installing the modification or watching the Grammy's?
After too, too many cringingly bad awards shows, this year’s Grammy’s was quite good.

High points for us so were Tracey Chapman and Luke Combs doing “Fast Car”, and great performances by Miley Cyrus, Annie Lennox and Joni Mitchell and many others. The tribute to artists we lost over the last year was also touching. Not all of the music was to our tastes, but that’s to be expected. But good show overall.
 
2 million Tesla’s recalled. What the hell?

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We’ll go ahead and install it while we watch the Grammy’s.

A hardship, I know. But we’ll wake up tomorrow feeling so much safer with the larger fonts!

First, recall is the legal term. There really is nothing else to call it.

Tesla effed up; and my take is either Tesla ignored NHTSA, or ignored NHTSA so many times NHTSA no longer consults much with Tesla before issuing a recall.
This article has the requisite regulation that Tesla violated, and an interesting comment from an older Tesla owner.

Tim
 
I hope it's not worse than the Arc De Triomphe roundabout in Paris. Driving that was among the scariest things I have ever done.


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Here’s the view going around the arc, in a 7 passenger golf cart, facing backwards! Heck of a ride.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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